Lost but Found
When the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to hear him, the scribes and the Pharisees began to complain about Jesus, saying: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2) Jesus then began to teach them with 3 parables. All 3 parables speak of something or someone becoming lost but then was found. The lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son represent the sinner who had lost his way to God. However, there are certain differences. In the first 2 parables, both the shepherd and the woman actively sought out what was lost. In the same way, Jesus taught that God seeks out the sinners and brings them back. In the third parable, it was the prodigal son who realized his sin and repents. He returned to his father, who immediately took him back. Ultimately, in all 3 parables, there is great rejoicing after the lost had been found. For God, every soul is worth saving. In teaching these parables, Jesus brought out 2 dimensions of redemption: (1) That God seeks out the sinner, (2) God takes back the repentant sinner.
The parable of the prodigal son especially points to the mercy of God and God’s willingness to forgive sinners. Although we may not consider ourselves as big sinners, we still need God’s mercy and forgiveness. The beauty of this parable is that it teaches us that as long as we acknowledge our own sinfulness, return to God and ask for forgiveness, we will never be lost. On the other hand, as long as we think we do not need God’s mercy and forgiveness, we will remain lost.
We must not fall into the trap of thinking that we can earn God’s love. If we do, then we will end up like the older son, thinking that God owes us a reward which should be ours alone. The truth is that we too need God’s mercy; when we acknowledge that, we will realize that being envious of others is very much out of place. When we pray, we must not forget to ask God to give us the grace not to be envious of others for whatever reason, and to realize that we are also sinners in need of continual conversion.
This year, the Church celebrates Catechetical Sunday today, September 15, with the theme of “Stay with Us.” This year’s theme focuses on accompanying our children and their families in forming them in the faith. Catechetical Sunday is a great opportunity for the faith community to reflect on each baptized person’s role in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. If you feel that you have a calling to teach the faith to our children, please contact Fr. Bill.
Fr. Bill will be away from Sept. 16 to 20 as he joins 25 other parishioners in the Autumn Camp. There will be no Mass at noon during this week.
The Holy Name of Jesus Chinese Catholic Mission’s Fall Garage Sale is on Saturday, October 5! Please bring items for sale to the church on or before Sunday, September 29. Items must be in saleable and working condition. The best items for sale are clothing, accessories, kitchen and dining items, small kitchen appliances, small furniture, office items, home décor and similar items. Please do not bring old books and magazines, tapes and VCRs, old TVs, radios or electronics. Only new and modern electronic items are saleable.
If you have used ink cartridges, don’t throw them away! Please bring them to the church office. Any size ink cartridge is accepted.