A WORD FOR TODAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019

A WORD FOR TODAY

WE ARE SAVED BY HIS MERCY
One of the unique attributes of God is 'Mercy' He does not rejoice at the death of a sinner, instead, it is His will that a sinner will repent of his evil ways and live. We see in the first reading of today how He showed mercy to the disobedient children of Israel after Moses pleaded on their behalf.

Sin seperates us from God and it makes us lose the confidence to stand in His presence and call upon His name. Sin wounds us and makes us become slave to it. In our woundedness we become helpless until the mercy and grace of God come to help us to rise and return to the Jesus in whom we are reconciled to the Father.

Saint Paul is a beautiful example of someone saved by mercy and then turned into a vessel of honour to the greater glory of God. He acknowledged in the second reading of today that he was a sinner and was saved by Christ's mercy. He persecuted the Church and blasphemed against God, but the mercy of God saved him and he never looked back until he gave his life for the sake of Christ who saved Him.

Refusing to acknowledge that we are sinners is the worst thing that we could do to ourselves. If the Lord should mark our guilt, non of us will stand before Him, but He searches for us and calls us always to leave our sinful life and come back to Him so that we will be healed.

The three parables in the gospel reading of today tells us so much about God's love, grace and mercy which is unconditionally and benevolently available and could be accessed by anyone who is willing to draw closer to the Father through Jesus Christ. God is happy when we live a holy life and the heavens are happy when a sinner repents and come to seek the face of God. We must turn away from our evil ways like the prodigal son and return back to the loving Father who is anxiously waiting for us to come back to Him.

We lose a lot when we drift away from the Lord and wander into sin and darkness. We become restless and unhappy and our soul and conscience is burdened with the guilt of sin and shame and we are lost, but if we come to our senses and make the decision to come back to the Lord, He will forgive us and help us to start afresh and become an instrument of honour in His presence.

Do not focus on the magnitude of your sin and lose focus of the greatness of God's everlasting mercy and love. God's mercy is supreme, infinite and it can forgive any sin, all that is required of us is to genuinely repent, retrace our steps and to return back to Him and ask Him for pardon. God is waiting for us, we just have to rise, walk towards Him and He will welcome us and make us a new creation.

Since God is merciful and forgives us and shows us mercy when we return back to Him after we have sinned, we must do the same to others who have offended us. We must show them mercy and love and forgive them just as God forgives us. We must become instruments of mercy in this world.

Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you begin your day and do have a wonderful Sunday. May God's mercy restore you and may His grace help you to live a holy and good life always. Amen. *And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation: Exodus 32:7-11,13-14/Psalm 51:3-4,12-13,17,19/1Timothy 1:12-17/Luke 15:1-32

Watch-Word: The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear!

God is ready to welcome you back if you will only rise from where you have fallen, make amends, confess your sins and start afresh.

(24th Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year C)