The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
Second reading 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:
“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 he 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. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and nobody 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. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he 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.'”
“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 he 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. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and nobody 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. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he 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.'”
Reflection
By Bernard M. Borja
I have a friend who is now happily serving at a church he longed to belong to. But before he was able to serve, he went through a lot of challenges and ridicule. During his younger years, he spent his time with vices such as womanizing and health abuse. At 19 years old, having a wife and two kids did not stop him from continuing his vices. His family experienced emotional and physical abuse from him and after several years, his family left him. Few years past and he became worse that even his friends went to distance themselves from him. Feeling all alone and depressed, he then realized he was so tired. A simple prayer came out from him as he whispered, "Lord, I want to go home." He got so tired of all the things he pursued for his own satisfaction. He got tired of abusing the people around him especially those closest to him. He got tired of being alone and left out. There were only two ways that he was thinking on how we wants to go home. One is to take his own life and end it all so he can be home to wherever he thinks he might belong. He chose the other way which is to go back to the church where his family and friends belong. But when his former friends saw him there, they said many things to him such as "You don't belong here." and "Baka masunog ka dito (You might get burned here.)"
How easy it is for us to "excommunicate" people who we think have no hope of turning away from their wicked ways. And it is even easier for us to judge people who wanted to come home to God who are in the same family as we are in.
Jesus' message of repentance is still clear in our Gospel. The tax collectors and sinners draw near to listen to Jesus and this may be considered as their first step toward repentance. But those who are "serving" at the temple did not like how Jesus welcomes these people. Just like in the parable, when the elder son spoke to his father and said, "This son of yours...", he is somehow forgetting his relationship as his brother. He forgot that even though the younger son spent all his inheritance, he once belonged to the same house he is in. If we look closely in our society today, this is similar to what is happening. My friend who chose to come home almost gave up and thought of going back to his vices because of those people who were unwelcoming. Sometimes the very people who are always with God, and who has God's everything, are the ones who dissipate the blessings that were always meant for everyone. People think that the greater blessings are only meant for those who are in the house of God. This is somehow true because God has longed for us all to be part of His family. But to think that the riches of the Kingdom of God will only be inherited by the rich in spirit alone is dire. Worse is when we also think that we have always been doing the righteous things, not realizing that we also sin because of the things we did not do for our brother or sister.
Jesus continues to proclaim the Kingdom of God through the parable of the prodigal son. God always runs toward us to welcome us back when we repent. God also pleads with us to forgive each other and celebrate how we are found after being lost. Before Jesus died on the cross, he pleaded to Our Father saying, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." What if Jesus would plead to us with the same words, like the father in the parable, whenever our hearts are hardened to forgive our brother or sister? Should we open our hearts and welcome them if Jesus would say to us, "Please forgive him/her because he/she does not know what he/she was doing."? Or would we behave like the elder brother in the parable?
We must remember that when God calls us to repent, he also calls us to feast and to rejoice. God awaits for us and always sees us from afar when we come home. He also wants us to see from afar our brothers and sisters who wants to come home, for us to welcome them and celebrate because they have been found after getting lost.
I have a friend who is now happily serving at a church he longed to belong to. But before he was able to serve, he went through a lot of challenges and ridicule. During his younger years, he spent his time with vices such as womanizing and health abuse. At 19 years old, having a wife and two kids did not stop him from continuing his vices. His family experienced emotional and physical abuse from him and after several years, his family left him. Few years past and he became worse that even his friends went to distance themselves from him. Feeling all alone and depressed, he then realized he was so tired. A simple prayer came out from him as he whispered, "Lord, I want to go home." He got so tired of all the things he pursued for his own satisfaction. He got tired of abusing the people around him especially those closest to him. He got tired of being alone and left out. There were only two ways that he was thinking on how we wants to go home. One is to take his own life and end it all so he can be home to wherever he thinks he might belong. He chose the other way which is to go back to the church where his family and friends belong. But when his former friends saw him there, they said many things to him such as "You don't belong here." and "Baka masunog ka dito (You might get burned here.)"
How easy it is for us to "excommunicate" people who we think have no hope of turning away from their wicked ways. And it is even easier for us to judge people who wanted to come home to God who are in the same family as we are in.
Jesus' message of repentance is still clear in our Gospel. The tax collectors and sinners draw near to listen to Jesus and this may be considered as their first step toward repentance. But those who are "serving" at the temple did not like how Jesus welcomes these people. Just like in the parable, when the elder son spoke to his father and said, "This son of yours...", he is somehow forgetting his relationship as his brother. He forgot that even though the younger son spent all his inheritance, he once belonged to the same house he is in. If we look closely in our society today, this is similar to what is happening. My friend who chose to come home almost gave up and thought of going back to his vices because of those people who were unwelcoming. Sometimes the very people who are always with God, and who has God's everything, are the ones who dissipate the blessings that were always meant for everyone. People think that the greater blessings are only meant for those who are in the house of God. This is somehow true because God has longed for us all to be part of His family. But to think that the riches of the Kingdom of God will only be inherited by the rich in spirit alone is dire. Worse is when we also think that we have always been doing the righteous things, not realizing that we also sin because of the things we did not do for our brother or sister.
Jesus continues to proclaim the Kingdom of God through the parable of the prodigal son. God always runs toward us to welcome us back when we repent. God also pleads with us to forgive each other and celebrate how we are found after being lost. Before Jesus died on the cross, he pleaded to Our Father saying, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." What if Jesus would plead to us with the same words, like the father in the parable, whenever our hearts are hardened to forgive our brother or sister? Should we open our hearts and welcome them if Jesus would say to us, "Please forgive him/her because he/she does not know what he/she was doing."? Or would we behave like the elder brother in the parable?
We must remember that when God calls us to repent, he also calls us to feast and to rejoice. God awaits for us and always sees us from afar when we come home. He also wants us to see from afar our brothers and sisters who wants to come home, for us to welcome them and celebrate because they have been found after getting lost.
Prayer
Dear God Our Father, we thank You for Your generosity as You continue to give us every blessings and riches in Your kingdom. Open our hearts to share these graces to our brothers and sisters especially to those who want to come home to You. We also pray for the grace to ask forgiveness to those whom we have offended because of committed and omitted mistakes. May we welcome You in our hearts as we commemorate the passion of Your Son this Lent. We also ask Mama Mary for her guidance and intercession as we look up to her, overflowing with God's inspiration, to repent and amend our life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Dear God Our Father, we thank You for Your generosity as You continue to give us every blessings and riches in Your kingdom. Open our hearts to share these graces to our brothers and sisters especially to those who want to come home to You. We also pray for the grace to ask forgiveness to those whom we have offended because of committed and omitted mistakes. May we welcome You in our hearts as we commemorate the passion of Your Son this Lent. We also ask Mama Mary for her guidance and intercession as we look up to her, overflowing with God's inspiration, to repent and amend our life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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