Ninth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, August 2nd, 2015
As it has come to be known, the story of the "Prodigal Son" is certainly one of the most famous stories in all of Holy Scripture, if not the most famous. There are so many aspects of this story that it is hard to pin it down to just one thing. Of course the story revolves around the son who decides that he would rather have the inheritance "now" rather than "later." And as a result he spends his inheritance on lavish living and then finds himself afterwards broke, and living in squalor. And ultimately he comes back home with the intent of begging forgiveness from his father. In my opinion, the most wonderful part of the whole story comes at about the midway point of the story: "But when (the son) was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." (St. Luke 15:20) If you notice, Our Lord tells us that the son was still a great way off when the father saw his son. This implies to me that the father was on the "look-out" for his son. And then when the father did finally see his son, he ran to him. The father did not wait for the son to come to him. He not only went to the son. He went running to meet his son.
This story of the Prodigal Son is really the story of humanity. Humanity is the "prodigal son." We have been given the gift of life. We have been given the gift of salvation. But not content with these two gifts we spend our "inheritance" also on riotous living as well. We want to live life our own way and rarely bring God into our day to day living. And just like the prodigal son in the story, we only think about God when we need Him or when we find ourselves in desperation. And it is then that we go to Him for help. Like the loving father in the story, though, Our Heavenly Father also waits for us. Our Heavenly Father comes running to us. But He came running to sinful mankind in the form of His Son. He sent His Son to rescue fallen mankind from their sinfulness and pride. God is always on the lookout for us. He not only waits for us . . . . . He looks for us to return to Him. He is always ready to forgive, ready to bring us back, ready to love us and embrace us.
Join us on Sunday, August 2nd, 2015 as we not only celebrate the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, but we also welcome the visit of His Grace, the Rt. Rev'd Stephen Strawn and Mrs. Strawn, who will join us for the bishops annual visitation to our parish. Bishop Strawn will preach and celebrate Mass for us. Please join us as we welcome the bishop and listen to what he has to say to us.
There will be two opportunities to hear Mass and meet Bishop and Mrs. Strawn on Sunday, August 2nd, 2015:
St. Margaret of Scotland meets at 9:30 AM. We worship in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.
The Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit's Mass begins at 1:00 PM We celebrate Mass at the beautiful First Presbyterian Church, which is located at the corner of South and Pennsylvania Streets in Greenfield, Indiana. The address is 116 W. South Street, near downtown Greenfield.
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