Let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he 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."

* * *

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 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."  Today's reading begins  with verses 1 and 2, from yesterday's reading, above, as the parable Jesus gives in today's reading is the third one He gave in response to these complaints.  Yesterday we read the parables of the Lost Sheep, and the Lost Coin.  Today we are given the parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son.

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."  In Greek the son's request for his portion of goods uses the Greek term ousia/ουσια for "goods." which literally means "essence" or "substance."  My study Bible comments that this indicates humankind receiving free will and a rational mind from God.  As did Adam in Eden, this younger son uses his possessions given to him to rebel against his father.  The far country, it says, 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."  My study Bible says that feeding swine could rightly be called "Jewish Skid Row."  He could not sink much lower.  

"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."   We note that the text tells us that he came to himself.  Here my study Bible tells us that a person who is immersed in sin is living outside of one's true self (Romans 7:17-20).  This prodigal son realizes his hopeless condition.  The bread symbolizes Christ, 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.' "  Although it was considered to be unseemly in Jewish culture for an old man to run, my study Bible says, we read here that the father did not passively stand by and wait for his son to return.  He ran to him.  It notes that 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.

 

"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."  The significance of the robe, according to my study Bible, 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 notes for us that fatted calf is more closely translated "wheat-fed bull-calf."  Even more literally, it would be translated "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  This is a male calf raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering.  It says that the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so man's reconciliation to God is not by his repentance alone, but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross.  Additionally, the festive dining on an animal offering "formed from wheat" is a clear reference to our partaking of the eucharistic bread.  (See also Matthew 22:4, in which the same term is used.)

"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 illustrates the hard-heartedness of the Pharisees to whom Christ was telling this parable (see verses 1 and 2 at the top of the reading).   Citing the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria, it notes that God requires God's followers to rejoice when even the most blamable person 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.  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 says, I never transgressed your commandment at any time:  my study Bible notes here 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.  St. Ambrose of Milan comments, "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."   My study Bible adds that the older son's ingratitude is also apparent in his charge you never gave me a young goat to his father, who has given him all he has.

Once again, as in yesterday's reading and commentary, we are asked to look at this parable and understand God's great love for us.  Taking these three parables all together (those of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin in yesterday's reading, above, plus today's parable of the Prodigal Son), let us note that these three are considered together in patristic commentary.  Viewed in this way, the man with the lost sheep is considered to represent Christ, the woman with the missing coin represents the Church, and finally the father in today's parable is God the Father.  St. Ambrose of Milan comments:  "Christ carries the sinner, the Church seeks and intercedes, and the Father receives."  But, of course, the parable of the Prodigal Son stands out as one often quoted and used as an example of God's love, and the response to our repentance.  Clearly we are to understand from Jesus' words the vehement and expressive love of God the Father, as the older man, the father in the parable, runs to his son -- casting personal dignity aside to do so in favor of his joy at the return of his son.  This is a kind of joy we can understand if we have ever "lost" a friend or a loved one to a dispute or disagreement, or for whatever reason.  We can imagine our joy at their return, especially the love of a parent for a child, even -- if we may take things this specifically -- an older father for his youngest son.  Taking this image of the youngest son in mind, we might think back to the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers.  While it was his older brothers who betrayed and abandoned him, we just might still imagine the joy of Jacob (also called Israel) at finding his youngest son Joseph still alive (Genesis 45:24-28).  Youngest sons play quite a role in the Bible.  Perhaps, like Joseph shepherding the people of Israel through exile in Egypt, those penitents among us who come to God are shepherding the people of God through an entire world that we understand as a "strange land," for our home is with God (Exodus 2:21-22).  Perhaps today's story of the penitent younger son is meant in part to remind us all that, as Isaiah  says, God dwells among the humble and the contrite (Isaiah 57:15).  The elder son in today's parable reminds us that, even if we are "perfect," the dangers of self-righteousness are still with us.  We can but look around at those whose self-righteousness dismisses all need of repentance.  Perhaps very act of repentance teaches us something far more profound and deeply transformational than those who have no need to repent.  Indeed, if that is so, this story gives us the final teaching on a fallen world in which we find so much sin and all are touched by it.  The final chapter -- that of those redeemed and saved in Christ -- still has yet to be fully written and revealed to us.  Let us who know its value be truly thankful for our repentance, for this is where we come to ourselves.  There we find who we truly are, and where our true home is.

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

 

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."

* * *

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 the 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 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."  These verses are repeated from the beginning of yesterday's reading (see above).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave two parables in response to the criticism that He receives sinners and eats with them.  In today's reading, we're given the third parable He spoke, that of the Lost Son or Prodigal Son.

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."  My study Bible comments that this request for the younger son's portion of goods (in Greek ousia/οὐσία, which literally means "essence" or "substance") indicates humankind receiving our free will and 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 far from God.

"Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into the 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."  To feed swine might rightly be called living on "Jewish skid row," my study Bible notes.  This son could not sink much lower.  

