Lost and Found
Who is a God like you, who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but instead delights in mercy, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our iniquities? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins. Micah 7:18-19
“'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.'" Luke 15:31-32
Piety
Prayer to Seek and Find God
Father, in Your goodness
grant me the intellect to comprehend You,
the perception to discern You,
and the reason to appreciate You.
In Your kindness
endow me with the diligence to look for You,
the wisdom, to discover You,
and the spirit to apprehend You.
In Your graciousness
bestow on me a heart to contemplate You,
ears to hear You,
eyes to see You,
and a tongue to speak of You.
In Your mercy to confer on me
a conversation pleasing to You,
the patience to wait for You,
and the perseverance to long for You.
Grant me a perfect end, Your holy presence. I ask this in the name of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.[i]
Study
Chapter 15 in the Luke Gospel could be called the Parables of the Lost. Jesus weaves the tales of the lost sheep, coins and son as a way of explaining the merciful God portrayed by the Prophet Micah.
As we concentrate on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who was the wanderer? Who squandered his Father’s inheritance? That is not a trick rhetorical question. Easily the first son demanded his inheritance and ran away. But the second son also demanded his inheritance and ran away even though he stayed right there on his father’s estate. Even though he was right there, his disposition was miles away.
The man had two sons but both sons failed to learn their lessons from the father. We have the story that shows how one of the sons corrected the course his life was on. We leave the story with the father asking the second son to come back spiritually even though he never moved away physically.
Does he come back, too? Both sons needed to find the right place to seek and find God.
Action
When have you been lost spiritually? What brought you back?
Are you lost now? What is pushing you away? The sexual abuse scandals? The coverup? The grand jury investigations? Or is something else driving you away? Pre-occupation with social media or March Madness?
The merciful God of the Hebrew Bible whom we encounter again today in the first reading is the same merciful God that Jesus re-introduces his followers. In these stories, we encounter Jesus’ particular concern for the lost and God’s love for the repentant sinner.
The time in this season of preparation is “lent” to us as a way to train our heart and soul and mind in the ways of the Lord. How are you doing almost halfway through Lent?
While my voluntary abstinence from social media (except blogging) remains intact, the “advent” of March Madness has presented new challenges with apps and brackets and more. Fortunately, or not, Belmont Abbey College is in Division II. So, there is no risk that my alma mater[ii] will ever find itself as a bracket buster. Yet, 64 teams pose a formidable obstacle to seeking God in Lent.
God, in Your kindness, endow me with the diligence to look for You, the wisdom, to discover You, and the spirit to apprehend You.
[ii] In a general sense, alma mater refers to ‘someone or something providing nourishment.’ It is a Latin phrase that literally translates as ‘generous mother.’ Alma also is the root of the Lenten practice of “alma-giving” or almsgiving, being generous with your charity and providing nourishment to others. The father in our story today is the alma pater.
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