I may have mentioned this before, but one of my best friends
has a maxim worth repeating: words mean things. Words mean things.
I think it is fascinating that our twenty-six letters of the alphabet
combine to create our entire language.
Coupled with sounds and our rational functioning we have the ability to
communicate.
What
is amazing is that a few simple letters can pack a powerfully meaning. For instance, imagine if our pianist
Tom stood up and shouted out, “Fire!”
Assuming it wasn’t an incense error, we would all head out running based
on this one word. Or you Dads who
have had the privilege to have a child—imagine when your wife told you, “I am
pregnant.” I imagine that this
phrase rocked your world! Then
there are the three famous words, “I love you.” Obviously these eight letters carry a lot of weight behind
them.
I
would like to focus this morning on another short phrase that is equally as
important as “I love you”. This
one may be even harder to say: “I am sorry.”
The parable of the Prodigal Son is the
greatest story centered on these three words. First we must recognize this isn’t a cute story about a son
who took a Snicker’s bar from his dad.
In the Israelite custom a son received an inheritance only after the
death of his father. The son
basically said, “Father, I can’t wait until you die to get my inheritance. Give it to me now.” His father obliged, only to have his
wayward son waste it in a “life of dissipation”. This is the G-rated summary. His older brother said he visited prostitutes and I’ll leave
it to you to think about the wicked things he did. Having squandered his inheritance on egregious sin, the son
was left alone in a foreign land.
And, the ultimate insult—he worked with the most unclean animal, the
pig. He was so hungry he wished he
could eat with the pigs, but no one gave him anything.
The
son came to his senses, recognizing the need to say, “I am sorry.” He returns to his father humbly saying,
“Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called
your son.” And we
cannot forget his father acted like a father. Not a vindictive judge. Not an accountant reminding him how much he must pay
back. No—his father welcomed him
with open arms on the road and then organized a party to welcome his son’s
return.
Who
do you need to say these three words—I am
sorry—to in your life? A
friend? Child? Spouse? Friend? Have
the courage to use them and transform your life and others.
And
we all must consistently apologize to God. I love what St. Paul has to say in our second reading today:
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God.” I may
sound like a breaking record here—and I don’t care—but we have a great gift to
be reconciled with God in Confession.
I implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Say
those three words to God in Confession.
Then listen to some simple words of the priest that will forgive your
sins for all eternity.
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