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.
St. Paul says, “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
He is speaking about the new life that comes when we accept the love and forgiveness of God, which Christ brought to us from the cross.
When we let go of the past, we can embrace our future. When we are washed clean of our past sins by the mercy of God, we have a founded hope for our own Resurrection from the dead and life everlasting.
When we know Jesus, we are most fully alive.
The story of the Prodigal Son in today’s Gospel is a powerful story of walking away from the sins of the past and moving toward the mercy God. Sometimes it takes being in the gutter for us to want a better way of life. That is what happened to the young man who had rejected his father’s care and entered “a life of dissipation.”
Wanting to come alive again, the young man returned to his father, who is an obvious representation of God in the parable. The father embraced the son upon his return and the young man was restored to his family with a welcome home banquet.
If we look at ourselves, we see that we have travelled far from God on many occasions, and each time, realizing that we want a better life for ourselves, we made our way back to him again. And, every time we returned to God, he embraced us. God will never reject us. Why? Because he wants us to live. He sends Jesus to us so that we can become “a new creation.” Sometimes, like the gardener in last week’s reading, God must be very patient with us — like the dad in the parable, who kept a constant lookout for the return of his wayward child.
May we live as though we are a new creation, because in Christ, we have been reconciled to God. He has welcomed us back into the family of saints. We can rejoice and be glad, for we had wandered far from God, but he waited patiently for our return. And now, in Christ, we can rest in the Father’s loving care.
Now, here’s the hard part — we need to resist the urge to wander away again. It’s much safer to stay home with our loving Father.
Have a blessed week everyone.