Mercy And Love Like No Other

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐌𝐢𝐜 𝟕:𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟓, 𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟎𝟑:𝟏-𝟒, 𝟗-𝟏𝟐 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤  𝟏𝟓:𝟏-𝟑, 𝟏𝟏-𝟑𝟐

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “…𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟐) 

         Have you ever given yourself in love to anyone. The kind of love that knows no bounds. Limitless. In other words, infinite. Love that always looks on the bright side. Patient, understanding, accommodating, and sacrificial. I am sure that some of you have.   

         What we have in today’s Gospel passage is that kind of love and as we dwell into this beautiful passage, we are drawn inside this kind of inimitable kind of love of a father for his son and this is also one passage that we can relate to in one way or the other. When I sat down to reflect on this Gospel reading, my past flashed before me like I was watching a documentary of my life on a big screen.

         Suddenly, I found myself in the very person of the son who ran away from home to live the kind of life that he thought would translate to happiness and Jesus went on to say that the son “𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟑) While I did not have the kind of wealth the son had, I also went on with my life then with wild abandon as I lived only for what the present will bring and thinking not of the tomorrows that are to come.

         One of the most heartbreaking experiences that some people went through was during the American Civil War. I watched many movies that featured the impact of that civil war in the lives of families and friends who found themselves facing one another not as families and friends but as enemies. When the war ended and the southerners who rebelled against the emancipation of the slaves were defeated and had rejoined the Union, then President Abraham Lincoln was asked how he was going to treat the rebels.

         Many thought that Lincoln would be unforgiving for the rebellion cost so much in terms of lives lost and resources and many were surprised when the American President said: “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.”  

          My own life also flashed before me when I was reflecting on this parable and I recalled the many times my parents forgave me for all the misdeeds I committed in my younger years.    

         Today’s Gospel passage is a beautiful story about forgiveness and many times you will ask how you can still love someone who turns their back on you and still forgive them from the heart? The prophets remind us in the first reading that God does not abandon us, even if we turn our backs on him (𝐌𝐢𝐜 𝟕:𝟏𝟖). He will call us back to himself – over and over and over again.

         Jesus' parable of a father and his two sons and which is commonly referred to as the parable of the prodigal son is the longest parable in the Gospels. Everyone is familiar with the story but for those who haven’t read it yet or heard it the focal point of the parable was the younger of the two sons who took out his inheritance from his father and squandered it.

         Finding himself impoverished he was forced to work feeding the pigs feeding the pigs which was a most despicable job because Jews are forbidden to do this task as it runs counter to the law that says: “𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞.” Then Jesus said: “𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬” (𝐯.𝟏𝟕) the young son was reduced to repentance and was led to a decision to return to his home.

         This verse was not only the turning point in the life of the young son but Jesus said this because Our Lord believes that a man or anyone who turns away from God was not in himself or was not in his right sense or frame of mind and Jesus believes that man is in his right sense when he finds his way back to God.

         Just like in the story of the Transfiguration we noted that it was not actually the Lord who was transfigured because Jesus never lost his original nature as God. The reverse was what happened as it were Peter, James and John who were transfigured when the Holy Spirit removed the veil from their eyes and they were able to see the light that was in Jesus.

         Similarly, this parable was not about the prodigal son because he was not the hero in this story. The Father who out of his great love and compassion for his son was the real hero in this parable because it reveals the kind of forgiveness the Father had, the kind of forgiveness that was without recrimination.

         And what we see in the attitude of the elder brother is what we see happening around us such that it will be much easier for us to appreciate that God is more merciful in his judgments than many of us. In this parable we see that the love of God is broader than the love of man and that God can forgive when men refuse to forgive as in the case of the elder brother.

         Those of us who have been conferred a second baptism during the LSS that we attended can easily relate to the robe, the ring, and the festive banquet that the Father gave to welcome his son because these symbolize the pure, worthy, and joyful life that is given to anyone who returns to God.

         Here in this parable, Jesus gives us a very clear picture of the attributes of God, a God whose loving kindness is bigger than we could ever imagine and definitely deeper than the kindness we could ever give to others.

         Many of us easily lose hope when things don’t turn out the way we expected and we sink into the pit of depression and despair. But in this parable, we see a God who does not lose hope or give up when we go astray, and He rejoices when the Holy Spirit finds us and brings us back to our senses and leads us home.

         This was what happened to me when Our Lord Jesus Christ found me in September 1989 and brought me to the renewal where he drummed it in my heart and mind that the life I was living was not the kind of life that he planned for me. And when the Lord revealed himself to me in the Life in the Spirit Seminar that I attended and as I asked for and received his forgiveness, I knew that I was home.

         Just like the forgiving spirit of the Father in this parable, aren’t we also moved by love and mercy as we look after our families and friends, especially when they are faced with a crisis. I have a relative who was overly generous that he would give to someone even the last money he has in his wallet. Jesus is like that. He won’t forsake us or abandon us and he will go to great lengths even death on the cross to look for us and bring us back to God. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 7, 2026)