Last Sunday the Gospel message was, “repent or perish.” Today’s message is about the healing that occurs in reconciliation. According to the Marian Webster Dictionary reconcile means “to restore to friendship or harmony”; it implies healing an existing relationship. In our readings today we hear about a lost son returned to his father and we receive a reminder that God calls all of us to be ministers of reconciliation to the world.
Many great writers call the prodigal son the finest short story ever written. In about five hundred words Jesus explains the foundation of our faith: God is merciful and loves us unconditionally. No matter what we do, no matter how horrible we think our sin is or how far we stray, God our loving father who “formed [our] inmost being” (Ps 139: 13) wants to restore our relationship with him. God loves sinners!
Like the younger son in the story all we have to do to reconcile our relationship to God is come to our senses, acknowledge our pigpen of sinfulness, repent (change our behavior and leave the pigpen behind) and walk back toward God. Reconciliation comes only after repentance. This is hard work. But there is an even bigger challenge.
St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, that since we are reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus, we are obligated to be God’s ambassadors of reconciliation to others. God does not count our sins against us therefore we should not count the sins of other people against them. There is a bit of the older son skulking in all of us. Our job is rise above our self-righteousness so we can bring about reconciliation in our families, our neighborhoods, our parish, our schools, our jobs, our country and the world. True reconciliation begins when each one of us reaches out to reconcile with each other.
God of compassion,
you await the sinner’s return
and prepare a feast to welcome home the lost.
Save us from the temptations
that draw us away from you.
Lead us back by the constancy of your love,
that we may take our place in your household
and gladly share our inheritance with others.
Grant this through Christ, our liberator from sin,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God for ever and ever.
AMEN.
