This Sermon is prepared by
Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US
24th Sunday of Ordinary YearHome Coming… ….…….is Eucharist!Ex32:7-11, 13-14 1Tm1:12-17, Lk 15:1-32Dear Sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, We shall welcome one another as we begin our Eucharistic celebration on this Lords day. We are gathered as community, as people of God and as body of Jesus Christ. So, we are called to examine this beautiful call among us and if someone is lost or we are lost, let this day of Eucharist be another experience of home coming moment. We can bring in the bitterness, hurts and resentment and offer it on the altar, so that our hearts may be touched and healed to welcome all to home of peace, love, forgiveness and joy.Jeff’s anger after his son has been missing for many months, turn into sadness. He felt there is something missing in his family, no peace, no joy and no laughter. So, he decided to send what’s app text message to all his contact friends and asked them to forward as many as possible. The message goes like this. “Dear Joe, I am ready to welcome you, looking forward to express my forgiveness this weekend Sunday evening at City Park of our town, in Mexico City. Missing you, your dad Frank”. Messaged were forwarded to many. Frank was anxiously waiting for Sunday. He went there with family, to his surprise and wonder there were more than sixty Joe’s were present wanting to come home. Frank’s efforts offered a home coming experience to many Joes on that day. People leave, get lost from loving family, from friends, from church community and neighborhood circle. They all want to come back, but there is no one to welcome them, accept them and make them to feel sense of belonging. It is proved that we seek and search our smart phones and gadgets every 06 to 10minutes. The calls we receive, speak or text for a day minimum of from 24 to 150. Where we are and what is our priority? We lose the touch of human community slowly and happy to be in the company of this high instruments of modern discoveries. How can we find the Joes of our community? In the first reading people fall back to the practice of King Jeroboam I, having golden calf as Moses failed to come from Mount Sinai for forty days. They thought Moses will not come back, so this is the god who brought us from slavery. Yahweh tells Moses differentiating that they are now your people as they left my shelter and my home of love and freedom. Yahweh tells Moses that their resentment and not being patient is their unwillingness to accept the home coming experience. Moses assures Yahweh to bring them back the lost community of Israel. In the famous Gospel of today, Jesus confirms His mission of home coming for the lost. He address to the Pharisees and scribes who were critical and discouraging His frequent practice dining with sinners and tax collectors and invites disciples that their mission is for the experience of home coming. We need to understand the lost elements of coin, sheep and a younger son. Silver coin: It was customary for Jewish girls to get a dowry of a string of silver coins (mostly of 12 silver coins) on their marriage day. This ornament was worn around the neck or as a band over their foreheads (as Moslem women still wear it in Palestine). To lose one might spoil the beauty of the ornament, or perhaps it would look like carelessness on the part of the woman concerned. A married woman would guard such a souvenir just as a wife today will guard and cherish her wedding ring. The rooms and houses of Palestine are very dark without window it at all they had one window only, Thus, we can understand the woman’s joy when at last she saw the blaze of the elusive coin. There is joy, completeness and fulfillment in finding and gathering the loss with the rest. Each silver coin is precious, now it is 12 silver coins of home coming of joy. Lost Sheep: Palestine was a pastoral country; every village had its shepherds and flocks of sheep and goats. Shepherding in Judaea was a hard and dangerous task. Pasture was scarce, and thorny scrub jungles with wild animals and vast desert areas were common, posing a constant threat to the wandering sheep. But the shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance and readiness for action. Shepherd was the national symbol of divine providence and self-sacrificing love in Israel. Two or three shepherds will be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several families in a village. When a sheep is lost, leaving the Sheep with the other two shepherds, one shepherd will go in search of the lost one; the emphasis is on the interest the shepherd has in each sheep. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and of thanksgiving. Here going in searching of the lost sheep is in order to make the joy and sheep complete. Each one is special. This is home coming. The Lost son: 2/3 of the property will go for the first son and 1/3 will go to the younger. Property will be divided only after the death of the father of the family. Here leaving the father dead in heart and losing everything and left lonely with pigs (cursed and unclean animal of Jews) wish be back home as servant. The “Prodigal Father” looks for his son waiting with hope and eagerness to make the family and love complete and full. Here home coming experience is, giving a ring, upper garment and sandals then party is you are respected and accepted as ever the same. Here unwilling elder bro is in resentment. Father makes him to understand this home coming experience. So, in all these we observe the feeling of missing the preciousness of even one, the searching of the one with total sacrifice and involvement finally rejoicing over the complete, full 100 sheep, ten silver coins and a full family. This is Eucharist. Every Eucharist is home coming to the banquet of the Lord. When we come around the altar of God, we should be there as a whole family and a loving community, if anyone is lost, we need to welcome to break bread together then our Eucharistic is meaningful home coming. Cardinal Sin told this true story from his life. A woman used to claim having visions and conversations with Virgin Mary. Cardinal Sin did not respond to her over the phone, So, she came in person to his residence, here Cardinal wanted to put an end to her foolishness so said to her, “when you see the Virgin Mary again tonight and speak to her, can you tell her to ask Jesus what was my greatest sin”. The woman left happily and Cardinal also presumed that she will not come back. But to his great surprise, she came to meet him on the next day. Cardinal asked her, did you talk to Virgin Mary last night? She replied, yes, Cardinal continued, did the Lady ask Jesus about my sin? She responded, yes, she did ask Him. What did Jesus tell her then, the woman reluctantly answered, She said, Jesus said that he had forgotten as He search for you to be part of one fold. Forgetting the hurts will lead us to the altar of home coming-Amen. 
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