What powerful words it must have been for the Hebrews to hear, that God had "removed the reproach of Egypt from" them.
The curse of an oppressive past had been lifted, which surely must have added to their sense of celebration of reaching the Promised Land, and eating of its harvest as they celebrated the Passover, when God delivered them.
And what a grand celebration it must have been when the son who ran away returned home. The father's urge to celebrate started as soon as he caught the faintest glimpse of his son, running toward him to embrace him and welcome him so dearly.
God wants to remove the stain of sin from us to make us pure and holy as He created us to be, even sending His Son to reconcile us to Himself. He makes us a new creation, so that we can join the great celebration of being reconciled back to the God Who created us. (I think about Abby Johnson's story, depicted in the film Unplanned that opened in theaters recently, and how Abby came to her senses and completely changed the direction of her life.)
And we remember that His mercy is for all, and we should be open to sharing it, so that the celebration is truly ours, not removing ourselves from embracing it like the older son who thought he wasn't getting enough of what he deserved.
Indeed, God's mercy is reckless, immense, and abundant, because He is so eager to welcome us back when we repent of sin and turn back toward Him. And on this Laetare Sunday, just past reaching the midpoint of Lent, there is truly much reason to celebrate and rejoice.
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