Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR C TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR Ex 32,7-11.13-14; 1 Tim 1,12-17; Lk 15,1-32 Compassionate as God is? Cultural
expectations.
In the 3 stories, we usually see that God is one who searches, as does a
shepherd, a woman & a father; while sinners are: lost sheep, lost coin, lost
son. But there is a great deal more in our 3 parables. These are not exaggerated
stories with a hidden lesson; they mean to confront our lack of integrity, break
open our hypocritical attitudes & face the contradictions of our life. They
challenge us to live in contrast with cultural expectations in our Church,
society & family. Let’s consider each story, against the cultural
expectation of any time: a shepherd
(who owns sheep or is a hired-hand), is irresponsible if he exposes the whole
flock to predators, and risks losing the whole of it, for the sake of one stray
sheep. If you lose one, count your loss, but never lose the lot. And if by chance you manage to bring back the stray without loosing the
whole flock, the worst possible thing to do would be to tell everybody from the
housetops that you had exposed to such an irresponsible danger the whole flock:
they would find out how dumb you are, & condemn & report you. So, we
ask: can God be that sort of loser? & can Jesus be so out of bounce? &
Jesus says: Yes, God is a fool to track you down just as you are, & risking
all. But you, are you shepherd-like, do you risk all, to seek one lost sheep?
And as for the ‘lost coin’
story, our cultural expectations say: who would be so stupid and go through
such trouble, if he lost one insignificant penny? And worse still, if you dared
to tell everybody in the suburb that you wasted all that precious time, in
search of a stupid penny, who would not say that you need psychological help?
Yet Jesus says: God is ridiculous to this excess. To him we are much less that a
penny, yet we are worth his time and effort to find us, we are valuable to him..
Are we worth this much to each other? Saving
face in cultural shame. The ‘lost son’ story is
about two sons but the punch line stays with the elder son who shouts his anger
out of the cultural expectations. He pleads: ‘Father, not to divide the
property. This will bring dishonour
to the family & disgrace to younger son: and it did! The father acts
irresponsibly and does not listen. The brother gets his share & goes to
squander it among infidels, in dissolute living (elder brother adds: with
prostitutes!). Then comes the degradation: he lost everything, even that small,
sacred bit which you must keep to support and bury your aging parents; for this
he lost every respect & human dignity. Then a famine came & he reached
rock bottom: he worked for an infidel to look after unclean pigs; he was
starving & would eat pigs’ food, but he never got any. At last he came to
his senses. Mind you, he never repented he just got a brilliant insight. ‘I am
going to die soon, if I don’t do something about’ -he said. So he devised a
plan: ‘I’ll go home & say: I have wronged God & you, treat me as a
slave, & let me work & eat’. Lesson:
Our cultural laws state that he who brings shame and dishonour must be punished.
But God is not about shame & punishment: He (father in the story) loves you
as you are, no matter what you do or say. He keeps on acting as a broken,
love-sick father. By our standards, his dignity should fill him with rage &
revenge, he should not be running towards the kid, and if he did, it would be to
wring his neck for bringing shame on himself & God...
Instead, he is full of compassion, he puts his arms around him &
kisses him. The son is flabbergasted; he tries to say his bit, but he gets cut
off, and given sandals to indicate
he is a free person, and a luxurious robe fit for a king. And the fatted calf is
killed and the banquet starts. But you, how do you deal
with your lost brother? ______________________________________ |
