http://usccb.org/bible/readings/091513.cfm
Quick recap:
1st reading - Exodus - Moses persuades God to be merciful to the Israelites, even though they are worshiping a golden calf
Psalm 51 - Admitting our sinful nature but anticipating the abounding love and compassion of God
2nd Reading - 1 Timothy - despite our sinfulness, God's grace can change our life
Gospel - Luke 15 - 3 parables about prodigality - the shepherd with 1 lost sheep, the woman with 1 lost coin, and the father with 2 sons.
Prodigality - what an interesting word. If you look it up, you will see descriptions like lavishly abundant, profuse, extravagant. This can apply to the readings in several ways. There is excess that is both positive and negative. The shepherd who searches for the lost sheep is going to the extreme in leaving the 99 sheep he has. The woman wastes her oil to diligently search her home for the missing coin. And the father responds with overflowing compassion and extravagance to welcome home his son.
On the other hand, the younger son is reckless and wasteful in his choices and lifestyle. He severs all ties to his family and does what he pleases, heedless of the consequences. And the older son is overflowing with jealousy and anger while majorly lacking in mercy and compassion. So we have a lot of prodigious-ness going on, both good and bad.
In the first reading, Moses persuades God to rethink God's plan of destruction. Moses wants God to be prodigious with mercy, even though the Israelites have not earned it. Quite the opposite - God's people have severed ties to God, even replacing God with a golden idol. Yet God relents and overflows love and mercy on an undeserving people (sounds like the Gospel parables). In Psalm 51 (which is titled as "A Contrite Sinner's Prayer for Pardon"), we are begging God to express profuse mercy towards us. What is most interesting to me is the refrain. I am used to hearing Psalm 51 in a setting such as Tom Kendzia's Create in Me, which is a personal favorite of mine. However, in today's readings, the refrain is actually taken directly from the Gospel. The line in the Gospel, Luke 15:18, I will rise and go to my father, is woven into our psalm prayer, thus connecting our readings even more. We are both the 'contrite sinner' of Psalm 51, and the younger son of the parable, recognizing that we need God. God won't hold our bad choices against us. We have to release our pride and our sin, unlike the older son, if we truly desire oneness with God.
Challenge - answer this question: which side of the prodigality equation am I? Am I excessive with love, mercy, and kindness? Or am I stingy with compassion and overflowing with judgment, pride, and sin?
Prayer - On good days, it's easy for me to believe in Your abounding mercy. When I have sinned, I struggle with accepting that truth. Grant me the wisdom to know You are prodigious with Your mercy, especially when I least deserve it. May I embrace that knowledge for myself and for those around me. We are all children of a Prodigal God.
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