- 1st Reading – Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
- 2nd Reading – 1 Timothy 1:12-17
- Gospel – Luke 15:1-32
9/11 Memorial
I’m just a little too young to remember, but my parents, or anyone from that generation, if you asked them, would be able to tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing the moment they heard about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. That was a tragic, defining moment for that generation that was seared into their memories and would never be forgotten.
For our generation it was the morning of 9/11/2001, exactly 21 years ago. Anyone here, who is old enough to remember, can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard of those tragic events. With the four-hour time difference between here and the east coast; for me and probably for many here, it was shortly after we first woke up in the morning and turned the television on to watch the morning news. It took a minute or two to start making sense of what I was seeing and for the gravity of what was happening to sink in, but now, all those images, and especially the images of the twin towers smoking and then collapsing, first one and then the other, will forever be imprinted in our memories.
So today, on this memorial of 9/11, let us pray for all those who died on that morning 21 years ago and those who died later from injuries & illness caused by those events. And let us pray also for those who were left without their spouse, or without their mother or father, son or daughter. And let’s also pray for all of our first responders and public safety men and women. And, yes, as God instructs us to love our enemy, we must also pray for the hijackers and those who were responsible.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but the focus of all three of today’s readings, and the responsorial Psalm as well is God’s mercy and forgiveness. In our 1st reading, God shows mercy to the Israelites, after they had turned their back on him. The Psalm, which is always a prayerful response to the 1st reading, today, contains part of David’s plea for mercy from God following a well-known sin. In our second reading Paul proclaims the mercy that God showed him, even though he considered himself the greatest of sinners.
In today’s Gospel we hear, probably, the most familiar parable of all, the parable of the prodigal son. The scribes and pharisees had criticized Jesus for associating with street people, tax collectors, and sinners. Jesus answered them, not with just one, but with three parables to drive home the point and help them understand the heart of God. Their concept of how God works was so wrong. Jesus wanted to point out that he was treating sinners, just as God would treat them. The shepherd, combing the hills tirelessly for the lost sheep, the woman with the broom in hand scouring every corner of her house for the lost coin, the father with the heavy heart waiting and longing for his lost son. Those were all images Jesus used to show how passionately God cared for the ones that the scribes and pharisees regarded as dirty sinners, and undesirables. To God they were sons and daughters who had lost their way, and Jesus had been sent to help them find their way back to God.
This is the central message, or the Good news, of the three parables. That every person is important to God, even those who are steeped in sin, even those who have turned away from Him, those who seem lost and beyond redemption. God will not give up on anyone. Like the shepherd and the woman in the 1st two parables, God will search for us with a passion, ready to take us back. And if we’re not ready, he’ll wait for us, with arms wide open, like the father in the third parable waiting for his wayward son to return home.
Today’s Gospel reminds us that we are never so lost, or our sin so great, that God will give up on us. There are many, many ways that we can get lost. We can be lost in addictions to drugs or alcohol. We can get lost in our addiction to work. We can be lost in our obsession with accumulating wealth and possessions. We can be lost in our need for power, or control over others. We can be lost in anger and self-hatred. We can be lost in self-righteousness that judges others. We can be lost in our indifference to God. There are so many kinds of “being lost” that keep us from the love and mercy of God.
Undoubtedly, today, and for the next few days we will see and hear many memorials and remembrances of the events of 9/11, 21 years ago. Tragic events that left so many innocent people dead, and so many more left devastated, lost in a torrent of feelings and emotions that only come when something so devastating and so evil shakes our lives, the shock, the anger & fear. Confused as we try to make sense of it all. And as with any tragic event, and with the wars and terrorism still going on in the world, there are questions that always comes up: “Where is God in all this?” “How could God let this happen?” “If He’s the loving caring Father, Jesus says he is, why didn’t He stop it?” “How could he let so many innocent people die?”
But I tell you God was right there, on those airliners, in those buildings, in the midst of the horror and devastation, just as He was in the death camps at Auschwitz, just as He was in Oklahoma City, Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary and Uvalde elementary Schools, just as he was standing beside us, watching from afar. And just as He was at the hill at Calvary. He was watching and weeping along with the rest of us.
When God created human beings, He created us out of love, and He gave us freedom. We’re not His puppets. He gave us freedom to choose to love or to hate, to choose good or evil. God could have stopped all of those tragedies just as he could stop us whenever we’re about to commit a sin, but that would take away the freedom that he has given us. He has shown us the way back to Him through his son and the Gospels, and then let us go, to choose to follow or not.
Every parent here knows that we love our children most when we let them go, when we give them the freedom to run their own lives and make their own choices. I have four children. The youngest is 34, they’ve all left home ———somewhat, but they’re making their own decisions. Sometimes——— they ask for advice, but the decisions are theirs——– sometimes your children make you proud, and sometimes you want to ring their neck and ask, “What were you thinking.” Just like God in our first reading, when he wanted to destroy the Hebrews. God the Father, out of his deep love for us, let’s us go. He gives us the freedom to follow the direction we want to go. And just like the father in Jesus’ parable, just like any parent that let’s their children go, God opens Himself up to pain and heartbreak if his children choose the wrong path. We can be sure that God’s heart was breaking on 9/11.
But today’s Gospel gives us hope, that no matter how many times we go astray, no matter how far we wander away, no matter how lost we get, His love will find us. Just like the prodigal son, we need to acknowledge our sins, repent and return home to our Father. God is ready to forgive. He’s overjoyed when sinners repent and return to him. Notice the element of joy in all three of the parables of our gospel reading; the joy when the lost sheep is found, the joy when the lost coin is found, and the joy when the lost son returns home. God is joyful in our experience of love and union with him, which alone will bring us the greatest joy now and for all eternity.