Reconciliation: 4th Sunday of Lent

Joshua – 5; 12 (first reading)

            … after they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

2 Corinthians – 5; 18 (second reading)

            And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, …

Luke – 15; 32 (Gospel)

            But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.

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          Reconciliation, in a single word, is what today’s readings not only teach us but implore us to practice. The readings give us three ways of reconciliation, the physical, representative and the personal. From the book of Joshua, the Jewish people were returned to eating of the land as the manna that was supplied by God ended. The people and the land were one again brought together.

          2 Corinthians St. Paul uses the sacrifice of our Christ to explain our reconciliation with God. We have been reunited with our God, not just with the Jewish people but with all of humanity.

          In the Gospel reading, forgiveness is the instruction for reconciliation. For it is how we forgive others that God forgive us. The Lord’s Prayer is most supportive in this instance.

          God forgives us even though it is known that we will sin again.God is always reaching out to us, so the onus for reconciliation is on us.This is accomplished through our relationships with each other. The relationship between man and God will always be imperfect until the Parousia has been fulfilled. It will be at this time that God and humanity will be reconciled to perfection.