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Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."
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Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinner against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.
Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "
- Luke 15:1-2; Luke 15:11-32
In yesterday's reading, we read that all the tax collectors drew near to Jesus to hear Him. (In the previous readings, we were told that great multitudes went with Him, to whom He preached about discipleship; before that, He preached to the Pharisees about humility, here and here). Upon seeing Jesus with tax collectors, the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." We begin today's reading with the earliest verses in yesterday's; it prefaces what we are about to hear, and Jesus continues His preaching in reply to the criticism of the Pharisees and scribes. I'll repeat what my study bible says here: "Mealtime fellowship with tax collectors and sinners was considered to be defiling for pious Jews." In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave two parables about things that we've lost in response. In today's He gives the parable of the Prodigal Son. My study bible says, "This parable, perhaps the most magnificent of all parables, occurs only in Luke and illustrates God's unconditional love and forgiveness for the repentant sinner."
Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood." My study bible notes here: "The father fulfills the request of the son out of profound respect for his freedom, and he lets him go for the same reason. God neither holds nor pulls anyone by force." Clearly, we are in the territory of a spiritual allegory: the father is the Father, God who loves us, of whom we are each a child.
"And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything." My study bible notes, "Consenting to feed swine, unclean and despised animals to Jews, is an act of utter desperation." The son really doesn't know how to live on his own; he has no idea what to do with his money and how to spend his time, what to do with his life. To be "prodigal" is to be recklessly or wastefully extravagant. Apart from his father's home, he finds life out in the world none too kind. It's not only his resources but also his capacities and talents that are wasted here.
"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' " A note reads, "Extreme need brings the prodigal son to his senses, but what draws him homeward is probably his father's love." He remembers his father's care even of his servants, comparing what he found in "the world" to the ways in which his father lives his life and controls his own estate.
"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." A note here reads, "The father's tender actions show he never ceased looking for the return of his son, just as God always longs for the return of every sinner to His forgiving embrace. In Jewish culture, it was considered undignified for an older man to run, but that did not stop this father."
"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinner against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry." My study bible says, "The father does not censure the contrite son, but celebrates his homecoming as of one who came alive from the dead. The symbolic significance of the robe is righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), the ring (a signet ring) is family identity (Haggai 2:23), and sandals refer to walking according to the gospel (Eph. 6:15)." The father here clothes the son completely. A signet ring is one set with a seal; it is the seal of the family name. So the son becomes one who is living "in the name of the Father."
"Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' " My study bible notes, "The father also has to deal with the resentful older son and does so with the same gentle kindness shown to the younger. By contrast, this son shows a pharisaic attitude of self-righteousness and contempt for his brother, much like a Church member who does not wish to be bothered with visitors or new converts."
In today's parable of the Prodigal Son, we find many elements that strike us as true. There's first of all the repeated theme (from yesterday's reading, about the lost sheep and the lost coin) of what we desire that we have lost. Just as with our own worldly goods or even the blessings of children or others who are close to us, we long for what we think we have lost with an especially keen awareness that they are gone from our lives. I think this is important for us to think about, because Jesus here gives us allegories of what not only God the Father but also all of heaven will rejoice over: the return of one sinner, of one who's strayed from God. This is an appeal of love and can be explained no other way. It's not juridical, it's not merely for one's own good, and causes great pain to the Father, but it is out of love and love alone that this great pain is felt, this desire and longing for return and restoration of the place of the son, what is or has been lost to oneself. A dignified older man, with many worldly goods, widely respected, runs out from far away to meet his prodigal son who has disgraced himself, falls on his neck and kissed him, and embraced him with his name and all the best things that belong to the father. That's the kind of love we get from God, Our Father. In this parable, there is no shame left to heap upon the son; he's done that enough to himself already. And God's great love and mercy is fair; the older son already has all the goods in the estate of his father. So let us consider how much this really means for each of us. Guilt and shame may be strewn throughout our lives for all kinds of reasons, but to turn back again to God is to turn to God's great love. We may find for ourselves that "the world" separate from God is a place that will use us as a commodity, without mercy to ease its harshness. We may carry guilt and shame for all kinds of reasons, for having debased ourselves, for having been ignorant or arrogant or naive, for having strayed from the mark in all kinds of ways ("missing the mark" is the literal definition of the Greek word for sin). But God loves us and wants us back. Shame can keep us from this place of healing, but Christ invites us to count on God's love. What's most important is His experienced return of the one He loves, and love trumps over everything in the Gospels, for God, we know, is love. There is no mistaking it. Let us always remember this parable of the Prodigal, the one who leaves and returns, and let us remember what real love is and what it does. God is always wanting us back, ready to keep us "in His name" as His adopted children. He will teach us to make the most of our resources and blessings and gifts, and find the place "in His name" for each of us, a place we can't find or know on our own far away from God. But most of all, we will know that we are loved, and learn what that is for ourselves so that we, too, may grow in God's likeness. Let us remember the feast God plans for us with Him, the joy in the kingdom at our return.
