God Never Gives Up

Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal  Son

The word of God carries us back to the thirteenth century before Jesus. On Mount Sinai, Moses is conversing with God like a friend, praying. But at the base of the mount, the Hebrews, just liberated from their oppressors in ancient Egypt, are breaking the covenant they just renewed with God, by worshiping replicas of false gods.

Sometimes, we create idols—money, power, status. We forget who we are—mere creatures totally dependent upon an all-good Creator. Moses intercedes for the people in prayer and asks God to forgive them for their wrongdoings. And God does! The author challenges us not only to ask God for forgiveness but also the grace to live a life worthy of our calling.

St. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, confesses he fiercely persecuted Christians; he was the worst of sinners. And yet God graced him, to become one of the greatest evangelizers in Christianity. Paul challenges us to be grateful to God.

In the Gospel, we have the famous parable. The younger son asked for his inheritance and then squandered it. Then he “came to his senses.” An incredible phrase! He realizes his true identity as a beloved son. He wants to be in a good relationship with his father, who unconditionally forgives and loves him and gives him a welcome-home party. The story emphasizes God’s unconditional love for us.

This parable may move us to ponder forgiving someone who has wronged us. If we can’t seem to forgive on our own, pray for the grace to participate in the forgiveness of Jesus, who pardons those who are truly sorry and try to start their lives afresh. The parable invites us to see ourselves in the characters. Are we the forgiving parent? The repentant younger son? Or the resentful older son?

Let me illustrate forgiveness with a favorite book of mine, The Hiding Place, in which the author, a concentration camp survivor, describes how she lectured in post-war Europe about the need to forgive one another. After one of her talks, a former SS guard came up to her. She recognized him. Suddenly, she remembered the laughing guards, the heaps of clothes on the floor, the frightened face of her sister. And so, when this repentant person extended his hand, she began to have angry thoughts. Then she remembered: Jesus Christ died for this man and forgives him. “Lord Jesus,” she silently prayed, “forgive me and help me to forgive him.”

She tried to smile, to raise her hand. But she couldn’t. Again she breathed a silent prayer: “Jesus, I can’t forgive him for what he did to my sister and so many other people. Give me your forgiveness.”
Christ doesn’t ask us to forgive on our own. He simply asks that we participate in his gift of forgiveness. Forgiveness is possible when we trust in God to bring forgiveness and healing and reconciliation. God never gives up on us.

Finding our Way to God

Doing good as long as ever you can

GPS apps are a splendid way to navigate, and to route around obstacles. It’s a powerful spiritual metaphor. We have a “voice” to guide us: our conscience, informed by the bible, the guidance of the church, and the wise counsel of holy women and men.

As I have learned to trust the GPS electronic voice while driving, so I need to learn to trust my informed conscience, as I navigate to my ultimate goal: eternal life with God.

Sunday’s word of God carries us back to a defining moment. Moses experiences the awesome presence of God in the image of “fire flaming out of a bush.” God reveals himself as the creator of this universe: “I am the one who causes to be all that is,” as one biblical author translated this mysterious phrase. And then God empowers Moses to free the Hebrews from their oppressors.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth, compares the Hebrew Exodus experience to our baptismal experience; just as God was a rock in the wilderness, out of which flowed life-giving waters, so too Christ is our rock, from whom comes our salvation, eternal life.

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus deals with the question of evil. There is of course no satisfactory answer. Why mindless killings in New Zealand, why so many people suffering violence? Evil is ultimately a mystery.

And then Jesus speaks about a barren tree. The point of the parable: yes, God is patient, but God will hold each of us accountable for our life, our attitudes, and our behaviors. Jesus urges us to repent now, to turn to a God-centered/other-centered life. Yes, live in light of your ultimate purpose, life in relationship with God here and beyond.

Often people live in the future. Some imagine, My life will begin when I get a new job, when I rebuild my home, etc. Life will begin in the future? Naomi Levy, in her book Hope Will Find You, wondered, while caring for her critically ill daughter, when could she realize her dreams and goals. She wrote: “… just then something snapped inside my soul:…all of us have to learn to live inside the imperfect lives we have here and now.”

Lent is a time to re-assess our lives again, to decide what we believe to be truly important, and then act on these priorities now.

Our Christian faith proclaims that life has meaning, that there is indeed an all-good, compassionate, and merciful God who seeks us out in our everyday experiences. This God became incarnate in Jesus, and renewed God’s covenant with us through his death/resurrection and thereby opened up to us life beyond this earthly life. This same God is alive among us today by the power of the Spirit.

We can participate in God’s triune life: by regular prayer, by fasting from attitudes and behaviors that jeopardize our relationship with God and one another, and by living a life of generous service.