Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Here we are, a people whose lives were changed 21 years ago by the actions of others. 9/11 was and still is one of the most impactful tragedies of our time, for our people in this country. Maybe you’re reading this while mourning the loss of a loved one, or you’re reading this and mourn for those that we have lost. This day can remind us of many things. How free our country once was, before fear took the grip of our everyday lives. This can remind us of the many who lost their lives. Who they were, in their best moments. Sons and daughters. Moms and dads. Brothers and sisters. It can make us ask ourselves, why them? Why not us? How can we even come to grasp the idea that God could let something so terrible happen?
It’s a real question, that maybe someone out there reading this is asking. I know I have. There are some things that we may never come to understand. And I wish we could sit here and pretend like there’s an actual answer to a question so heavily consumed by grief, anger and desire. In Sunday’s readings, the Lord has words of comfort. In the second reading, 1 Timothy 1:12-17 it says, “Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. What that means for us is that even in the midst of sadness, mourning, grief, we have God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit promising us salvation, love, faith and grace. It can seem challenging to feel hopeful when there are difficult, tragic things that occur, but when we face our lives with the knowledge that God promises us salvation no matter what, that God promises us grace no matter what, and so much more.
Although there are so many things we wish could not have happened, there’s one constant that remains, even in the midst of tragedy. God is that constant. There’s a reason why we call Him the rock of our salvation. Never changing, always grounded, immobile and planted in the root of our hearts always. Even if we look at the Gospel for Sunday we can see that image of God pouring through. The story of the prodigal son shows just how much God is capable of loving us. No matter the perspective you look at it, from the son who fell into sin who knows that there is still a chance for redemption, to the father whose son was lost but was finally found, who chose forgiveness and mercy, just how God does for us when we fall. So even if today is a day you find yourself feeling like our world is hopeless, know that our God, the creator of the universe, knows that we are redeemable. That we are loveable and worth saving.
I challenge you today, to challenge yourself to believe in humanity the way that God does. Because when we start to love like God, speak like God and think like God we get ever so closer to the Kingdom of Heaven and the ultimate promise that He has for every single one of us.
