FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, CYLCLE C

[cappie]

The Gospel we just heard is sometimes called the ” Story of the Prodigal Son” or the “Story of the Two Sons” Or the “Story of the Forgiving Father.”

This story asks each of us an important question: Will you go in? Will you go in to the feast of forgiveness, will you go in to the party where all are welcome, or will you remain outside?

  The Biblical record indicates that Jesus was addressing the scribes and the Pharisees. However, it is reasonable to conclude that sinners who had come to see Jesus also heard His words—for it was about them that He spoke.  

We know the son’s request in this parable is outrageous in every way. In this ancient culture land confers identity and status on the family. This boy is calling for a premature division of the land – move that will diminish the standing and welfare of the whole family. So it is a blow directed not at his father but at the older brother and the rest of the family. The family suffers disgrace. The boy will become isolated because of this disrespect. The family will be ridiculed for letting this happen.

The father gives the son what he wants. The son squanders everything and there’s an economic recession that makes things harder and the son can only find a job feeding pigs. The boy is according to Jewish standards an outcast. He’s feeding pigs and is a Gentile. He thinks about his father and goes home. As he nears his home he sees his father running towards him. His father flings his arms around him. The father wants to reward his son with everything he has left.   My son’s not dead; he’s alive! He’s not lost; he’s been found!”

There’s no lecture, no suggestion that he go inside and apologize to his mother.  What does happen is welcome, and celebration.

Will this boy go into the feast of forgiveness?  

 The younger son travels home in sorrow yet finds an unexpected welcome. Will he go into the feast of forgiveness, or will he stay outside?

There’s also the elder son. He has his own way of remaining outside. Mark Twain describes him perfectly as “a good man in the worst sense of the word.” He’s upstanding, a hard worker, respected by others, fit to inherit the farm, but he’s also a reservoir of resentment.

The elder son comes home after a long, hard day to find the house unexpectedly alive.  This makes the elder son suspicious.  Still outside, he finds out from a farmhand that the party’s for his brother.   He remains outside, yelling insults at his brother and father.

The father, now anxious, goes outside to his angry elder son who expresses many resentments.

Finally, the father gets a word in. The truth is, he loves both his sons. To welcome the wastrel is no loss for the elder: it means the elder brother has gained his sibling back.

The elder brother has also fled from his father.  For years he has ignored his father’s kindness. A false, image of a demanding father has held sway over him and made life miserable for those around him. The real father tries to shatter this illusion. He wants his older son to return home, too.

Will the elder son go in where all are welcome ?   Or will he remain outside, isolated in anger?

This elder brother lives in many people. Their sin is one of quiet forgetfulness. They overlook their blessings. Their appreciation turns dull. They feel sorry for themselves, become jealous of others, and strive all the harder to be worthy. They have no taste for a party that welcomes home a prodigal.

But the door remains open. How about you? Will you go in to the feast of forgiveness, will you go in to the party where all are welcome, or will you remain outside?  

 Remember who tells the story: Jesus Christ. He does not simply talk about the Father; the Father dwells in him. He does not simply speak of our return; he invites us back. He does not simply describe the party; he makes that party possible.

Lent is a time for conversion. My prayer today is that we may all come to know we are loved as the Prodigal Child, to know we must love as the parent, and to know that to love and be loved we must wrestle with our darkness as the elder sibling.

We have responded to his story because we are here, here inside our Father’s house. Now comes the feast of forgiveness, the banquet of our eternal home.