• Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14. The people revolt and worship a golden calf. God threatens to destroy them and raise up a new people through Moses. At Moses’ entreaty, the Lord relented.
• 1 Timothy 1:12-17. God forgives Paul, the former persecutor of the church, to show that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and to display patience.
• Luke 12-1-32. Jesus tells three parables about God’s joy in forgiving sinners: the man with the lost sheep; the woman with the lost silver pieces; the parent with the lost prodigal child.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

With the three readings that we hear about this weekend we are given some powerful examples of the great value of finding that which is lost. With the first reading we witness an amazing interaction between God and Moses. The context for this discussion is that the chosen people have established an idol in place of God. God is obviously frustrated by this transgression but what if the object of God’s concern is not so much the people of Israel but Moses himself? After all, the fact that the people will ebb and flow from their relationship with God should come as no surprise, they have done it before and they will do it again. But perhaps God is concerned about whether they have a leader who can guide them towards the daunting task ahead. This first reading can be seen as the temptation of Moses. When considering the destruction of the chosen people God makes a tempting offer, “Then I will make of you a great nation.”  What an amazing temptation, to be the father of a great nation. Moses must have given this some thought. But instead he responds with amazing compassion for a sinful people. He implores God to exhibit the same patience and compassion that he himself has for them and God relents. Could it be that God really changed his mind because of the persuasive genius of Moses? Or was God intent on seeing that Moses, as a leader, would have the patience and compassion that is required to lead the Israelite community? Moses demonstrates a great lesson for any pastoral leader. The human community is prone to sin and will push the envelope of transgressions. Those of us who are called to become leaders of this community must have an unending supply of patience and compassion to bring people back to the fold.

In the second reading Paul identifies himself as an example for us all. Here we have someone who previously not only disagreed with the Christian message but who actively persecuted the church. Paul identifies himself as the worst of all sinners and yet he tells the early Christian community: “for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.”

The three parables that Jesus shares in this week’s gospel reading offer us three images of God’s great mercy, patience and compassion. The repentance of the lost sinner has an incomprehensible value to God. Jesus almost cannot seem to push this point enough in the first two parables, so he creates the third and more elaborate parable to capture our human imaginations. How many of us are not troubled by the response of the father as he takes in the prodigal son? How many of us cannot in some way share in the frustration of the eldest son? It seems naïve and unfair of the father to display what appears to be a preferential treatment for sinners. And yet this is the image that Jesus wants to convey to us, the image of the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd does not disvalue the other 99 sheep just as the father does not disvalue the eldest son. Their value is equal to all who share a God-given dignity. But the value of the lost one appears disproportionate because we feel that our own value is somehow lessened by the joy the discovery has brought to our heavenly father. We do not share the patience and compassion that God has for all creation.

The parable of the lost coin makes the point for me. Assuming the value of the coin is the same as the other coins in the purse, finding that lost coin does not give the coin any real greater value then all the others, but it does make the purse that much richer. If we have lost a 5 dollar bill and on another day we look in our pants pocket and find it do we not suddenly feel rich? It is still only a 5 dollar bill and its worth has not been altered at all but the fact is that we are now $5 richer then we were before.

The fact of the matter is that one way or another we are all lost. If we feel disvalued by another then we too suffer from some loss of our own personal value and juxtapose our own value system to accommodate this loss. God evaluates Moses’ own value to fulfill the divine mandate through Moses’ response to the corporate sin of the Israelites. Moses was able to see the corporate value of all the people and because of this he was able to have the patience and compassion necessary for pastoral leadership.   This week’s readings challenge us to reassess the value of all humanity no matter what our judgment of any member of the human community is. Our harsh judgment of others demonstrates our own loss of dignity. God places great value on the redemption of the lost human community. The work of the pastoral leader is to bring us all back to the fold through patience and compassion. We must be directed by our pastoral leaders to exemplify mercy and compassion to all of God’s creation, no matter what our opinions of them might be.

This week our thoughts turn to the national tragedy of 9-11. There can be no doubt that this tragic event will continue to affect the conscience of Americans because of the violence that we suffered from a group that continues to demonstrate great hate for us. Our Christian challenge is to be able to still see the dignity of those who are lost within their own hate of America, and to respond to them with the dignity that arises from desiring their reconciliation with God and the human community. That is one reason why any act of social violence that destroys a human life becomes an ethical and moral problem for us Christians. It’s one thing when we have a lost soul or a lost community that is wandering and wayward because of their own ideological idols, but to deprive those souls from their hope of redemption is a moral problem. The Shepherd could have prioritized the good of the 99 sheep and left the one to die but that is not the way of the Good Shepherd.

If the work of Redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary touches the meaning of the human being, that work of God will be concerned with all the elements of human life including the coming into life and the leaving of life in death.

Terminating a human life demands deep understanding and is charged with serious moral implications. The leaders and teachers in the Catholic Church have been providing guidance in many areas of concem. As Passionists we loyally accept that guidance and absorb its vibrant correctness.

The highest teaching authority in the Church, a General Council, reaffirmed the sinfulness of abortion: “Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes..” (Gaudium et Spes, # 51.)

This truth has been reaffirmed again and again by national hierarchies and. Competent theologians have offered much help. Against this background we Passionists can ask ourselves: “Does our commitment to Christ Crucified influence our attitudes toward abortion? Do we have any insights to share?”

We know that the Son of God came to us to share his life to the full. He gave us his life for that very reason. “I am the Good Shepherd, I lay down my life for my sheep.” “Greater love no one has than to give his life.”

While Jesus is concerned chiefly about sharing divine life, the life of grace, a first requirement is a living human being capable of receiving that grace. So our Lord and Savior is necessarily concerned about our very bodily existence and well-being.

