Download September 11 2016 24th Sunda

Contributed by Father Frank Reitzel, C.R.
Father Frank was ordained in June of 1949. His Resurrectionist ministries have included teaching
at St. Jerome’s High School in Kitchener, Scollard Hall, North Bay, Resurrection College,
Kitchener, St. Mary’s College in Kentucky and University of Calgary. Father Frank also
participated in Teaching and Pastoral Work at University of Calgary and the University of
Western, Ontario. After serving as pastor at St. Francis Parish in Kitchener and St. Patrick’s Parish
in Bermuda, Father Frank retired to Resurrection Manor in Waterloo in 2001. He continues to do
ministry when he receives requests from parishes.
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
September 11, 2016
GATHERING TIME (10-15 minutes)
Introduction to the Word:
You will recognize today’s Gospel story as “The Story of the Prodigal Son.” I am sure you have
heard it many times. In spite of Fr. Henri Nouwen’s fine rendition of it [The Return of the Prodigal
Son, published in 1992], we are inclined to see it as so much “old hat”.
So let’s try this instead. When I was a youngster back in the 1930’s, a father had returned
from his autumn hunting trip and was unloading his car. One of Jackie’s school mates was there.
Father pulled out his shot gun, checked it; then handed it to Bobby with the instructions “Put this
in the back porch.” About four minutes later there was the distinctive loud “bang” of a shot gun
and Jackie, who was feeding his dog, lay dead with half his head blown off.
On Monday morning at school Sister Benedict told us that Jackie had died over the
weekend. We went into shock. Dying was for old people not kids. There must be a mistake.
I want to draw attention to the father of Jackie. He never recovered from the horror of what
he had caused; the death of his own son. His grief was beyond consolation. Tears caused deep
crevices down his cheeks. He himself died two years later.
Now think of the Prodigal Father of the wasteful son. A father [shepherd] who foolishly
leaves 99 good sheep to go and find “the lost sheep”. And on and on it goes. The story that Jesus
told was really about “The Father”, His Father, His lavish, prodigal Father in Heaven, Our Father.
And only in the light of that FACT does the event of the elder son make any sense. It’s the story of
a Father. The story of the prodigal son makes no human sense. When conventional wisdom (the
so-called wisdom of the day) is matched up with God’s wisdom, it appears to make little sense.
Even though Luke’s parable of the prodigal son is an acknowledged literary and scriptural
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masterpiece, and represents the very heart of the gospel, in the opinion of Father Nouwen its
radical message is most often missed or simply rejected out-of-hand
So we have quite a challenge today: will our prayerful reflection and dialogue generate a
new insight and clarity? It can be an opportunity for personal transformation—an occasion to put
on “the mind and heart" of Jesus?
Warm-up Activity (about 8-10 minutes):
Your group members are invited to reflect back on your adolescent years, then comment on what you
remember, using one or more of the following questions as a story-starter:
1. Did you ever consider running away from home? What happened?
2. Who was the “obedient” type in your family? Who the “wild” one? And which were you?
3. What was the worst trouble you ever got into? What did you learn from it?
The Table of the Word
An Invitation
God’s wisdom is so foreign to conventional wisdom. We are not accustomed to rejoicing in things
that are small, hidden, and scarcely noticed. We are more disposed to hear bad news than good.
Our TV news and world reports are consistently focused on what is wrong with the world, more so
than on what is right. In our daily conversations, we tend to talk about our problems and our pains,
our setbacks and our disappointments, our depression and our anguish. We seem prone to live with
sadness and as a result have lost our eyes and ears to see the joy and hear the gladness that
surrounds us—that belongs to God.
God rejoices, says Henri Nouwen, not because the problems of the world are solved; not because
all human pain has come to an end; not because the churches are filled with dutiful and disciplined
worshippers. God rejoices, ultimately, every time anyone of us recognizes that my one act of
forgiveness “… is enough to bring God rushing from his throne to welcome me home” (ibid.).
Leader:
Let us now prepare to celebrate the presence and compassion of Jesus before we listen to His
Word.
Lord Jesus, you always welcome home the lost and the wayward, Lord have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you always celebrate our “return,”
Christ have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are always with us, bringing joy to our world,
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray (together):
O God of compassion,
What do you look like?
How shall we know you?
A shepherd who goes searching for his lost sheep.
