Message from Fr. Joel

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 12, 2010

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. — Psalm 51:12

Dear Friends,

Well, it’s back to work for us as we finish the celebration of the Labor Day Holiday. What is the personal inner work you still have to do? We all have “inner” work to do, a spiritual “shadow boxing” with the self, boxing with our shadows, the stuff in us we find unacceptable and try to suppress.

Wow! That’s what we see happening in the gospel today and what we are challenged to do in all the other readings, to rely on and trust God’s actual mercy and understanding for us. St Paul confesses, as a humble sinner himself, what he says is completely trustworthy: “Christ Jesus come into the world to save sinners.”

And so that is the attitude we have to begin today’s liturgy with, the Penitent’s Prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.” That simple confession and act of humility is the starting point for all spiritual growth and “inner work”.

That’s what we see in the gospel today, “Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus...” I have an image of them, like me, leaning in and hanging on every word that Jesus is saying, something they really wanted and needed to hear, something they really liked that gave them hope and encouragement in the light of that hope.

We aren’t given what he actually told them, but surely the good news that God doesn’t wait to start loving us until we change, but that God, who is love and can only be love, loves us so we can change. That would be consistent with the Good News of the whole gospel.

We are given what Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes who complained and said, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He launches into parables about God’s pro-active initiative towards sinners, of the man with a hundred sheep who leaves the 99 to go out and look for the one lost sheep, and the woman who has ten coins and loses one and cleans the whole house looking for it, who both rejoice when what was lost had been found.

Jesus says: “In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” That is why we must begin our liturgy today with the sinners prayer! So that rejoicing can be our own! Those are the words they were hanging onto, which set them free from guilt and shame, that gave them hope and encourage-ment, and a way to grow and change.

Let us listen as they did to every word that comes from the mouth of Jesus...

In Christ’s love,
Fr. Joel

Sunday’s Readings
First Reading — Because Moses interceded, the LORD relented and did not punish the people (Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14).
Psalm — I will rise and go to my father (Psalm 51).
Second Reading — Paul expresses his gratitude for being appointed to the ministry (1 Timothy 1:12-17).
Gospel — There is great rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents (Luke 15:1-32 [1-10]).

Readings for the Week
Mon: 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33; Lk 7:1-10
Tues: Nm 21:4b-9; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17
Wed: 1 Cor 12:31 — 13:13; Jn 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35
Thurs: 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 7:36-50
Fri: 1 Cor 15:12-20; Lk 8:1-3
Sat: 1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49; Lk 8:4-15
Sun: Am 8:4-7; Ps 113; 1 Tm 2:1-8; Lk 16:1-13 [10-13]

Click here to find the daily readings on the USCCB website