So when abortions – the destruction of human life of the unborn is counted in the millions each year across the world and is all too prevalent in our own country, it makes itself present in Christ’s becoming not only the Victim for sin – but as St. Paul writes “sin itself.”

The Son of God, the Son of Mary, appreciates the disappointment of souls who would never know the light of day or breathe in the fragrance of a spring flower. He knew the cruelty and selfishness that prompts the slaughter of innocents. He was to die to seek pardon for all the destroyers of the unborn. St. Luke tells us he sweated blood as he agreed to see himself the victim of sin, including the sin of killing the unborn.

Passionists are called to enter into the mind and sufferings of Christ. The Divine Savior came to call sinners, but he came to call them away from sin and to find their way to God. If Passionists are to have the mind and heart of Christ when facing the tsunami of abortions, we need to share the love of Christ for human kind. The unborn are the most defenseless; civil society refuses to protect them. Agencies exist to promote their killing.

The Heart of Christ pleads for those awaiting birth, bleeds for them. We believe Christ died for all, including  the unborn, that it is his will that they live and come to know him. Passionists must be accompany the Son of God in his bloody sweat in the Garden and in his agonizing in soul a body on the cross, Passionists need to see abortions as the dying Christ sees them and comprehend the injustice to the unborn.

The Apostle Paul wrote that dreadful sentence: “(God) made him to be sin who did not know sin…” (II Cor 5/21). Jesus not only takes away the sins of the world, he takes on himself the world’s sins. The horror of the flood tide of abortions drowns him as he agonizes in the Garden. Life is cheapened and bargained away in the womb for greater ease, for some bauble of consumer goods, selfishness of one kind or another.

Christ died to expiate the sins, he died to bring conversion to the sinners. Passionists need to share Christ’s sorrowing Heart. Passionists need to be steadfast in declaring the evil of abortion. But Passionists also need to speak of the forgiving Heart of Christ. Sorrow and repentance are fitting attitudes, despair and depression have no place. Our God is a forgiving God. A Passionist needs to proclaim the Christ of Calvary is the one who suffered for sin, but equally he is the on~ who brings forgiveness.

The sin of abortion and its relevance to the Son of God makes it relevant to the Passionist as well. It needs to invade his prayer enflame his zeal. If he is a preacher, a missionary he needs to be sure he is giving out the true message in love.

Passionists are called to strengthen the effort of those who strive to turn back the tide of abortions whether in writing or active protests and political activity. Here are issues in which the teaching of Christ and the Cross of Christ have place in the ballot box. Abortion is certainly one such issue.

Thoughts for your consideration:

Last week we left the Jerusalem community trying to comprehend the Easter mystery. Through the name of Jesus, whom they crucified, a crippled beggar was healed by Peter. The readings included the Gospel from John in which Jesus himself explains the mystery of his death and Resurrection. We also read from Acts and the first letter from John in which both Peter and John attempted to explain not only the transformation of Jesus through the Resurrection, but also the transformed community life of the apostles.

In this week’s first reading we return to Peter and John, now before the council, again explaining the healing of the cripple. Peter had informed the community of their ignorance in having Jesus crucified. But now he admonishes the council for rejecting the cornerstone that is Jesus. What attracts my attention is that if we read a little ahead of today’s Gospel and first reading, we get a political picture of how the social powers of Jerusalem responded to Jesus and the early Christian community. Chapter 11 of the Gospel of John has Caiaphas declaring to the council “it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” With this declaration the Jewish council sought to have Jesus put to death.

In Acts, Caiaphas again shows up towards the middle of Chapter 4. The council’s attempt to silence the movement of Jesus by putting him to death has backfired. They are baffled at the apparent power and courage of these “uneducated and ordinary men” who followed Jesus of Nazareth. Now they realize that they have to be even more cautious. Instead of publicly punishing Peter and John they try to have them censured. This of course will also not work. A wise Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel explains why towards the end of Chapter 5; “if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them – in any case you may even be found fighting against God!”

I hear many people offer wonderful comments about the movie “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson. It is a good movie insofar as it allows us to experience the pain of Jesus’ Passion. But one criticism I offer is that it completely separates itself from the social causes that led Jesus to the Cross. Similarly it also excludes the social implications of what it means to be a Christian. In reading the Gospel of John and Acts one gets a sense of these social dimensions. Jesus challenged the powers of his time with his message of solidarity with all members of the human community, including the Gentiles and the poor. The image of the Good Shepherd is the image of the one who brings together all people who are marginalized from the single human community that was created by God the Father. Jesus tells us, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”

The Apostles are very much aware of the social implications of being a follower of Christ. Peter and John recognize their call to heal the sick and to bring back the sheep that continue to be marginalized from the fold. They recognize this mission to promote the ultimate solidarity with all humanity that is the Kingdom of God.

In the second reading John uses an expression that conveys this image of solidarity under Christ. He reminds his community that “we are God’s children now.” We are part of this divine family and like our brother Jesus we must continue to challenge society by promoting the ultimate solidarity of God’s love for all humanity. That will inevitably challenge the power structures of today just as Jesus and the Apostles challenged the power structures of their day.

This solidarity calls us to reconcile all members of society both the wealthy and those who live in poverty. Catholic social teaching offers us the principle of the “Preferential Option for the Poor”. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development has a very simple and direct statement connecting Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the Preferential Option for the Poor. It can be found at http://www.usccb.org/cchd/jesus_shepherd.shtml. Please take some time to reflect on this principle and our calling to follow the Good Shepherd.

Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group:
• When have you experienced the care of a “Good Shepherd?”
• How has this experience helped you to shepherd others?
• The first letter of John refers to all of us as “children of God.”
• When have you experienced solidarity with those who are in need?
• When have you experienced a connection with people who were poor?