2nd SATURDAY OF LENT - Gospel (Luke 15:1-3. 11-32) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Mar 10
- 7 min read
FIRST READING - Mic 7:14-15, 18-20
A reading from the Book of Micah
14 [a]Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your heritage,
That lives apart in a woodland,
in the midst of an orchard.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
15 As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.18 [a]Who is a God like you, who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but instead delights in mercy,
19 And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our iniquities?
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and loyalty to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our ancestors
from days of old.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son."
✠From the Gospel according to Luke
1 [a]The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, 2 but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So to them he addressed this parable. 11 Then he said, “A man had two sons, 12 and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. 13 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. 14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. 16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 17 Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ 20 So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. 25 Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. 27 The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. 30 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ 31 He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. 32 But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
2nd SATURDAY OF LENT - Gospel (Luke 15:1-3. 11-32)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
In today's Word of God, God the Father calls upon all humanity in this world to unite, love, revere, obey, and have mercy on our fellow human beings as God the Father loves us.
God the Father loves humanity, does not abandon us, does not exclude us, does not condemn us, does not blame us, does not get angry with us.
When humanity turns our back on God, but instead, He is benevolent, patient, compassionate, waiting, creating opportunities and time for His children to return, to recognize our sins and repent, to apologize to Him, and to be reconciled with Him.
Let us look back in history from the time of Creation up to the present, and ask, “how many times has humanity rebelled against God?”
But He still creates opportunities for humanity to live, to exist, to have time to be reconciled with Him and our brothers and sisters, and to repent of our sins.
Let us follow the example of Jesus Christ; He taught and set an example for humanity: He is benevolent, He loves, He forgives!
Therefore, He used a typical example story between the two sons and a father.
The elder brother and the younger brother struggle and compete with one another to seize for themselves everything that belongs to the father in order to possess it, to indulge in pleasures, and enjoyment.
The older brother accumulates wealth for himself, so that everything will belong to him; that is selfishness, greed, stubbornness, a desire for power right here on earth.
Those things, those riches, those material possessions, those attitudes, that selfishness, those sins will lead this older brother to death, not to eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
As for the younger brother, he indulges in wasteful pleasures, passionately enjoys himself, pursues the freedom of the world, the materialism that the world invites him to follow, which also does not bring eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through these two types of human images, God the Father also warns every person in today's world not to follow any sin, pleasure, indulgence, or temptation brought by Satan.
Whatever belongs to the world should be returned to the world; do not store them up, do not gather them into yourselves anymore, for those things will bring eternal death to yourself.
Like the images of the younger brother and the elder brother, before the justice and righteousness of God the Father, ultimately no one would enter the Kingdom of Heaven if judged by the sins of those two individuals.
But God's benevolence and mercy are shown through the father, who still gently, compassionately, benevolently, and mercifully opens a way for these two children to realize their human weaknesses and sins by speaking gently to his two sons, the elder brother and the younger brother.
When the younger brother, who went far away, repented, realized his sin, acknowledge his weakness before God the Father through the father, the father showed mercy, forgiveness, love, and opened his heart to welcome this repentant son back home.
That is the boundless mercy and benevolence with which God the Father calls upon everyone in this world to follow the example of the father, that is, forgive, love, be patient, sacrifice, be benevolent, be compassionate, have mercy, overlook the faults, weaknesses, and sins of our children, and of those around us when they sincerely repent, convert, abandon sin, and return to God the Father.
Furthermore, God the Father also reveals to humanity the image of God the Father through the father's relationship with his eldest son: benevolent, compassionate, patient, persistent, enduring, accepting all insults, condemnations, and reproaches from the eldest son towards the father.
This father still humbly listens to the eldest son speak these and other words that offend the father, yet the father utters no word of complaint or blame, but gently, humbly, kindly, benevolently, and meekly says to his eldest son: “all that is mine is yours” in a gentle, caring, admonishing, and teaching manner.
The father also knows one thing that the eldest son is merely greedy for possessions, but this will bring no benefit to the son.
The father will be ready to give all possessions and inheritance if the son asks, but here the father wants to emphasize to the eldest son the importance of mercy, benevolence, forgiveness, compassion, and opening his heart to welcome his brother who has repented of his sins and returned home.
In today's Word of God, God the Father calls upon us, saying that all humanity are brothers and sisters to one another, so do not contend, do not envy, do not strive for superiority, do not dispute over possessions, land, material things, or money belonging to this world any longer, but live with a benevolent, loving heart, full of mercy, like the father towards his two sons: the elder and the younger one.
Today's Word of God instructs and calls upon humanity to pray and offer to God the Father with fervent supplication, asking God the Father to have mercy on all humanity, who are my brothers and sisters, currently on a path of conflict, killing, hatred, war, and mutual exclusion to cast God aside; May humanity be vigilant, pray, love, and forgive, and be benevolent, compassionate, and merciful, and not condemn, not judge, not exclude, not envy, not hate, nor strive for superiority with one another any longer.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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