First Reading: Joshua 5:9A, 10-12

Reflection:

During Lent we have been hearing in the first readings about the story of the Israelites. God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. But it took many centuries for that to come to fruition. A few generations later, during the time of Joseph, the descendants of Abraham relocated to Egypt. Not long after the successes of Joseph in Egypt, a new Pharaoh came along and enslaved the Israelites in Egypt for about 400 years. Then, God called Moses to lead the Israelites to freedom from the Egyptians and on a journey to the Promised Land, but they ended up spending 40 years wandering in the wilderness due to disobeying God. After Moses died (before entering the Promised Land), Joshua became the leader of the Israelites. In this Sunday’s first reading, the Israelites were on the cusp of conquering the land of Canaan (i.e. the Promised Land) under Joshua’s leadership. Along the way to this climatic point in their history, the Israelites had often disobeyed God. Here we see God’s mercy in action. He “removed the reproach of Egypt” from them, meaning He cleansed them of their sins so that they could worship Him in the Passover with clean hearts. They had relied on the manna in the wilderness for years and now they were beginning to reap the fruits of the land of Canaan and no longer needed the sustenance of the manna. But they would learn, often the hard way, that they still needed to rely on and trust in God to provide for their needs and sustain them. They still needed to remember, especially through the annual celebration of the Passover, how God had provided for them and saved them in the past, recognizing that God was still present to them and willing to save them over and over again.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Reflection:

Ever since humanity fell into sin when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, God has been in the business of reconciliation. Sin separates us from God. Reconciliation is the process of restoring that broken relationship. God became man in Jesus Christ in order to reconcile humanity to Himself. Jesus took on our sins, died on the cross, and rose from the dead in order to set us free from sin. Just like God “removed the reproach” from the Israelites in the first reading, so God removes our sin from us through Christ and, therefore, makes us “a new creation.” At baptism, we are washed clean from all sin. Our identity is changed from a slave to sin into a child of God. The broken relationship with God which we inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, is restored. But we also need to be reconciled with God after baptism because we continue to fall into sin and harm or even break our relationship with God by disobeying Him. This is why the Church has been entrusted with “the ministry of reconciliation.” In fact, we could say that “the ministry of reconciliation” summarizes the entire mission of the Church, for the Church exists in order to bring Christ’s love and mercy to the world so that sinners can become saints. Thus, when we sin, let us heed the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to “be reconciled to God.” This primarily takes place through the sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Pope Francis encourages us, “Don’t be afraid to go to the sacrament of confession, where you will meet Jesus who forgives you.” God wants to restore your relationship with Him there.

Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Reflection:

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is likely familiar to us all. But it is more than just a nice story. It is, in fact, the story of our lives. It is the story of how God reconciles us to Himself. Through baptism, we become children of God and heirs to His kingdom. But when we gravely sin, we turn our backs on our own Father, wishing He were dead and squandering His wealth. Often we walk away from God to do what we want to do, thinking it will satisfy us. But we are always left empty-handed, like the Prodigal Son. Sometimes our sins lead us to rock-bottom when we become so desperate for help that we’ll do anything (illustrated by the son’s willingness to “tend the swine,” which were abominable to Jews because they were un-kosher). But hopefully, like the Prodigal Son, we will come to our senses in those moments and realize what we are missing out on in our Father’s house. God offers us life and life to the full. We have everything we ever would need when we remain close to Him. And just like the Prodigal Son, even when we’ve strayed very far and spiritually traveled to “a distant country,” God will always welcome us back with arms outstretched when we return to Him. God is in the business of reconciliation. There is no sin too big for Him to forgive and wash clean. And when sinners turn to God in repentance, He offers them unending mercy and restores them to the family. Every time you come back to God from being a prodigal, you can know that there is a party going on in heaven to celebrate, because God rejoices in the reconciliation of every person. So, what are you waiting for? If you’ve been running from God, turn back to Him. If you’ve been seeking out your own gain rather than staying close to your heavenly Father, it’s not too late to experience reconciliation and God’s loving embrace when he welcomes you home.

Application:

  • Think about a time in the past when you hurt or broke your relationship with God and then turned back to God in repentance. How did you feel?
  • Do you believe God will forgive you, no matter what you’ve done? What sins do you need to confess to Him? Is there anything holding you back from repenting of those sins and asking for God’s forgiveness? He is waiting for you to come back to Him and will welcome you with open arms. Take the opportunity to return to your Father, God, especially through visiting the Sacrament of Reconciliation.