A woman who sweeps the whole house to find a single coin.
A mistreated father who never gives up hope for a child who hurt him deeply by running away
and another son who stayed home and became surly.
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But in sending Jesus you have come searching for us. May we never forget how much we are
loved. May we never refuse to love others as you have loved us. This is what we pray for,
through Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever. Amen.
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SCRIPTURE REFLECTION TIME (45 minutes)
(As Christians we believe that the WORD of God we hear proclaimed each Sunday is an empowering Word, and that
God is present in the Word proclaimed. This is the Word that God wants us to hear today. The dynamic of the Small
Christian Community, namely, reflecting on our life-story within the context of this Word, and sharing the insights of
these reflections, is such that God’s Spirit becomes present, and the gifts of the Spirit are experienced as empowering
and life-giving. due reverence, to be attentive to this proclamation, and respectful of the communal interaction.
FIRST READING (Exodus 32:7–11, 13–14)
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt,
have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have
cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are
your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”
The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my
wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your
people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Remember
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will
multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your
descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING (1 Timothy 1:12–17)
Beloved: I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful
and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of
violence.
But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for
me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of
whom I am the foremost.
But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the
utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the
King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Note: There are two versions of today’s Gospel – a shorter one (that ends after the second parable of the
lost coin) and a longer version (which is the version used here).
GOSPEL (Luke 15:1–32)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke. Glory to you, Lord.
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes
were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
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So Jesus told them a parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not
leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found
it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and
neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you,
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who
need no repentance.
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house,
and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors,
saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give
me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So the father divided his property between them.
“A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he
squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place
throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens
of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. The young man would gladly have filled
himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to
spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I
have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one
of your hired hands.”’
“So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe – the best one – and put it on him; put a ring
on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this
son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and
dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. The slave replied, ‘Your brother has
come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’
“Then the elder son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.
But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have
never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate
with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes;
you killed the fatted calf for him!’ “Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that
is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come
to life; he was lost and has been found.’”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
(Allow 5-10 minutes for quiet and for a brief reflection on a meaningful word or thought.)
COMMENTARY:
The image that Luke is trying to evoke in today’s masterpiece of a story is to help the reader appreciate
how conventional wisdom differs from, and will even block out alternative wisdom – how the popular
wisdom and cultural values of the day tend to cloud and obscure God’s wisdom and God’s ways.
Our approach to this story is helped if we see it as having one common story plot which is presented in
three distinct “acts”. In Act One the youngest son’s life is described in detail. It is an account of a searching
teenager leaving home, going into exile and becoming an outcast. We follow his journey to a far-off land
(a Gentile country – an impure land). After squandering everything he owned, he is compelled to take the
only job available – a pig-farmer’s hired hand – the ultimate disgrace for a Jew. Act One ends with this
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shamed but resourceful lad plotting a scheme to return home. In his heart he KNEW instinctively who and
what kind of person his father was.
In Act Two the focus is on the father. Seeing his son approaching from a great distance, he is ecstatic.
Dropping everything, he rushes out to meet him. Before the lad can open his mouth to request his father’s
forgiveness, the father embraces him and kisses him. Ignoring the son’s rehearsed confession, the father
joyfully clothes him with his finest robe, then puts a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet – symbols of
acceptance and restoration. Then he orders a banquet and celebration.
The parable could have stopped here and still have been a powerful statement about the mercy and
compassion of God. But it doesn’t. In Act Three the story’s focus shifts to a third character, the elder son.
He cannot believe what is happening right before his eyes: there is music and dancing and much
celebration everywhere. Realizing the reason for the celebration, he steadfastly refuses to join in. Instead
he complains to his father: “All these years I have been a dutiful and obedient son and you have never ever
given me any such celebration.” The story ends with the reader never knowing for sure if the elder son
really understood his father’s behaviour. Will the elder son ever come to appreciate the genuine
compassion and graciousness of his father towards his brother? This is the “key question”. Will you and I
ever come to appreciate our God as a God of personal compassion and love, always reaching out with a
welcoming hand and a forgiving heart; always prepared to celebrate our “coming home”; or, better, our
“welcoming home of a lost or destitute brother or sister, son or daughter, friend or neighbour”?
The bottom line of this powerful parable is this: God rejoices when one repentant sinner returns.
