Saturday of the Second Week of Lent - March 23, 2019

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Micah 7:14-15, 18-20  Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 

I believe there are many different perspectives we can ponder in today’s readings. They are words we can live by as a father, a son, a brother and a student of Christ. My initial response to the readings is the enormous amount of wisdom that can be gained if pondered daily.

The first reading offers guidance to a father. Applying it to our daily lives, it provides some insight as to the responsibility that men have as fathers in their children’s lives. It also places significance on the role that God, the Father of all of us, has in our lives and the importance of his unfailing love and forgiveness. Understanding that our Father forgives us, offers great relief. Early in the reading we hear, “shepherd your people with your staff…as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.” I interpret this as an indication that our Father does not intend for us to be enslaved by our sins forever, but that he is capable of “freeing” us from our sins. A father can offer this gift to his children through love and forgiveness.

The gospel’s parable of the lost son continues with a similar theme from the perspective of a
father, son and brother. Jesus metaphorically equates financial stability to spiritual enlightenment. True wealth is available to us through our Father when we are accepting of the gifts that he has given us. An attempt to define our own path without the grace offered to each of us by the Father will most certainly lead us to a life of spiritual poverty. We need to accept and appreciate the gifts of our Father’s inheritance with grace, celebrate the gifts of spiritual wisdom (our own and others) received through failure, and appreciate the gifts we have been entrusted.

Q:  What “wealth” have you inherited from your Father in heaven?

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