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WORD FOR MISSION Every week CIAM offers
to lay, religious people and priests an itinerary of reflections on the
Sunday Liturgy in a missionary prespective. These are elements for a
missionary meditation, individual or in community, on the Word of God ,
which constantly and surprisingly continues to enlighten, strengthen
and sustain the missionary journey of the Church, for the life of the
World
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The feast has just begun - come one, come all!
IV Sunday
of Lent Joshua 5:9a.10-12 Psalm 33 2Corinthians 5:17-21 Luke 15:1-3;11-32
Reflections “The feast in the Father's house has just begun... come, everybody!” It is the invitation of Jesus himself in the Gospel, to illustrate the limitless love of God, Father and Mother, in the most wonderful of parables, known as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son”. It is only a partial title, because it brings in the elder son only at the end, in a negative role that deserves to be criticised. Indeed, it could be called the “Parable of the Prodigal Father”, whose love is at the centre of the whole story. Luke's Gospel is known as that of the Meekness of Christ, the Gospel of Mercy. Chapter 15, which contains three Parables, is the Gospel within the Gospel, the Good News par excellence.
It is enough to highlight just one or two points from this parable, as it is well known and commented on. The Gospel text chosen for today includes the first verses of Chapter 15 of Luke's Gospel, so that we are given the context of the parable, with Jesus who welcomes tax-collectors and sinners and eats with them; and those at whom it is pointed also appear: the Pharisees and Scribes who complain (vv.1-3). The same people appear at the end, in the person of the elder brother.
We should take note of the five verbs which describe the outpouring of the love of the father at his son's return: he saw him (far off); he was moved with pity; he ran to the boy; he clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly (v.20). There follow the commands of the father to denote the complete rehabilitation of the son who is found again: the best robe (a sign of his dignity in the family!), the ring on his finger (authority, power), sandals on his feet (the mark of a free man). And then the celebration for everyone. It is the feast that pushes the elder brother over the edge as he comes home from the fields. His father goes out to try to make him understand why there is such joy: it was necessary to rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life, was lost and is found.
The two brothers are present in each one of us: both of them have something to be reproached, so both need conversion. For Jesus, the target, the ideal to which we must turn (conversion!) is the merciful Father: He welcomes all without making exceptions, pardons everyone freely, wants all to live in his house. Henri J.M. Nouwen has written a marvellous book of meditations on The Return of the Prodigal Son, with Rembrandt's famous painting as the starting point. One reflection is amazing: I am destined to take the place of my Father and offer to others the same compassion that he offered me. “The return to the Father is, in the end, a challenge to become the Father”.
Jesus did not bring his parable to a conclusion; He left it open. It is not certain that the elder son actually went in to the feast; we do not know whether the younger son was rid of his silly behaviour for good. But we do know that in that house there is room for all, and there are still places to be filled! One thing is certain: nobody, son or servant, can have the slightest doubt as to the father's love! And everyone now realises that in his house he wants to have sons, not servants; people who share in his loving purpose, and not just in things to be done. It is only by living in the Father's house that we can find life and happiness; because He wants only our good. Our purpose must be fulfilled, and he teaches us where and how to find it. We are not creators or architects of our own destiny, as Pope Benedict XVI told us clearly at the beginning of Lent. (*)
A new way of living is inaugurated in the house of that good Father: as sons, and no longer as slaves. A similar experience to that of the People of Israel (1st. Reading) who, after 40 years in the desert, after the crossing of the Jordan, was about to take possession of fertile soil, the promised land. Every good experience is to be shared with others (2nd Reading). The one who has experienced the merciful goodness of God and has begun to live a new relationship with Him as a child and a friend (v.17) feels the need to involve others in the same experience of life and reconciliation. This is what constitutes Mission! Frequently, however, the work of the missionary is not recognised as a service, offered freely; so it remains exposed to risks and misunderstandings, according to the place or the circumstances. Every year a certain number of missionaries fall victim to violence. There were 24 in 2006, a rather low number compared to the average of recent years, which is well over 30. A recent initiative deserves support: to remember them all in an annual Day of Prayer and Fasting for Missionary Martyrs, on 24th March
The Pope's Words
(*) “What does ‘to be converted’ actually mean? It means seeking God, moving with God, docilely following the teachings of his Son, Jesus Christ; to be converted is not a work for self-fulfilment because the human being is not the architect of his own eternal destiny. We did not make ourselves. Therefore, self-fulfilment is a contradiction and is also too little for us. We have a loftier destination. We might say that conversion consists precisely in not considering ourselves as our own ‘creators’ and thereby discovering the truth, for we are not the authors of ourselves. Conversion consists in freely and lovingly accepting to depend in all things on God, our true Creator, to depend on love. This is not dependence but freedom. To be converted thus means not pursuing one's own personal success -that is something ephemeral- but giving up all human security, treading in the Lord's footsteps with simplicity and trust”. Benedict XVI General Audience at the beginning of Lent: Ash Wednesday, 22.02.07
In the footsteps of Missionaries - 18/3: St. Cyril (+386), Bishop of Jerusalem and famous for his catecheses; he had a lot of persecution from the Arians. - 19/3: St. Joseph, the “just man” (Mt 1,19), husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus. He is Patron of the Universal Church. - 20/3: Bl. Francis Palau y Quer (1811.1872), a Spanish priest from Catalonia, member of the Discalced Carmelites; he suffered frequent persecution, but fearlessly preached missions to the people and was also a founder. - 21/3: (Spring starts in the Northern Hemisphere): International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. - 22/3: World Water Day, instituted by UNO in 1993 - 23/3: St. Turibio Alfonso of Mogrovejo (1538-1606). Born in Spain, he was still a layman when he was appointed Archbishop of Lima (Peru). He was a strenuous defender of the Indios. He is Patron of the Bishops of Latin America. - 24/3: Anniversary of the killing di Archbishop Oscar A. Romero (+1980), of San Salvador (El Salvador). – It is a Day of prayer and fasting in honour of martyred missionaries.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Compiled by Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci - former Director of CIAM, Rome Translated by Fr. J.M. Troy, mccj Website: www.ciam.org “The Word for Mission” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ |
