September 11, 2016
Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
1 Letter to Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32
I have this habit of sending emails I shouldn’t send. I get upset about something, and I have this momentary clarity, and I want to get it out of my system, and I end up being a little more direct than I should be.
I did this just recently, even though Barb told me explicitly not to, and I thought, I can’t believe it. I did this again? And then, about a week later, I did it again, with another person: wrote something with a little sting at the end, pressed send, and later realized how stinging it really was.
Why do I do this? Am I ever going to change?
Well, yes and no.
Change is the theme of the readings today, especially the gospel and the letter to Timothy. Paul was “a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,” but then became a leader of the church, a saint. The prodigal son was prodigal and then was transformed, became grateful and open and much, much wiser.