Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Reflections on Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
by Frank Savadera, SJ
There’s an old Don Moen song that goes: “I worship
you Almighty God. There is none like
you. I worship you, O Prince of
peace. That is what I want to do. I give you praise for you are my
righteousness. I worship you almighty
God. There is none like you.”
Who is there like our God who
removes guilt and pardons sins? Who
is there like the God who does not persist in anger forever, but
delights rather in clemency? Who is
there like the God who not only cast into the depths of the sea all our sins
but as well shows FAITHFULNESS (to Jacob) and GRACE (to Abraham); he who have sworn to our fathers from days of
old. LORD, THERE IS INDEED NONE LIKE YOU.
I suggest that we continue to reflect
on HOW TRULY UNIQUE GOD’S PRESENCE HAS BEEN IN EACH OF OUR LIVES. I say each of our lives because this we know: God works in each one of us differently. Can we indeed say that THERE IS NONE LIKE GOD? He who despite my joys, pains, self-esteem and self-identity issues …
kalokohan at ka-weidohan … always chooses to be here with us. Can we indeed say that THERE IS NONE LIKE
GOD. He who calls us to GREATER LOVING … more so when it is difficult to love
others and ourselves. Can we indeed say
that there is none like God because indeed after knowing myself and
acknowledging my weaknesses … finally finally there is really really none like
his PATIENCE, KINDNESS, FORGIVENESS and LOVE.
And more … there is NONE LIKE THIS GOD who even showers me with GRACES that I’ve
never even expected for myself ... that is, ENOUGH GRACES to help sustain me in
this journey of life that again unfolds.
THERE IS NONE LIKE GOD in His FAITHFULNESS AND GRACE.
We convince ourselves that there is NONE
LIKE THE FATHER … because despite us … HE CALLS US BACK and WELCOMES US BACK
TO HIS HOME. Isn’t this the story that
we find in our Gospel today? There’s an image of a Father who parties and
rejoices because His son who was once lost had indeed been found. Can we just get into the STRANGENESS
and ODDITY of the story. We are always on our
way back to the Father ... not that we
are to die soon ... BUT because of the strong conviction that we INDEED NEED
the FATHER in our LIVES and we cannot spend the rest of our lives SEPARATED
from Him ... squandering our God given talents ... and our time away from Him
in a far away place. As the younger son
in the Gospel today recognized, we will also hunger and thirst for the presence
of God. We now know that indeed ... it
is a source of GREAT CONSOLATION SIMPLY BEING HOME with the Father. There is REALLY NONE LIKE HIM WHO WELCOMES
US BACK TO HIS HOME.
I guess our Gospel also tells us that other than
being home with the Father, we are also called to BEING MORE AT HOME with the
Father ... as the second son himself was made to realize. At HOMENESS with the Father ... for us means
... that whatever is of God’s ... had
already been shared with us. “Everything
I have,” says the Father, is yours.
Nothing is ever lost. AT HOMENESS
WITH THE FATHER means for us that we BRING HIM WITH US WHEREEVER WE GO.
Today, we simply pray and convince ourselves that
indeed LORD THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU; NONE LIKE YOUR FAITHFULNESS &
GRACE.
Lord, indeed THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU because you show
us always the way … to find our way back to your home.
More important, there is none like you Lord
because YOU ARE OUR HOME and whereever we go, we can always FEEL AT HOME in
your presence.
Nice song there by DON MOEN: "There is really NONE LIKE YOU LORD … and in your presence I
WORSHIP."
