Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (2021)
It is not too presumptuous to say that every family has a black sheep.
It is not necessarily one of the children. It can be anyone in the family.
And it is not just limited to the family. There are black sheep in the parish community, in the company, in society and in the country.
We can call the second son in today's gospel parable a "black sheep". After all, for what he had done to his father, he certainly deserved that infamous title.
Yet how the father in the gospel parable treated the second son is certainly a far cry from how we would treat the "black sheep" in our family, company and society .
Yet, are we not also going to admit that we are "black sheep" in the eyes of God?
And how will God treat us? The prophet Micah puts it beautifully in the 1st reading.
With a shepherd's crook O Lord, You lead your people to pasture, taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger but delighting in showing mercy.
The season of Lent is a time to come to our senses and to admit our sinfulness and seek reconciliation with God.
And God, like the father in the gospel parable, will say: This son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.