Homily by Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna
This evening, we have heard the Gospel in which Jesus uses the word drachma, the same word that inspired the creation of this group twenty years ago to unite LGBTIQ+ individuals and their parents. A drachma is something precious, something worth searching for and celebrating with a feast once it is found. It is also an invitation to live your life in reconciliation and mature love. I hope we can all recognise how precious each of us is.
The readings we heard from the Book of Wisdom and the Psalm teach us this: everything God created is good, and he wishes life, not death, for his creations, because God is alive, true, and above all he is love. When he looks at us, he sees his beloved children. The word he spoke over his Son on Mount Tabor—and in anticipation at his baptism—“This is my Son, the Beloved” (Mk 9:7), are the same words the Lord also speaks over each and every one of us. The drachma is precious, the drachma is worth searching for.
As we know, the parable of the drachma is found in Chapter 15 of the Gospel of St Luke— a beautiful hymn of God’s mercy which also includes the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep. When speaking with those who considered themselves better than others, the Lord used similes and comparisons. Chapter 15 begins precisely in this way, with the relationship Jesus had with those who saw themselves as superior. However, through these parables of God’s mercy, the Lord teaches us that we are all children of the same Father—fratelli tutti—and that we are all called to love according to our vocation and identity.
We ought to search for the drachma because God always seeks you and lets you find him. In the parable, Jesus compares this to a “woman having ten drachmas (coins) and loses one of them” (Luke 15:8)—a significant 10% of her savings. She sweeps the entire house until she finds it. And when she does, she rejoices and throws a celebration. I cannot help but wonder—did she end up spending a drachma to celebrate finding one? I have always been curious about that! How much did she actually spend on the celebration?
However, the message Jesus wants to convey is not about how much the woman spent on the feast, but rather the joy of rediscovering something precious that was once lost or distant. The drachma was found through a merciful and loving gaze, with the determination to ensure that where there were once ten, there will not be nine, but there will be everyone. This is the emphasis Pope Francis made during World Youth Day when he proclaimed in Spanish, ‘todos, todos, todos’ (everyone, everyone, everyone). In the wholeness of those ten drachmas, we see God’s deep desire for us to be united—siblings who respect, accept, and welcome one another as precious gifts. When we embrace this, we begin to see each other as the Lord sees us.
However, the drachma in the context of Jesus’ parable is also a symbol of celebration. Let us, therefore, rejoice in one another and celebrate each other—not with fleeting enthusiasm, but with compassion that creates space for genuine joy. Let our hearts be consoled by the experience of acceptance, of being loved, understood, and appreciated. That is the true feast.
Another important point is that the drachma is an invitation to reconciliation. Brothers and sisters, we must firstly be at peace with ourselves. Do you love yourself? Are you reconciled with yourself? Are you at peace with your life story? Are you at peace with the people the Lord has brought you together with? As human beings, we may sometimes hurt, use, or exploit one another.
I like to share with young people something that I learnt when I was still a young priest, something that left a lasting impression on me: Life is a mix of love, infatuation, friendship and exploitation. There is both the positive and negative in life. This is the story of our life and our relationships. We need to be reconciled to our past and with what has shaped us in order to find peace of heart and mind.
However, brothers and sisters, we also need to be reconciled with God. Often, we blame Him, just as children blame their parents. Many times we need to be reconciled with our heavenly Father. We may wish to be different at times, but wouldn’t it be better to reconcile with the God who created and loves you? His gaze is what truly brings you happiness—happiness that no one can take away: peace of heart.
Furthermore, brothers and sisters, we need to be reconciled with each other, reconciled with a society that does not always understand us, and reconciled with the Church, that has sometimes used harsh and hurtful labels and words toward some of us. Of course, conversion is not one-sided; it must be mutual. Therefore, we also pray that the Church will embrace the Lord’s heart. After all, this is the prayer we prayed last Sunday and continue to pray this week in the 24th week of Ordinary Time: “Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of Your mercy, grant that we may serve You with all our heart.”God is not soft in his mercy; God shows his strength through his mercy.
May God grant us the grace to experience the strength of his mercy—a mercy that can radically transform us and give us the strength to attain maturity in our relationships and affections. This maturity leads us from infatuation to true love, from exploitation to genuine friendship. Remember, life is a mix of all these experiences. The Lord leads us from darkness into light, from mere knowledge to true wisdom.
✠ Charles Jude Scicluna
Archbishop of Malta
Readings
First reading: Wisdom 11:22 – 12:1
Psalm: 139
Gospel: Luke 15:8-10