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March 2, 2024Today’s Scriptures tell us God is kind and merciful. Micah, the prophet of Israel, denounced its social crimes and said 'God removes guilt and delights in clemency.' The story Jesus tells emphasizes how selfish the younger son is, yet after squandering his inheritance he remembers his father is kind and merciful and returns home. The Pharisees must have got the point and saw how like the older brother, they resented Jesus’ telling of a father who welcomes his son home without reproach.
How do we see ourselves in this story? Perhaps we’ve felt a long way off like the younger son in our relationship with God. Have we really experienced God as merciful and kind? Is there ever any fear in us that God is demanding and will punish us? Our image of God is crucial. Our Church today needs us to be filled with our experience of God as kind and merciful and to be excited about sharing this kindness and mercy with those outside the Church who have never felt this welcome. We should be like the Father, looking out for those who are a long way off, outside the Church, looking for mercy and a warm welcome.
[click here for the readings of the day]
