An Exegetical Reflection on
the Gospel of the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Luke 1:1-31, September 15,
2013
HOW DO WE understand
ourselves as a Christian community? It
is strange that people usually are proud of their parishes or communities of faith on
account of their achievements—a good retreat house, an elegant church chapel, and a
flourishing cooperative. We say that it
is strange because the picture of a Christian community that appears in the New
Testament is not one that is concerned with its achievements, but one that is
concerned about its very life, and the quality of that life.
In his letter to
the Colosians, for instance, St Paul wrote: “I want you to know how hard I am
struggling for you and for the Laodiceans and the many others who have never
seen me in the flesh. I wish their
hearts to be strengthened and themselves to be closely united in love, enriched
with the full assurance by their knowledge of the mystery of God, namely,
Christ” (Col 2:1-2). In these words,
Paul virtually described the identity of the Church: it is a community united
in love, enriched by the knowledge of Christ.
Of course, this implies that there is no such a Christian as an
individual one; to be a Christian is to belong to a community. And what unites it is not so much law and
authority as love and knowledge in Christ.
It is this love relationship that identifies the Church. If it is asked how are we, the Church, to be
recognized as Christian, it is not by the badge we wear, the idiom we use, but
by the love we profess in the community.
As John puts it, “this is know all will know you for my disciples: your
love for one another” (John 13:35).
Obviously,
though, the individuals who form the community are far from perfect. They are people who are all too human. There are always failures in love within the
community. It would be presumptuous of
its members to profess that they are set apart from the rest of humanity in
virtue of their perfection. In the Old
Testament, God constituted Israel a chosen people; but as the 1st
Reading notes, after Yahweh solemnly made a covenant with them, displaying his
mighty power at Sinai as he gave them the Ten Words, the Israelites committed
apostasy by creating for themselves a molten calf (Exod 37:7-8). Paul himself is an example of a Church member
who is far from perfect. In the 2nd
Reading, which is an excerpt from his letter to Timothy, he said, “I was once a
blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance” (1 Tim 1:13); he claimed
to be the worst sinner (1 Tim 1:15). In
today’s Gospel, Luke prefaces the three parables with these words: “The tax
collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear him, at which the
Pharisees and the scribes murmured, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with
them’” (Luke 15:1-2). It is possible
that Luke’s community demanded the exclusion of sinners, or at least some
stringent requirements from them.
Anyhow, the parables clearly indicate that there were sinners in the
community.
But precisely
because the quality of its life is important, the Christian community should be
a community not only of love, but also of mercy and forgiveness. The community cannot deal with sinners by
isolating them, or excluding them from the fellowship of God’s people. One does not preserve the sanctity of the community
by punishing sinners; that would in the end reduce the community into thin
air. On the contrary, it is the
combination of love and mercy that makes the community whole. Even though he claimed to be the worst
sinner, Paul confessed that God has treated him mercifully (1 Tim 1:13b). As for Israel’s idolatry, God allowed himself
to be persuaded. He relented in the
punishment he had threatened to inflict his people (Exod 32:14). In the parables of the Gospel today—the lost
sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son—the same point is being driven home: the
Christian God is a God of mercy and compassion.
These parables were taught to explain why Jesus accepted the tax
collectors and sinners into his company: God does not seek the destruction of
sinners, but their acceptance to the community of the rule of God; all he wants
is to save the lost, and celebrate their finding in joy.
This message is
not without relevance. The last time I
went to the US, I was struck by a regular TV show, “People’s Court,” where
cases were resolved in a jiffy. Having
seen many episodes, I got the impression that if the show tells us anything, it
tells us that many people have no tolerance for the slightest human
mistake. That we think we are always
right, and that we value money more than forgiveness in human relationships and
healing of broken bonds—this seems to be the bottom line of the show. Indeed, how often it seems that we have
little tolerance for the spiritually or morally lost! We have very few nice things said about
them. But today’s readings have one
message: If God showed mercy and compassion to the people of Israel despite her
idolatry, if he forgave Paul despite his claim to being the worst sinner, so
Jesus calls us now to show mercy and compassion to the lost, and rejoice in
their return to the fold.
At the heart
of every member of the Christian community should be mercy, compassion for the
wayward members, and joy in their conversion.
We cannot be indifferent even to a single sinner. We cannot be assuaged by the thought that we
can exclude them, since there are still many members who are faithful and
good. The life of each one, sinful
though he may be, is important. We can
never give up a lost member. After all,
the Church is not a community of self-righteous people. If it is a community known by the love that
prevails among its members and by their knowledge of the Lord, then it must
love and have compassion for everyone, including the lost. According to Paul, our vocation is to be an
example to those who would later have faith in Christ, and gain everlasting
life (1 Tim 1:16b). And we cannot be
that kind of community if we are quick to condemn sinners, and separate
ourselves from them. On the contrary,
that would even make hypocrites out of us.
Which is why, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we pray: “Lord,
look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church.” More positively, we say in the Roman
Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I, 1970 text): “Though we are sinners, we trust
in your mercy and love. Do not consider
what we truly deserve, but grant us your forgiveness.”
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