One of the most beautiful expressions in the Bible comes from the prophet Ezekiel (Ezk 11:19). ‘Thus says the Lord, I will take their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh.’ It is a call to be tender and compassionate.
You would need a heart of stone not to be affected by the stories we encounter today. Most of us have heard the story of the two sons in today’s Gospel over and over. The brilliance of the way Jesus tells stories is that it still gets under our skin. Here are two young men who think they can live on their own terms. One has a sense of entitlement and demands his share of his father’s estate which he then squanders. He is finally prepared to eat humble pie and find his way home. The other son has a different sense of entitlement. He believes that his hard work and reliability should provide him with a greater share of his father’s love. At different times in our life, we can relate more to one or other of these people. Jesus implies that they are both blind to the way God’s love works and that they both need to grow. They have both been dead and now must come to life.
The story we encounter this week is also deeply moving. Irene, aged 25, lives in the Kongolo region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her father was killed during a war and Irene lived with her mother on very meagre resources, often going hungry for extended periods of time. Irene first became pregnant as a teenager and later had to raise her two children on her own, with the support of her mother. As a single mother, it was challenging for Irene to care for her two sons without a stable income.
Irene’s life changed after she participated in the Youth Capacity Strengthening program, run by Caritas Australia’s partner, Caritas Kongolo. Through the program, she undertook training in sewing and livestock farming, enabling her to generate income to support her family.
Our second reading today reminds us that we are ‘ambassadors for Christ.’ St Paul says, ‘for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation.’ Let us all be part of building that new creation, setting the world to rights as best we can. Our part is to reach out in compassion and love to heal the wounds of the whole human family. Let us all Unite Against Poverty as pilgrims of hope in this Year of Jubilee.
We pray for those driven away from their homes by violence, persecution or poverty, especially women. May our hearts be open to do all we can to rebuild the lives of others through supporting Caritas Australia and the work of Project Compassion. May we be instruments of God’s peace and pilgrims of hope.
© Project Compassion Sunday Reflection, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Image: www.liturgyhelp.com