Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
Today’s readings are about the tender compassion of God.
In the Old Testament Book of Micah, God is shown removing guilt and pardoning sins. God does not persist in anger. Rather, God casts our sins into the depths of the sea. In short, God does not desire to hold our sins against us. He wants us to return to him so that we can be forgiven. This is how Jesus portrayed God in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
This wayward son had done everything wrong. He had wished his father dead, taken his inheritance and squandered it in a way that was offensive to every good Jew. Only when he realized just how bad things had gotten did this wayward son dare to go back home to his father. He even rehearsed his apology, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.”
And when he came over the hill, walking back to his father’s house, his father saw him and ran to meet him. The father embraced his son, kissed him, and didn’t even allow him to finish his rehearsed apology before he called for a feast.
This is a God who shows compassion and does everything possible for us to put the past behind us so that we can live for a new day. This is our God, the God that Jesus knows and wants us to know, too.