The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us that our need for life is the concern of God for ourselves and all people
Love of Life
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans calls us to live and die for Christ.
* [14:8] The Lord: Jesus, our Master. The same Greek word, kyrios, was applied to both rulers and holders of slaves. Throughout the Letter to the Romans Paul emphasizes God’s total claim on the believer; see note on Rom 1:1.1
Psalm 27 is a triumphant song of Confidence.
* [Psalm 27] Tradition has handed down the two sections of the Psalm (Ps 27:1–6; 7–14) as one Psalm, though each part could be understood as complete in itself. Asserting boundless hope that God will bring rescue (Ps 27:1–3), the psalmist longs for the presence of God in the Temple, protection from all enemies (Ps 27:4–6). In part B there is a clear shift in tone (Ps 27:7–12); the climax of the poem comes with “I believe” (Ps 27:13), echoing “I trust” (Ps 27:3).2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin.
* [15:1–32] To the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:1–7) that Luke shares with Matthew (Mt 18:12–14), Luke adds two parables (the lost coin, Lk 15:8–10; the prodigal son, Lk 15:11–32) from his own special tradition to illustrate Jesus’ particular concern for the lost and God’s love for the repentant sinner.3
Mirielle Mason comments that in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us two beautiful examples of people looking for things that are valuable to them and showing how they rejoice upon the object’s return. He does this in an effort to show the Pharisees how valuable we are to Him.
This brings me great joy because it reassures me that no matter how far I may stray from God’s light, He is nothing but ecstatic when I come home - back to Him. Despite this knowledge, I often ask myself if I am a “good enough” Catholic and role model in my faith. After all, I’m just me, right? A sinner. But in these moments, I remind myself that Jesus sought out the sinners and ate with them. He went into the populations where He knew work needed to be done, and brought them home.4
Don Schwager quotes “Joy over the fallen sinner restored in God's image,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"This second parable compares what was lost to a drachma (Luke 15:8-9). It is as one out of ten, a perfect number and of a sum complete in the accounting. The number ten also is perfect, being the close of the series from the unit upwards. This parable clearly shows that we are in the royal likeness and image, even that of God over all. I suppose the drachma is the denarius on which is stamped the royal likeness. We, who had fallen and had been lost, have been found by Christ and transformed by holiness and righteousness into his image... A search was made for that which had fallen, so the woman lighted a lamp... By the light, what was lost is saved, and there is joy for the powers above. They rejoice even in one sinner that repents, as he who knows all things has taught us. They keep a festival over one who is saved, united with the divine purpose, and never cease to praise the Savior's gentleness. What great joy must fill them when all beneath heaven is saved and Christ calls them by faith to acknowledge the truth? They put off the pollution of sin and freed their necks from the bonds of death. They have escaped from the blame of their wandering and fall! We gain all these things in Christ."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 106)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 15:1-10 asks who are the “tax collectors and sinners” of our time? Many of them are the people who don’t quite fit into standard categories of who is “religious.” They may be the folks we tend to ignore or the ones still searching for the Lord. Will they be drawn to us as they were to Jesus? This is something worth reflecting on.
Jesus is our example here. People are hungry to be in relationships with those who are truly interested in them. They want to be loved and accepted. Through our speech and actions, we can draw people to us by honoring their inherent worth and dignity and treating them with respect. That doesn’t mean that we have to water down our own faith in order to connect with them. Nor do we need to turn a blind eye to some of their choices. But we should always start with love, just as Jesus did.6
Friar Jude Winkler comments that on our journey we are called to serve and show the mercy that God has shown us. Pharisees saw sinners as contagious and Jesus saw their needs. Friar Jude reminds us that the attitude of parents to a child in need is a reflection of the attitude of God to us.
The Franciscan Media post on Saint Charles Borromeo comments that his name is associated with reform. He lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation, and had a hand in the reform of the whole Church during the final years of the Council of Trent. During the plague and famine of 1576, Borromeo tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily. To do this he borrowed large sums of money that required years to repay. Whereas the civil authorities fled at the height of the plague, he stayed in the city, where he ministered to the sick and the dying, helping those in need. Work and the heavy burdens of his high office began to affect Archbishop Borromeo’s health, leading to his death at the age of 46.
Saint Charles Borromeo made his own the words of Christ: “…I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-36). Borromeo saw Christ in his neighbor, and knew that charity done for the least of his flock was charity done for Christ.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that few Christians in the twentieth century lived their lives as devoted to the common good as Dorothy Day. She served the poor, homeless, and hungry in New York City for decades. Her steadfast belief in the dignity of the poor as bearing the presence of Christ inspired her persistent action, manifest as both charity and justice. In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis emphasized solidarity with the poor and marginalized as part of our faith vocation to pursue the common good.
In the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, the principle of the common good immediately becomes, logically and inevitably, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters. This option entails recognizing the implications of the universal destination of the world’s goods but . . . it demands before all else an appreciation of the immense dignity of the poor in the light of our deepest convictions as believers. [2]8
We belong to Christ and to the service of those in need.
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