Monk’s

Corner

4th Sunday of Lent

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4th Sunday of Lent (C) Luke 15:1-32

The tax collectors, prostitutes, and known public sinners were in the crowds gathering around Jesus to hear him. The Pharisees and the Scribes were a minority among the Jews at the time of Jesus, but they were the self-appointed leaders of religious Judaic thought. They kept the Mosaic Law strictly, in fact too strictly. They murmured among themselves “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then he addressed this parable to them. He presents an image of God that was probably shocking to his audience at the time. Jesus speaks of Yahweh as “Abba:” Father, the God of infinite compassion. This was a revolutionary concept of God as opposed to the popular belief of Yahweh as the God of armies, king of glory, the mighty, the valiant. But Jesus calls God “Abba” a word akin to our word - daddy.

Tax collectors, are most despised sinners of this age because they were cheats and traitors. We all know what prostitutes are, but let us not forget that one can prostitute oneself for things other than sex. So a prostitute could also be those who would give up their self-respect, their moral beliefs for the sake of financial gain. These public sinners are equated with the youngest son who wanted his inheritance so he could spice up his life before he got too old. He receives his inheritance and then proceeds to carouse and drink and make his life a party. This is the way for some people to learn that their dreams for happiness are, in fact, programs for human misery. I compare this son to those who fall away from God and his Church and wind up lost in today’s crazy culture, needing someone to help them back.

When the young man hits bottom he realizes that a life dedicated to earthly happiness is not what it is portrayed to be. So hopefully, he leaves the land of unlimited pleasure and begins his difficult journey back to the Father. How many reformed addicts or alcoholics could relate to this part of the story with a story of their own. Pray for those who are fighting an addiction. It is so easy to get lost in the temptations of our time but so difficult to get back to the Father.

So the first part of the story is clearly aimed at those persons who have given in to the temptation of worldly pleasures with no thought to the consequences. It is up to them to confront their own consciences and admit to the misery of their own situation. As the story continues the young son is humbled when his Father welcomes him back with open arms of love, kissing and hugging him because he has repented by admitting “he is unworthy to be called his son.” The real party then begins. They kill the fatted calf, there is dancing and music and everyone welcomes the young man’s return. The Father is aglow with love for his son, because he was dead and now he is returned.

In the midst of this celebration we meet the elder son, who has remained with the Father. This son is linked to the self-righteous Pharisees who felt that the special favor of God belonged to them because they kept the law of Moses. The elder son refuses to come to the party. The Father goes to him and begs him to come but he will not listen and attacks the old man with harsh words toward his brother and bitterness toward his father. The story ends without us knowing if he ever joins the banquet, but we know that this is not a story about one rebellious son. It is about two rebellious sons. The elder brother turns out to be more grave a sinner than his younger brother. He is the most sinful because he refuses to forgive. The meaning of the inheritance to the elder son is prestige, property and power. He thought he could guarantee his share by remaining loyal to the Father and earning all that was left. This is the typical attitude of people who serve God for the sake of reward.

The key to the parable is the inheritance. For the inheritance is God’s grace, the gift of life and salvation, it cannot be earned; it can only be received. It is the banquet of the Father’s love. The young son came to understand the futility of his self-centered project for happiness, while the elder son was called to growth by fulfilling the duties of a son and imitating the Father’s love and forgiveness. Unfortunately, his self-centered righteousness (Pharisees) prevented him from recognizing the precious gift he was being offered. Therefore, he squandered his inheritance just as much as his younger brother.

This parable invites us to consider our own values. Lent is about repentance, about letting go of our false dreams, our idols, our addictions in order to open ourselves to the values of the Gospel. The primary point Jesus makes is the invitation to each of us, no matter which son you identify with, to recognize that salvation is sheer gift. The divine grace does not belong to us or anyone else. Each son is equally guilty of rejecting the goodness and love of this extraordinary father who is not put off by either of them. As stewards of what has been freely given we have an obligation to share with others the love and mercy we have freely received. This is the value system that shook the piety of the people of Jesus’ time to its roots.

Ernest Hemingway grew up in a very devout evangelical family, yet he never experienced the grace of Christ. He lived a libertine life that most of us would call "dissolute"… but there was no father, no parent waiting for him and he sank into the mire of a graceless depression. A short story he wrote perhaps reveals the grace that he hoped for. It is the story of a Spanish father who decided to be reconciled with his son who had run away to Madrid. The father, in a moment of remorse, took out this ad in El Libro, a newspaper. "Paco, meet me at Hotel Montana, Noon, Tuesday… All is forgiven… Papa." When the father arrived at the square in hopes of meeting his son, he found one hundred Pacos waiting to be reunited with their fathers. Was Paco such a popular name? Or does a father's forgiveness soothe every boy’s soul?

It’s Laetare Sunday, rejoice! We are half way to the Resurrection.