Scripture:
1st Reading Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
2nd Reading 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21
Gospel Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
“He was lost and has been found.” Today’s gospel is the story of a man and his two sons. We hear of the younger son who goes against the law of the land that you receive inheritance after one dies. He demands from his father the share of the family inheritance while his father is still alive.
And if this is not enough, after squandering his share of the family inheritance, makes his way home. Of course the older son acts as one would expect. The elder son who was committed and faithful to his father all this time resented his father’s forgiveness to his younger prodigal son. Prodigal, which means one who is recklessly extravagant or wasteful- as the Webster’s dictionary defines. This definitely fits the younger son.
At the beginning of the story the younger son appears to be the bad boy and the older son the good guy. By the end of the story we see that both of them, in different ways, prove themselves to be obstacles to the family unity which the father desired so much. The problem started in this family when the younger son, who without waiting for his father to die, asked for his share of the family inheritance.
When his request was granted and his share given to him, he abandons the family, especially his father, and his duties and responsibilities in caring for the family home, and leaves to live a life of fun, which left him at the end with nothing. He was eventually forced by poverty to take up a job feeding pigs which Jews viewed as unclean animals. This is one of the damaging effects of sin. It leads people to a situation where they lose all sense of shame and decency and after a while become numb to it.
One aspect of this parable that seems to never talked about is that of the older son of this family who labored faithfully at home with his father. When the father accepted the younger son back the older son became indignant. We can say that he reacted justly but he refused to accept his father’s explanations and pleading. Remember what we heard in the gospel what the older son said to his father after he refused to enter the house? “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders, yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.”
The older son, in his anger, distanced himself from his own family, from his own father, and thus was unable to celebrate the return of his own brother with the members of the family. Is it possible for us as Christians to distance ourselves from God while obeying his commandments?
What I mean is can we be like the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ time who lived by the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law? Can we place ourselves in the older son’s shoes?
This parable tells us two ways we can become alienated from God; either by running away from Him or by merely following “the rules.” Like the younger son, some are fun seeking individuals. They do not want anyone to bother them with the dos and the don’ts of God’s commandments. They would like to have their own autonomy-their own self-governed way of life and their own independence and to do what they desire.
But, when struck with the consequences of sinful indulgence, in their desperation they begin to seek their way home. Have we ever found ourselves in this situation? You see, the problem with this way of life is not to begin it but to leave it behind and return home like the prodigal son, realizing that we have sinned and coming home to seek our heavenly Father’s mercy and forgiveness.
On the other hand, like the older son, some are very ordered, strict, obedient and pleased with their own good works, but very judgmental and unforgiving. Like the older son they stick to their own ideas of what fairness is and what their definition of justice is. And so, they fail to see that the Father’s ways are not their ways. Can we place ourselves in the older son’s shoes?
God wants us to know and realize that we are sinners. Whether your sins are like that of the younger son or like the older son. The message for us today is that every one of us has a weakness which we need to repent from and return to the Father. This parable reminds me of when I was a young boy, around 7 years old back in 1957. It was Thanksgiving Day and a lot of our relatives were at our house for a wondrous Thanksgiving Feast. My father had just pulled that 25 pound turkey out of the oven. What a beautiful sight it was.
Well, a couple of my uncles and an aunt were in the kitchen where they proceeded to get that first taste of the turkey before the table was set. I thought, if they can, so can I. As I was reaching for that morsel of turkey on the corner of the tray, the piece that was mine, I felt that spatula in my father’s hand hit my hand as I heard him say, “Not until we sit down for dinner.”
I was so mad and embarrassed to the point that I mistakenly said out loud; “I want to leave home.” BIG MISTAKE! My father heard me and proceeded to dress me in a warm coat and he put me outside on the doorstep and said, “Have a good trip”, and closed the door.
Not knowing what to do, I went to the ditch where I was constantly hunting for tadpoles, frogs and salamanders. It seemed like days but I was only there for about 20 minutes when I returned home feeling bad about what I sad. Well, when I got to the door my father, with a smile on his face, was there to greet me. I remember sitting down and eating the best Thanksgiving meal I ever had. Lesson Learned!
The younger son in the gospel story today, being wondrous, self -satisfying, independent and stubborn, needs to turn back from his loose and reckless lifestyle only to return to his father and to be a responsible and obedient son and to realize how much he is loved by his father. The older son needs to turn back from anger and lack of forgiveness and learn to share the house with his repentant younger brother. Then he could realize how much he is loved by his father.
Like the father in our story, God is there waiting for us with open arms. As we heard in the reading from St. Paul to the Corinthians, “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come.” This is what happens when we come to the Father asking for his love, mercy, and forgiveness. Our chance is near.
On Thursday, March 10th the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be heard from 3-4:30 and 6-7 P.M. Come to the Father and let his arms wrap around you. Accept the Lord’s love, mercy, and forgiveness and then join in on Sunday at the greatest feast on earth, The Mass where we come face to face with Mercy in the flesh.
My sisters and brothers, remember that the fun loving sinful younger son won the favor of his father because he honestly admitted his sins. The Lord forgives those who trust in his forgiveness, those who overcome their independence and denial and surrender to his love and mercy. This is something the older son could not do. He retained his independence even giving his father a lecture on being too easy with his younger son.
Today, if you should honestly admit your sins, honestly confess them, God will not only forgive you but will open his arms to wrap them around you. God will restore you to your former relationship with him as was done to the prodigal son and his father. Let us, with confidence because of who we are, God’s Children, leap into his waiting arms.
“WE WERE LOST AND NOW WE HAVE BEEN FOUND”