In the Scripture readings for this Sunday, we are told that no one ever lost to God. He never gives up on us but is always searching for us. This search is unconditional. God continually searches and waits for us. Even while we are far away, God’s love is with us.
A constant theme in the Scripture is God calling the people to return to him. Jesus continues this theme in this weekend’s Gospel. The parables of the “Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost (Prodigal) Son,” each speak of God’s non-stop search for us to be reunited with him.
It is hard to return home, as in the story of the Prodigal son. It is especially difficult once we have spent all we had and if we have not fulfilled the plans we had set for ourselves. We often begin to wonder what others would say or think about us. However, when we think of God’s goodness and how he waits for us, we can only say, “Thank you, Lord.”
The father in the parable saw his son returning and ran to welcome him out of love and joy. God never distances himself from us. Instead, he shares his life and his very self with us all. Through mercy, God seeks us out.
In mercy and forgiveness, God is always close to us. When we read the parable of the prodigal son, which character do we identify with the most? Are we like the forgiving father who seeks us out? Are we like the older son, jealous and angry because mercy is shown to those who we see as sinners? Are we like the prodigal son, coming to his senses and returning to the father?
As we commemorate the attacks of September 11, 2001, let us remember all who are seeking God’s embrace of mercy and forgiveness as we all continue to ask for healing in every part of our lives.