We rejoice when we know who Jesus is and that he has not come to destroy us – however perfect or imperfect we are. Rather, Jesus came to save us from many different kinds of ailments that affect us. In the 15th chapter of St. Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. His conclusion in each parable is that “There is more rejoicing in heaven over
one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (Lk 15:7) The father of the lost son says to the better-behaved son: “it is only right that we should celebrate and rejoice because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”
This confirms the nature of God – as a God of mercy and compassion. Hundreds of years earlier, God said to the chosen people in exile:
“I know the plans I have for you, plans for peace, not for disaster, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11). Through the Prophet Ezekiel, we also hear the rhetorical question of God: “Would I take pleasure in the death of the wicked - declares the Lord Yahweh - and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?” (Ex 18:23)
So, God prefers nations and individuals to thrive and prosper. God is not a Lord of
destruction who delights in imposing harsh punishment. This might sometimes be salutary, but it is not God's plan. For us to have a healthy spiritual life, it is important for us not to labour under a false or distorted image of God as a harsh penalising judge but to know the loving, merciful, compassionate side of Our Father. When we do go astray, God wishes for us to return. God even sent the Second Person of the Holy Trinity to show us the way back to the Father through the route of
conversion, humility, and sincerely trying again.
Our world seems hell-bent on environmental destruction through ecological collapse. God only wants us to have an individual and collective ecological conversion (as Pope Francis calls it in his encyclical Laudato Si’) before it is too late. We are taking more from our planet than it can provide and dumping more rubbish than it can possibly absorb. Are we surprised that Mother Earth is
convulsing with destructive floods and droughts caused by climate change and that so many species are dying off in this sixth great extinction? In pursuit of quick profits and a luxurious life, we are not-so-slowly plundering our common home to its death – all over Africa and in the rest of the world.
Reflections by Peter Knox SJ
