Fourth Sunday of Lent
Intention: For all who are standing up for justice, especially those who are being persecuted for their courage, that God will continue to strengthen them and that their sacrifices may bear redeeming fruit.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 15:1-3,11-32
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable:
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
Reflection
There is perhaps no better known of Jesus’ parables than that of the prodigal son. It is a powerful allegory for divine compassion and forgiveness that also illustrates what lies at the heart of human sinfulness. The narrative presents three characters who variously represent the best and the worst possibilities of our struggles to live together. By identifying alternately with each one, we can step into the story and explore our own relationship with the realities of experiencing brokenness and redemption.
If we are honest, we all can think the times when we have been the younger son as well as the older son. That is actually the easy task of the story. The real work comes when, in pondering the challenges and the effects of doing versus not doing God’s will, we end up in the same place as Jesus’ listeners did: trying to understand the father. In our world, who waits for a betrayer, not to exact revenge, but to offer a second chance? Not someone who believes in the equation of an eye for an eye, but someone who has a very different idea about the nature of right and wrong.
As it turns out, at the heart of the parable is its challenge to our notions of justice. What does it look like to treat one another rightly and on what is this based? The father lived in his hopes for his children. For him, what was right was that they both were whole, regardless of how many times they might fall or disappoint. In God, justice is not about what we demand from people, but rather what we want for them. Lent challenges us to accept that life is a flawed journey through a flawed world. It is only through the justice of forgiveness and unconditional love that we will be able to find our way to wholeness for others and for ourselves. As author Cherie Carter-Scott writes, “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”
Prayer
Eternal Father, every day you call us to keep humble and generous hearts. At times, we fall prey to our own pride and stubbornness and we begin to judge others. Teach us to look upon one another with open and unselfish eyes, to always acknowledge our own brokenness and our constant need for mercy and forgiveness. Fill us with compassion and love for all, that we might be able to humbly give and receive the healing of mercy and welcome. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.