Statistically, that is not very interesting, we must admit. But for God, numbers do not seem to matter. Who
knows whether the world is kept from destruction because of one, two, or three people who continued to
pray when the rest of humanity had given up? From God’s perspective, one hidden act of repentance, one
little gesture of selfless love, one moment of true forgiveness “…is all that is needed to bring God running
from his throne to the returning son or daughter to fill the heavens with sounds of divine joy.” (Nouwen,
The Return of the Prodigal Son)
(Allow about 5 – 10 minutes for discussion on the Commentary.)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
1. (Luke) “This brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”
a) As you reflect on your own life story within the context of the characters of today’s Gospel
parable, make a personal connection with each of them. With which of these three personalities
can you most easily identify? Can you relate any of your personal life experiences to this story and
parable? As you reflect on the “message” intended by the author of this story, and then reflect back
on your life experience, is there anything you might now do differently?
b) Nouwen observes that there is so much rejection, pain, and hurt among us that we act as though
there is no place for anything else in our lives. But once we can claim the joy in the midst of the
pain, then we are better able to celebrate in the manner of the father in the Gospel parable. Share
briefly a memory of a person who has helped you appreciate these views and experiences.
2. (Exodus) “…Your people have acted perversely…they have cast for themselves an image of a calf.”
The people of Moses’ time probably did not intend their golden calf to be an idol that would replace their
God. More probably it was meant to be a tangible image to help people relate more personally with their
God (Sister Diane Bergant).
The image of a calf was a common image of the divine in the ancient Middle East, as far back to Neolithic
times (8000-4500 B.C.) because it was such an important part of life-giving.
a) What do you consider to be some of the visible and tangible images that people in our time
appear to worship, in the manner of the ancient Israelites, i.e., false gods that consume our
time and attention?
b) Do you personally find any of these alluring and dangerous? Share your thoughts.
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c) What images of God are there that, even though they surround us, we fail to show respect for
what they are? Share your observations.
3. (1 Timothy) “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost.”
a) When have you discovered that someone on the "other side" is just like you?
b) Name some folks who have invested in you. What did they get for what they gave?
c) How do you feel when someone in whom you invested a lot has really disappointed you?
d) Here is a tough but good challenge: share in you small group what you think God has invested in
you? What have you invested in God? Share your thoughts.
CARING-PRAYING TIME: (15-20 minutes)
1. Word for the Week:
“Let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead
and is alive again, was lost and is found” (Gospel).
Intercessions: (Response: Lord, hear our prayer)
Leader: To our lavish and prodigal Father, the only God and the loving source of mercy, let us pray as
repentant sons and daughters, sure of God’s steadfast love for us.
That the Church may become more clearly the Father’s house, where sinners can be sure of a
joyful welcome home, we pray…
That those who have done violence to others may receive mercy from God and be converted to
ways of peace, we pray…
That God’s protecting hand may defend from harm missing children, runaways, and young
people from indigenous families, we pray…
That reconciliation and forgiveness may bind together parents and children now separated by
disagreement and misunderstanding, we pray…
That through the sacrament of Reconciliation [Confession] we may experience God’s tender
love and find a renewal of our bond of love with each other, we pray…
That in this community all may know that the Lord still welcomes sinners and eats with
them, we pray…
That Christ may acknowledge our dear departed brothers and sisters as sheep of his own
flock and carry each of them gently home with Him , we pray…
And how can we help you in prayer this week?
Let us pray
What do you look like, O God of compassion?
A shepherd who carries the lost sheep home; a woman who sweeps the whole house
to find a single coin; a father mistreated who never gives up hope that the child who hurt him will
come home to be loved. So in Jesus you have come searching for us. May we never
forget how much we are loved. May we never refuse to love others as much.
We ask this through Jesus , your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever. Amen
Moved to be open to your Word and your Spirit, we pray, OUR FATHER...
Celebrating the Word, Resurrection Ministries of the Congregation of the Resurrection Ontario-Kentucky Province
(including the former Resurrection Centre), 265 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G7.
(Celebrating the Word was founded by Father Frank Ruetz, C.R. deceased 2012). For information: Toll Free: 1-877242-7935. website: www.resurrectionists.ca. Email: [email protected]
The Scripture version used in this commentary is the New Revised Standard Version (copyrighted by the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA).
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