Sunday, September 16, 2007

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Ex 32:7-11, 13-14; 1 Tim 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-32

After going through the story of the Prodigal Son, a Sunday school teacher asked the kids, “At the end of the story who is it that ended up in the worst situation?” One of the kids stood up and said, “The fatted cow!”

(The story is by Ernest Munachi Ezeogu)

The popular “Parable of the Prodigal Son” has three main characters, namely: the younger son, the father and the elder brother.

The younger son was a volatile, easily bored, ready-to-try-everything teenager. He seemed to be unhappy in his father’s house. He asked for his inheritance while his father was still active and healthy. Commentators would say that the son’s demand was equivalent to wishing his father were dead. Worst of all, the shameless son went abroad and wasted his bequest in loose living.

The younger son represents every sinner. In sin we squander our human and divine birthright. Sin promises a life of happiness, excitement and satisfaction, but in the end what we get out of it is misery, wretchedness and a loss of personal dignity. The good thing is that no matter how deeply we sink into sin there is always a pending invitation for us to return to our Father’s house where genuine freedom and satisfaction are found.

Then, there was the loving father. After the son demanded to have his share of the inheritance at an inopportune time, the father gave in, of course with so much pain in his heart. He loved his son and wanted to keep him in his house. Actually, he had all the right to deny his son’s demand, but he chose not to impose his love. While the son squandered all his money in dissolute living, this father constantly waited for him to come back. The gospel says that “While he (the prodigal son) 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.” It is easy to imagine that the father had spent so many hours outside his house, patiently waiting for the shadow of his son. Thus, when he finally saw him from a distant he forgot his dignity as a father. He ran to his son – something unthinkable for a Jewish father to do. He forgot about his own pain, he forgot about the humiliation his son had caused him.

The son must have worried on the way home. What was he going to say his father? What if his family would refuse to accept him back? He rehearsed his opening words, trying to sound humble and truly repentant: “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.” He knew that he was a sinner; he could only beg for mercy and forgiveness.

But the father had none of these. No words were needed, no explanations. The father understood the pain, the humiliation, and the shame in coming home. He embraced his son with love, kisses him again and again. And that was not all. He restored his son’s dignity – the best robe (sign of honor) was put on him, the ring (symbol of the authority of his father) was inserted on his finger, sandals were put on his feet (he was not treated as a slave for slaves wear no sandals), and the fattened calf was slaughtered (sign of joy and feasting). A commentator noted that killing a calf, not just a goat or a sheep, meant that the entire village was invited to share in the joy of having back a long lost son.

Such is the Father in Heaven that Jesus wishes all disciples to know. God loves us so much and he wants us to respond to that love freely. Freedom is God’s greatest gift to the human person, a sign of his love. We are always free to love him back or reject him. God is a Loving Father who keeps on waiting for his lost children. He is one who runs out to receive us, one who cares only for our return. He is one who gives a lavish feast when he gets us back. Many people are not too familiar with this kind of God. Many would imagine a God who is slow to understand, unforgiving and vengeful.

Finally, there was the elder son being introduced towards the end of the story. He was proud that he had never strayed or sinned like his younger brother. He had been faithful in serving his father and he thought he deserved all the rewards. However, he clearly lacked a forgiving heart. In fact, he was sorry that his brother had come home. He represents the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner condemned than saved. The attitude of the older brother showed that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not of loving service. His manner was one of arrogance. He could not accept his repentant brother, and he only referred to him as “This son of yours . . .”

Sometimes, we are like this unforgiving son, we are self-righteous and easy to find fault in others. Every so often, we are judgmental and quick to condemn. Somebody once said that when God looks at us, he covers one eye so that he will not see the negative parts in us. The problem with us is that when we look at other people, we open wide our eyes and we even have magnifying glasses to see the negative sides of others.

At the end of the story who is it that ended up in the worst situation? Not the fatted cow but the older brother – because he was self-righteous, proud and unforgiving.

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