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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 sinned 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 15:1-2,11-32
Yesterday's reading began with the same two verses above, from the beginning of chapter 15 of Luke's Gospel: 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." So Jesus 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 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." Here, my study bible says, "The son's request for his portion of goods (Gr. ousia, literally 'essence') indicates man receiving his free will and his rational mind from God. As Adam did in Eden, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father. The far country represents life in exile from God."
"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." Feeding swine, notes my study bible, could rightly be called "Jewish Skid Row." This young man could not sink much lower. This is the place where he has "hit bottom."
"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." The language in these verses is very important: that he came to himself has great theological importance. My study bible suggests that "a person immersed in sin is living outside his true self (Romans 7:17-20). The prodigal realizes his hopeless condition." The bread is a symbol of Christ, known through the Scriptures and the Eucharist. Our "true selves" are found in the image Christ holds and is planted in us. We must turn to that place and choose it throughout our lives.
"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 sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'" My study bible says that "though it was considered unseemly in Jewish culture for an old man to run, the father did not passively stand by waiting for his son to return. He ran to him. This self-humiliation for the sake of the lost indicates the way in which our Father, through Christ's sacrifice, actively seeks those who stray."
"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned 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 explains that the significance of the robe is righteousness which is granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10), the signet ring is family identity (Haggai 2:23), and the sandals refer to walking according to the gospel (Ephesians 6:15). The fatted calf is also a special symbol. It's more closely translated (according to commentary in my study bible) as "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally "a bull-calf formed from wheat." That indicates a male calf raised on wheat in preparation to be used as a religious offering. A note tells us that as the reconciliation of the prodigal son wasn't complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so man's reconciliation to God is not by his repentance alone, but truly also by Christ's offering of Himself on the Cross. The festive dining on an offering "formed from wheat" is a clear reference to how we continue to partake of the eucharistic bread.
"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." My study bible suggests that this resentful older son is meant to illustrate the hard-heatedness of the Pharisees to whom Jesus was telling this parable. Paraphrasing the commentary of Cyril of Alexandria, "God requires His followers to rejoice when even the most blamable man is called to repentance."
"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." My study bible notes that the failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude. Contrast this with the contrition of the younger son. Ambrose of Milan has written: "The one who seems to himself to be righteous, who does not see the beam in his own eye, becomes angry when forgiveness is granted to one who confesses his sin and begs for mercy." There is also the ingratitude of the older son which is apparent in the statement, "You never gave me a young goat," made to the father, who has actually given this son all that he has.
"'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.'" Here is the statement that sums up the whole of the perspective of God. We are truly talking about the difference between life and death, the reality of a human being -- where we truly live, and where we do not.
So, how do we find ourselves? How do we "come to ourselves?" This is really a very profound question. We can think about it in all kinds of ways, but as Christian perspective would teach us, the real you is your identity in Christ, that image that is planted into us, the one we grow into throughout our lives when we persist in turning and turning again back to Him, back to God: Father, Son and Spirit. It's an answer that plays itself out over time, a choice we make - not just once, but over the course of our lives, every intersection, even each moment. Many teach that this is, indeed, the purpose of time. So that we have a choice moment to moment to turn again and again back to our Source, and find ourselves in every crux or crucible, every moment of decision. In this sense, time also becomes opportunity for reconsideration of the past choices we've made, a chance to make them again, to change, to repent. As human beings, this choice is ongoing and always present. Our Father is always waiting and has already run toward us with the sending of the Son to us. Forgiveness is already extended to us. It's just a question of our receiving and accepting, and growing into our place in His home. (See John 14:2.) Our essential understanding of our place in Creation hinges on this one fact, this perspective: that our place awaits us, our Father loves us, but like the prodigal son, we have to do the work to realize that ourselves. We have to decide what we really want, and who we truly are, where we "find" ourselves. It's not only important to us but our truly finding ourselves is of significance to the whole of Creation, all the cosmos. As we read in yesterday's reading (Jesus said it twice for good measure, so that we really understand): "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." And which of us hasn't made a bad decision? Which of us doesn't need to "change our minds" (the meaning of repentance), about something or other no matter when that first understanding occurred? Who is there who hasn't made a mistake? We grow into this self, this image or icon, the true person Christ keeps in His heart: the one that might be lost and found, the one who will return and live with Him -- and the whole house of all our sisters and brothers, all of Creation -- even all the angels.
