REFLECTION by Fr Michael Tate
Truth and Reconciliation
For Jews, pigs are ritually unclean, so that living in a pig sty would make this young man unapproachable.
So, imagine the reaction of his Jewish audience when Jesus told the story of the father running to his son and embracing him still stinking of the pig sty, exclaiming, ‘You were lost and now you are found.’
That is Jesus’ portrayal of his heavenly Father’s relationship with us.
Of course, sometimes we are the older brother, resentful that someone seems to have had too easy a time of God’s forgiveness. Is this the attitude of many who challenge the emphasis by Pope Francis on Mercy as the core of God’s relationship with us?
More often, we are like the younger brother who has strayed to a far off place, sometimes quite deliberately.
We could resolve to approach the Sacrament of Mercy during Lent, knowing that our heavenly Father will run towards us, embracing us, exclaiming, ‘You were lost but now you are found.’ That is worth a celebration!
© Fr Michael Tate; mtate@bigpond.com
Rev Prof Michael Tate graduated in Law from the University of Tasmania in 1968, and in Theology from Oxford University in 1971. He lectured at the University of Tasmania from 1972-78, being Dean of the Faculty of Law in 1977-78. He was a Senator for Tasmania from 1978-93, being Federal Minister for Justice from 1987-93. He served as Ambassador to The Hague and the Holy See from 1993-96. He then returned to Australia and was ordained in May 2000 and has been a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Hobart since then. He is an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Tasmania where he lectures in International Humanitarian Law.
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