"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."  We note that the text says this young man came to himself.  My study Bible notes that a person who is immersed in sin is living outside one's true self (Romans 7:17-20).  This prodigal realizes his hopeless condition.  The bread which is eaten by his father's hired servants in his father's home 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.'"  Although it was considered unseemly in Jewish culture for an old man to run, my study Bible notes, the father did not passively stand by waiting for his son to return.  Simply from the first sign of the son's return, the older man ran to him.  My study Bible comments that this self-humiliation for the sake of the lost indicates the way in which God our Father, through Christ's sacrifice, actively seeks those who stray.

"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."  There are several significant symbols in the father's response to his son.  According to my study Bible, the robe signifies the righteousness granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10).  The signet ring is family identity; he is once again under the name of his father (Haggai 2:23).  Finally, the sandals refer to walking according to the gospel (Ephesians 6:15).  The phrase translated fatted calf would be more closely rendered "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally, "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  My study Bible says that this is a male calf raised on wheat in preparation for use as a religious offering.  It says that as the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so our reconciliation to God is not by our repentance alone, but by Christ's offering Himself on the Cross.  The festive dining on an animal offering "formed from wheat" therefore becomes a clear reference to our partaking 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 comments that the resentful older son illustrates the hardheartedness of the Pharisees to whom Christ is telling this parable.  According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, God requires us to rejoice when even the most blamable person 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.  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 says, "I never transgressed your commandment at any time."   According to my study Bible, the failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.  This attitude is contrasted with the contrition of the younger son.  St. Ambrose of Milan is quoted:  "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."   Moreover, my study Bible comments, the older son's ingratitude is also apparent in his charge to his father, "You never gave me a young goat," when the father has given him all he has ("all that I have is yours").

If we take the perspective of the older son in this parable, Jesus seems to be suggesting that the scribes and Pharisees might be resentful of Christ's loving attitude toward the tax payers and sinners.  Why should God come into the world, as Incarnate Christ, both divine and human, and seek the sinners?  What about those who have always been loyal to the covenant?  It seems that this seeks to address a kind of resentment that is possible on the part of the religious Jews who recognize Christ at least as a holy Man, and so we can read into the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes a resentment that Jesus criticizes them, and yet receives and eats with tax collectors and sinners.  But what Christ emphasizes here is that His mission into the world is one of salvation, to rescue and free the ones captive to the evil one, to seek and find the lost sheep, as illustrated in the parable He gave yesterday.  This casts a light on the reading, on the character and mission of Christ, and on the love of God which we might miss otherwise should we not examine this aspect of the parable.  What else can we call God's deep drive to save except love?  Over and over again, Jesus illustrates this deep and true impulse as the quality of His mission.  As noted in yesterday's reading, we might recall His mission across a threatening and stormy sea to save one man oppressed by a Legion of demons in a forsaken place (Luke 8:22-39).   The parable of the lost sheep in yesterday's reading is a clear indication of this -- that a shepherd would leave ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness to go after one is something that any first century hearer would no doubt remark upon.  Both the parable and the incident from chapter 8 highlight the danger and risk involved in a saving mission which is counted as worthy for the sake of salvation.  In John's third chapter, when Jesus is teaching Nicodemus by night, He follows up the oft-quoted statement in John 3:16 with this important clarification:  "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (see John 3:16-17).  What does the story of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, alluded to here in today's parable through the sacrifice of the "wheat-fed calf," mean to us except that He died for us that we might be saved?  The emphasis here is not so much on our own sinfulness -- for we all sin -- as on God's saving love for us that is willing to risk everything for the sake of that love.  It tells us, more powerfully than anything else, how precious we are to God, and what Christ is willing to go through to illustrate that love for all of us.  For of His saving mission He has said Himself, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  If we take nothing else from this parable, we must understand -- as Jesus tries so vehemently and extensively in these three parables He gives to the Pharisees and scribes -- that His message is one of God's love; that He, who will go to the ends of the earth, to His death on the Cross as human being, will do whatever it takes to save.  The one thing that keeps us from this saving love is our own inability to receive it, our lack of returned faith and trust, our unwillingness to follow Him and to recognize that love.  God gives to us His all -- as Christ will give His all.  But in return, He asks us for our hearts and our trust, as Jesus prays to the Father, "that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:20-26)

 

 

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."

 

* * *

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 we read that all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Christ 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 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."  My study bible comments that regarding the son's request for his portion of goods, the  original Greek word used here for "goods" or property is ousia/οὐσίας, which literally means "essence" or "substance."  That "portion of goods" or "substance" that human beings receive from God is our free will and rational mind.  This is what makes us made "in the image and likeness of God."  So, 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. 

"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."  To feed swine is, for this man, something my study bible says could be called "Jewish Skid Row."  In popular parlance, he's hit rock bottom.  He could not sink much lower.

