YOU CAN ALWAYS BE FOUND

 

Homily for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Scriptural Texts: Exodus 32:7-11.13-14, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-32

The three parables that Jesus tells in the gospel reading of this twenty-fourth Sunday have the experience of loss as their underlying point. In the parables, a shepherd loses one of his sheep; a woman loses one of her coins; and a father loses one of his sons. Their experiences of loss generated great energy in each of them to the extent that they became earnest searchers. The shepherd searches the whole wilderness for his lost sheep, the woman sweeps the house diligently for her lost coin, and the forgiving father watches for his son’s return, ever ready with an embrace and a warm welcome home. The searchers all put everything else aside for these important tasks, and they never rested until the lost things and persons were found and returned to where they rightfully belong.

Jesus tells these parables to show the arrogant and grumbling Scribes and Pharisees (Luke 15:1-3), the depth of God’s mercy and how God relates with sinners; those who deviate from the path of virtue. In the stories, the shepherd that lost his sheep, the woman that lost her coin, and the father whose son strayed are all representatives of the image of God. The lost sheep, coin and son represent all sinners. The attitude of the shepherd, the woman and the father is the same as the attitude of God towards sinners. God is ready to put every other thing aside and to go the whole length in search of those who stray from His path.

The fact that the shepherd left the ninety-nine other sheep in the wilderness to go after the only one that got lost may sound unreasonable, but this is to show us the risks that God takes in searching and finding us. One silver coin is equivalent to a denarius. The fact that the woman spent the whole night sweeping the whole house in search of just one coin tells us that every soul is precious to God and when we get lost, God invests His whole time and energy in search of us. No one is insignificant to God. The fact that the father of the lost son was scanning the whole horizon daily for his lost son despite the fact that the son chose to leave is a sign that God is not at rest when we wander from Him as a result of our sins.

When the shepherd found the lost sheep, he did not drag it, push it, or even lead it. He carried it tenderly on his shoulders, not to the field but to his home (Luke 15:5). In the same way, when the lost son returned home shameful and dejected, his father did not scold or embarrass him even more. He received him like a prince; he put the finest robe on him, a ring in his finger and sandals on his feet and killed the fattened calf to celebrate his return (Luke 15:22-23). In the same way, there is a great joy in heaven when we are reunited with God.

Dear friend, these parables invite us to return to God our Father because like the sheep, the coin and the son, we too have wandered from God and allowed ourselves to be lost in many ways. The good news is that no matter how far we have wandered from God, the searching mercy of God is able to find us. The only thing that God asks of us is our readiness to repent. In other words, we should make ourselves discoverable to the finder. Sadly, very many of us never come to the realization that we are lost. We revel in our sins and see no need of repentance. Today, Jesus, our finder is searching for us, the lost. Let us arise and go back to the Father. He is always ready to receive us.