“So the LORD relented in the punishment He had threatened to inflict on his people.” (Exodus 32:14)

The major theme for this 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C focuses on the authentic image of God the Heavenly Father as it is demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ who truly is the Only Begotten Son of God and invites us to believe in Him. Contrary to people’s perception, our God is not a cruel, judgmental, and punishing deity. According to Christ, He is a loving, patient, merciful and forgiving God who wants to save everyone through Jesus Christ, and is always in search of His lost and straying children as Jesus explains in today’s parables, known as the parables of “the Lost and Found.” Today’s readings testify God’s infinite, compassionate and merciful love toward us. He is always ready and awaiting to celebrate our returning home.

In monotheistic thought, God is viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. God is conceived of as being omnipotent (almighty), omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present in everywhere) and omnibenevolent (always good), as well as having an eternal (endless) and necessary existence (must being). God is most often held to be incorporeal (not composed of matter), with said characteristic being related to conceptions of transcendence (beyond all known physical laws) or immanence (dwell in, remain within).

In the Old Testament, since human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, God is thought to have human features. However, God is wholly incomprehensible and therefore impossible to envision. In the New Testament, Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Therefore, Jesus is the image of the invisible Heavenly Father, incarnate of the divine supreme being. In Jesus Christ we see and encounter God.

God does not want us holding a relationship of Transaction but Transformation. Therefore, Dynamic Christian disciples are those who (1) BELIEVE, (2) GROW, (3) SERVE, (4) LOVE and (5) LEAD others to Jesus. Today’s topic invites us to appreciate who God truly is by the teachings of Jesus Christ, to repent our sins, to love God above all and to love our neighbors as ourselves in doing the works of mercy, to accomplish God’s will in our lives to glorify God.  

How can we repent our sins and return home to the embrace of our compassionate and merciful God?      

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.