The parable of the prodigal son is so well known that many of us are unaware that it is the climax of a trilogy of parables about God’s mercy —the other two being brief stories about the lost sheep and the lost coin. These parables unfold further what Jesus had already said in 14:21-24, that even sinners and other "undesirables" are invited into God’s kingdom.

Because these parables follow immediately after Jesus’ teaching about the demands of discipleship, and were spoken in answer to the murmuring of the self-righteous, we may conclude that Jesus is not only speaking about God’s mercy and forgiveness, but is insisting that his followers imitate God’s attitude.

The heart of these parables is that being a disciple of Jesus requires more than merely counting oneself a member of the "saved." Rather, true discipleship means participating actively in the saving community. It is consoling for us as sinful humans to be able to identify also with the shepherd, the housewife, and the father in these parables — we must seek the lost as they sought, rejoice in the restoration of wholeness as they rejoiced, and accept the rejected as one family with us.

See also the commentary for the Fourth Sunday of Lent and the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, Year C. For foreshadowings of this spirit of forgiveness in the Jewish Scriptures, check the books of Jonah and Hosea.

Wandering around in the desert for forty years, with Moses spending a lot of time on mountaintops, the Israelites were frequently inclined to say: "If this is what it means to be God’s free people, we’d rather be slaves in Egypt!" When the demands of the Christian life weigh heavily on us and God seems distant, and the attractions of becoming mindless slaves to our feelings and inclinations is strongly felt, aren’t we often tempted to say the very same thing?

Moses is shown here as an effective mediator between the wayward people and a God who seems to be giving up on them. "Look, Lord," he is saying, "you have already invested your power and love. If you give up now, what will it do to your credibility?"

If God seems to capricious here, remember that this is a dramatization of the conflict between human feelings and the divine reality.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19

This is the great prayer of David’s repentance after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah (see 2 Sam 11-12). Both Jews and Christians have always found this psalm a perfect embodiment of their own spirit of repentance. Response: "I will rise and go to my father."

Timothy, a disciple of Paul, became the bishop of the Christian community at Ephesus. This letter is an instruction on how to carry out that office properly. In this introductory section, Paul (or more likely an author writing later in the tradition of Paul) recalls the great mercy and love that God showed him in his own conversion from unbelief and pride to a life of faith and service.

1. Which character of the Gospel do you most identify with? Why?

2. Have you experienced God’s mercy in a way that makes you more merciful to others? How?