Photo was taken at Kealkill, West Cork (Irl)
Heavy rain last Friday caused every stream and river to flow with powerful energy.
Thought on Sunday – September – 11/09/2016
Two Thoughts For Today by Siobhain Tighe and Jane Mellett
Thought 1 called ‘Misfits welcome!’ by Siobhain Tighe
Jesus is being judged, by the authorities, to be mixing with the wrong sort of people – tax collectors, people who have made mistakes or indeed happen to be poor. Jesus welcomes the outsiders, the people who don’t fit in, and shares a meal with them – the best way to build a relationship.
Jesus explains that God’s love is limitless. He uses the Prodigal Son image, the shepherd searching for his lost sheep and the woman carefully looking through her house in search of a lost coin to demonstrate how eagerly God wants to seek us out and welcome us.
At times we can feel like the misfit – recognising that we may have had a period of ignoring or avoiding God, trying to live on our own strength. It takes courage to trust in the love of God, who like the father in the gospel is always unreservedly and lovingly looking for us to come home.
Essentially, Jesus’ message is of radical welcome; not just to those who it is easy to welcome but all. We are called to imitate.
Thought 2 Called ‘The Lost Parables’ by Jane Mellett
The three parables of things lost and found emphasise the unending forgiveness of God and God’s rejoicing for those who return. In each of the situations there is a frantic search for that which is lost and a huge celebration when the lost is found.
In the third parable of the Prodigal Son there is much to reflect on. We hear that the younger brother eventually ‘came to his senses’. We might pray today that God shows us the aspects of our lives in which we also need to ‘come to our senses’.
As with all parables, we are left thinking and wondering, disturbed even. A sheep and a coin we can rejoice over, but when it is a person who has done us harm, hurt us in some way, it is a much deeper and more painful process. The elder brother in the third parable feels hard done by, is deeply hurt, full of anger and resentment. Luke, being the excellent storyteller that he is, does not tell us the outcome of the story; it is for us to finish for ourselves. The elder brother has two options: he can walk away full of resentment or he can try to let go of the anger he feels towards his brother. The latter is a more difficult path but it is the only one that leads to life, no matter how painful the journey may be. The father stands there pleading for the elder brother to come in.
‘Forgiveness isn’t about releasing someone from accountability for their actions. It is about us letting go of our anger and resentment.’
