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Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Fr. Joseph Gifford, Associate Pastor September 15, 2019

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cured All Saints over the past several months we have put in a concerted effort to try to focus on a particular for each season last week as fall is coming we switched to a new message if you look at the worship in your pews on the front you will see our new message responded generously to God's extravagant Mercy I will be focusing on that message until Advent taking this time in particular to focus on our readings aspired this message so it's no coincidence that our reading this morning Our Gospel has a very strong connect the message of Mercy what is Mercy Mercy is the act of giving something to someone who needs it getting something that a person needs an implied in this definition through a couple parts the first is that there's an inequality in this relationship a person who has the thing and person who does not now to us Americans we hear their word inequality and immediately turn back or put off but there's any quality everywhere parents are not exactly equal to their children because parents have mercy on their children give them what they need we see this to in our relationship with God but he has given us out of Mercy the basic needs and necessities of life Food Water Shelter he has everything and we have but a little he has had mercy on us the second part about this definition giving something to someone who needs it is that it is just that a giving of a gift any gift cannot be grasped at it cannot be expected if someone would expect a gift we would say that they were entitled and entitlements is something that turns everyone off no a gift must be received received in lowliness recognizing that they need it we see this played out in an hour gospel today especially in the parable of the Prodigal Son the good father at Mercy gave everything he had to his entire household to care for their needs however his sons did not see this as a gift instead they grasped at it tried to take the loving gift of the father as their own in their entitlements The Prodigal Son the younger of the two he saw that he was entitled to is inheritance and here we see the beginning of the sort of business language Finance language permeates this entire parable he expects his inheritance and he wants it now he dangles squanders it in a life of sin and then goes and works in a foreign land and then he realizes that the father has provided everything he could ever need as a gift something he did not earn then we see in the elder brother the same sense of entitlement but from a slightly different lens the elder brother did everything quote on quote right he did everything the father said he worked the father in the field again that business language he worked unexpected repayment from the father he thought and felt that he had learned Mercy that he had earned the gift and once you think you've earned it you're grasping at that gift again and he never realizes this this elder brother 2 was entitled and was able to receive the gift when is younger brother finally hit rock bottom and realized yes I can receive and he receives the greatest Gifts of love a true relationship with the father which is all the father ever ever wanted install each and every one of us are they called we are called to First recognize where we are at are we like the Prodigal Son entitled grasping it taking living this life of sin and dissipation throwing our lives away have we hit rock bottom if we have when we recognize this when we recognize where we are at only then can we receive or are we like the elder brother are we trying to earn our way to Salvation are we trying to earn the gifts of mercy and love from the father if we are here we too can realize and change our ways realize that this is not what God wants for us because we can never earn Grace we can never earn Kindle gift from God it is all gift you're simply to receive it and so today when we come here when we come to this altar to receive Christ in the Eucharist here are we at a place are we know where we are at unable to receive the greatest gift Jesus Christ for God so loved the world that he gave us only begotten son to live and to die for each and every one of us so that we may live God has given us his son so we can have salvation so we can have joy and happiness and freedom this is a true gift of Mercy Mercy is a gift all we have to do is accepted

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Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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