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

 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 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

Yesterday, we read that all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him.  And 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 with the complaint to which Jesus replied (in yesterday's reading, above) with two parables.  One of them was about the lost sheep that was found; the other the found silver coin that went missing from a woman's necklace.  In both parables, the owner sought what had been lost; having found it, exclaimed, "Rejoice with me."    By tradition, we may see Christ as the shepherd who rejoices over the lost sheep that was found, and the Church as the married woman, the bride, who seeks and finds mankind who bears the image of the King, Christ, returning us to grace.

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."  In Greek, the word for the portion of goods requested by the son is ousia, which literally means "essence."  My study bible says that this indicates human beings receiving free will and a rational mind from God.  As did Adam in Eden, the younger son uses these possessions to rebel against his father.  The far country represents life in exile from God.

"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."   That this man would find himself in a place where his job was to feed swine is an indication of how far he has sunk down.  For a Jew this is nearly the lowest rung possible in life.  Certainly the image would not be lost on the Pharisees and scribes to whom Jesus is speaking!

"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."  That this young man came to himself is the text teaching us about true self:  being immersed in sin is straying far away from the true person we are (Romans 7:17-20).  My study bible says that this prodigal realizes his hopeless condition.  The bread symbolizes Christ, who is known through the Scriptures and the Eucharist.

"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.'"  In Jewish culture  it was considered unseemly for an old man to run.  And yet, this father does not passively stand by awaiting the return of his son.  He not only ran to him but fell on his neck and kissed him, in the fullness of an open display of emotion.  This is a kind of self-humiliation for the sake of the lost.  My study bible says it 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."  My study bible says that the significance of the robe is righteousness 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).  

"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 fatted calf is more closely translated as "wheat-fed bull calf," or even more literally "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  That means this is a male calf that was raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering, and why this is so significant.   The fullness of reconciliation of the prodigal son isn't complete without the sacrifice of this calf; it's an illustration that a person's reconciliation to God isn't by his or her repentance alone, but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross.  This festive dining on an animal offering that is "formed from wheat" gives us a reference to our sharing in the eucharistic bread.    The father's actions are another way of commanding all, "Rejoice with me!"

"Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near 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."  The resentment of the older son is meant to illustrate the hard-heartedness of the Pharisees to whom Christ is telling the parable.  My study bible cites Cyril of Alexandria, who writes that God requires His followers to rejoice when the most blamable man is called to repentance.

"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.'"  The older son fails to recognize his own sins.  This leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.  The younger son's contrition stands out by comparison.  Ambrose of Milan writes, "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."  The elder son also expresses a kind of blind ingratitude when he says, "You never gave me a young goat."  The father has already given him all he has.

What does it mean to be ungrateful?  Clearly the older son, in his resentment, doesn't see what he has and what has always been on offer to him.  I think that often when we have so much, it's such a common human foible to take it all for granted, and only look to what we think we don't have.  This happens, often, with wealth.  It's been observed that in our society, it's easy to get caught up in the demands of upward mobility.  Crossing a threshold of a certain amount of income one thought would be desirable leaves many people with the feeling that if they only had a bit more, things would be better -- and this pattern just continues to repeat itself through time and more income.  It's easy to overlook what we have.  How does this apply to God's love for us?  Rejoice with me is the theme of the three parables Christ has given to these Pharisees and scribes.  He has come opening doors for those who are sinners, who have been excluded from the wedding feast.  Repentance is the key, and teaches us that God is always ready to celebrate our return.  Not only is God ready, but the command goes out that the rest of us should rejoice with God, as do the angels ("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," from yesterday's reading).   Is there some way in which resentment is playing a role in your life?  "Entitlement" is a common word we hear today, and I think we can definitely apply it to the Pharisees and scribes in the Gospels, as their behavior bears out this kind of assumption and even resentment of Christ.  Mark's Gospel tells us that Pilate knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy (Mark 15:10).  There's an underlying hint that Christ understands these people much better than they know themselves in the envy and resentment of the older son.  The irony is that not only does his sense of entitlement keep him from being happy for his father, but it locks him out of the feast, the celebration of the whole household in reconciliation.  It keeps him from understanding that all of it already belongs to him.  The older son would be the favored heir anyway, by tradition.  Entitlement of this sort ironically works as a plank in our own eye that effectively keeps us, hinders us, from realizing all that we truly have.  It keeps us from understanding the great wealth of our blessings that are already present to us.  Let us learn to practice gratitude if only for the sake of our clear sight, our own happiness, and the joy we can share in with others.