"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."  There is a great revelation in this language in the Gospel, that the son came to himself.  My study bible comments that a person immersed in sin is living outside his true self (Romans 7:17-20).  Here, this recognition comes with the realization of his hopeless condition.  The bread of the father's hired servants is symbolic of Christ, known to us both through the Scriptures and the Eucharist (John 6:51). 

 

"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.' "  Although it was considered unseemly in Jewish culture for an old man to run, this father does not passively stand by and wait for his son to return.  Instead, He ran to him.  My study bible points out that this self-humiliation for the sake of the lost is an illustration of the way in which God our Father, through the sacrifice of Christ himself, actively seeks those who stray.  This is a love that is ashamed of nothing in pursuit of the beloved who is lost, in order to be returned and found again.

"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."  The significance of the robe is explained by my study bible as righteousness granted by baptism (Isaiah 61:10).  The signet ring is family identity (Haggai 2:23).  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."  Etymologically, the Greek for fatted calf is more closely translated "wheat-fed bull-calf," or even more literally as "a bull-calf formed from wheat."  My study bible suggests that this is a male calf which is raised on wheat, in preparation for use as a religious offering.   It notes that as the reconciliation of the prodigal son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so man's reconciliation to God is not by repentance alone, but by Christ offering Himself on the Cross.  The festive dining on an animal offering which is "formed from wheat" is clearly a reference to our partaking of the eucharistic bread.  See also Matthew 22, verse 4, in the context of the wedding feast.

"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.'"   As Jesus is addressing the Pharisees (see verses 1 and 2 at the top of today's reading), the resentful older son is an illustration of their hardheartedness regarding the sinners who now dine with Jesus and become His disciples.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria, that God asks followers to rejoice when even the most blamable person is called to repentance.  He tells the father, "I never transgressed your commandment at any time."  This is reminiscent of the Pharisees, for whom scrupulous following of commandments found in the Scriptures was all-important, developing a legalistic perspective of faith.  My study bible says that the failure of the older son to recognize his own sins leads to his self-righteous and merciless attitude.   This is in contrast to the contrition of the younger son.  St. Ambrose of Milan comments, "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."  My study bible also notes that the older son's ingratitude is apparent in his charge to his father that "you never gave me a young goat."  Clearly, his father has given him all he has (verse 31). 

For what are we grateful?  For many of us, this year has been one of many trials, and even losses.  We have been contending with the COVID-19 virus and its restrictions on movements, gatherings, work places, employment, and so many other things.  Personal friends have lost loved ones in a shockingly quick time, and are contending with the grief for the person lost to them, and shock at the outcome upon otherwise healthy people.  Whole societies, of course, have gone into lockdown.  We cope also with the strangeness of elections during this time, and the uncertainty that continues around that.  Moreover, there are those of us contending with horrible warfare of a terribly aggressive nature, including Christians of various denominations in the Middle East, as well as other religious and ethnic minorities.  For the Armenian people and the generations recovering from 20th century genocide, there is a dire threat of a repeat of the same, and also the loss of precious culture and historical monuments.  These are mostly religious in nature, including a monastery that dates back to Apostolic times. This is, unfortunately, a case of the strong against the weaker and smaller, an aggressor with no qualms regarding targeting those who are helpless.  In such a time and with such feelings of loss on so many fronts this year, we may find it hard to be grateful to God for anything that we have.  But -- even as illustrated by this parable and so much else in the Bible and especially the Gospels -- we so often forget that our faith teaches us that God works through the small.  When we take time to be grateful for what we do have, to count even our blessings that remain to us, we set ourselves in the right place to approach God.  Those whose ancestors survived a genocide to thrive in new communities must recognize the goodness of what came out of those generations of survivors, their faith, their heritage, their resilience.  And, as a gift from Christ, all of this comes out of our Christian faith, for it is in our faith that we know Resurrection comes.  If we sit down to count the great blessings of rich heritage and culture, especially in the struggles of the Church and the art that came out of it, we know that we found "who we are."  If we recognize the love we find and know in our communities, and the choice for humane values, even for democracy, education, culture, and so many good things embraced even as a result of our faith, we have so much that is precious to be grateful for.  It sets us in the right place to understand who we are.  We remain those people -- no matter where we are in the world as faithful -- who are grateful for the blessing of the robe of baptism, the signet ring of the house of Christ, and the sandals through which we may follow His path.  Most of all, we know the Father's love, the One who always searches for us through all things and wants us close -- and in that "most of all" is especially Christ the Son, who gave His life for us and taught us the way of the Cross.  It is in this way that we find ourselves, and through which we remain most grateful.  Life is not about the working of evil in this world.  It is rather about the good that comes through even the evil, the Resurrection that is assured by way of the Cross.  Let us remember who we are, and not lose our place in the grand scheme of the cosmos, which is the salvation we have seen and known, and will continue to put our faith into even at this time.  For at the Cross, what is lost will be found in the promise of Christ.

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."

* * *

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.

The Prodigal Son

 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." 

*  *  *

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.