DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Sunday, March 10, 2013


HE WAS LOST AND HAS BEEN FOUND”
 
My Brothers in Christ,
 

The parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke is one of the most recognizable stories in Sacred Scripture. It is a story of love, redemption, family, and compassion. The story can be examined in so many different ways and each has its own message that Christ is trying to teach us. We are all encouraged to read this story often and it apply it to our own lives and to situations that we all may be challenged with when we interact with other people. Our faith is about love and forgiveness. We cannot deny forgiveness and we cannot withhold our love from anyone. That is not who we are. That is also not what God wants us to do. This is very easy to say but it can be very challenging. We all have been confronted with situations where we find it difficult to forgive even when we have previously sought forgiveness. There are many people who have wronged us in the past and continue to do so. There are some individuals who do not ask for forgiveness and our love. How do we approach them?
 
To understand our faith we must never forget that its foundation is that of LOVE. It is an unconditional love that first originated from God and fully manifested itself in our creation and in the crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, Jesus died for everyone regardless if they asked for it or not. There were no preconditions before the crucifixion. There were no expectations. Jesus offered everything so that he could gain nothing while we we received all the benefits from it. A selfless, beautiful act of total love for his creation. If he did this for us then our forgiveness and love can be no less when we are given the opportunity to exercise it. We cannot have our own preconditions regarding forgiveness and love. We must look at every situation and experience in our live as an opportunity to give to others what Christ has given us.
 
It is very easy to be like the eldest son in the parable. He becomes angered by his father's generosity and the behavior of his brother. I feel that we all can relate to him. All people tend to judge. It is part of our fallen nature. It must be remembered what Jesus said about judging and how he commanded us not to do it; that there was only one judge and that is the Father. These are the worlds of our savior and our God. They cannot be taken lightly or for granted. We will indeed be judged with the same scrutiny that we exercise mercy. One of the most memorable lines in the parable is when the father responds to the angry son,

My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
 
We cannot be jealous or judgmental. God loves us all. We must look upon those whose behavior or actions fall short of expectations with pity, mercy, and love. We must help them find their way home so they can become one with our savior. We are commissioned to love everyone equally and with the same compassion regardless of who they are. As Jesus reminds us: it is easy to love a friend. It is much harder to love an enemy. In the end, we have no enemies. There are only lost sheep waiting to be found. And if they refuse to hear the shepherd's call, that does not mean the calling ends. It only gets louder. It they wander farther, then the shepherd looks for them with more earnest. Never forget that we were Lost Sheep once and that at any time we could become lost again. And if we do, isn't it comforting to know that our father will be waiting on the hill for our return?
 
Deacon Tom

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