Weekly Bible Study - Exodus - Psalms - 1 Timothy - Luke

15 September 2013
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It’s a contest of wills! Moses versus Yahweh, Paul versus Christ, son versus father…. Ourselves versus God? Can we can find ourselves in today’s three readings? We must be in there somewhere.

The Israelites have grown impatient waiting for God while Moses spends countless days “on the mountain.” They take steps to fashion an “instant” idol to take God's place. Yahweh threatens to leave the stubborn, beloved people to their own devices, but Moses boldly reminds God of His covenant obligation to “be with” Israel. Moses appeals to the Lord’s patience and mercy in dealing with His wayward children.

The theme of God’s mercy continues in the psalm and the second reading. In spite of early ignorance and arrogance in opposing Christ, Paul's story ends in God's mercy. The writer of the letter to Timothy recognizes how mercifully the Lord has dealt with Paul. And the "right" response to God's mercy is praise and thanksgiving for the abundance of grace given Paul, who came to appreciate the immense wellspring of Christ’s patience.

Likewise, in the familiar parable of today's gospel we encounter the mercy of God that knows no bounds.

The father looks longingly for his lost son

The rebellious son, impatient and cocky as the Israelites, eventually falls into the arms of his loving father. And what of the elder son? Is he not as ignorant and arrogant as Paul had been before entering into relationship with Christ? Does the father's patience and mercy not extend to both sons in the story?


Have we found ourselves yet in these illustrations?

Somewhere deep within our hearts we know that God will always win. But it is not really a contest after all. It is a fundamental relationship: we belong with God and whether we recognize it or not, appreciate it or not, God’s mercy is always reaching out to us, showing us a better way, opening our hearts to deeper realities of his love, leading us home to where he is.

Our free will may indeed be one of God’s most mysterious gifts, but his unconditional love and vast reserve of mercy will always find its way into our wayward hearts.


The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, The Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.