Cycle C - 24th Sunday – September 12 2010 The theme: We are called to be prodigal parents and not prodigal children!
There is a story about five year old son and mother! As a five-year-old son and mother were heading to McDonald’s one day, they passed a car accident. Usually when they see something terrible like that, they say a prayer for whoever might be hurt, so mother pointed and said to her son, “We should pray.”
From the back seat, mother heard her son’s earnest voice: “Dear God, please don’t let those cars block the entrance to McDonald’s.”
Mother is very prodigal – very generous or lavish in remembering the person who is hurt in the accident but the son is selfish in just thinking about McDonald’s food.
As we reflect on the three parables that we have in today’ gospel reading (the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7), the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10(, and the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24), it is important that we keep the context of these parables in mind. And the context is given in the very first verse of Luke chapter fifteen. “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” (Luke 15:1). The Pharisees and the Scribes were scandalized by Jesus’ behavior. And rightly so! As I shall say repeatedly in this homily, God is prodigal and his love is scandalizing!
Today’s three readings emphasize two things: the scandal of human sinfulness and the scandal of God’s love. In the first reading, from the book of Exodus, God, by his mighty works had just freed Israel from slavery. The memory should have been still fresh in their minds. And yet the people abandon their God and begin to worship the golden calf. God wants to destroy these people but then he has compassion (Ex 32:14). The emphasis here is not on Moses’ pleading but God’s steadfastness, his faithfulness, his prodigal and scandalizing love. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, calls himself “a blasphemer, a persecutor and an arrogant man” (1 Tim 1:13) but considers himself “treated with mercy…” by God (1 Tim 1:13). And he concludes, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15b) All the three parables in the Gospel reading are about a God who goes out in search of sinners. What the Pharisees and the scribes did not understand was that these parables were being lived out in their own sight.
Let us ask ourselves this question. Whose parable is this? Some call this parable the parable of the prodigal son, while others call it the parable of the prodigal father. Well, I say it is the story of two prodigal characters. But it is in way that they are prodigal that makes the difference. The prodigal son is prodigal in his demanding his freedom from his Father. The Father, on the contrary, is prodigal in the freedom he offers. Whereas the prodigal son is prodigal in his sin, the Father is prodigal in longing for his son’s return. Whereas the son is prodigal in the realization of his sin, the Father is prodigal in his forgiveness. And then the celebration begins.
Let me offer three practical implications of the readings today.
1. First, it raises on question. What is sin? We must be aware that sin is serious business. We must ourselves and teach our children to take sin seriously. Sin affects our relationship with God and some sins can even seriously damage our relationship with God. Sin also breaks our relationship with one another. Most of all, sin ruptures our relationship with our own selves. We become who we are not… we become strangers to our own selves. We must keep the consequences of sin constantly before our eyes. One look at the crucifix and we know how painful sin is.
2. Second, Are we prodigal children or parents? Most of the time, this parable is preached, we are told that we are the prodigal sons/daughters and God is the forgiving Father. And this picture is true. At heart, we are all sinners in need of repentance. The truth of the matter, though, is that each of us has a dual role – that of the prodigal son and that of the prodigal father. There are times when we as sinners stand in need of forgiveness like the prodigal son. There are other times when people seek forgiveness from us and we need to forgive like the prodigal father. The key is this - there should not be a dichotomy between the two roles. In the same manner that we expect to be forgiven, we must forgive. Any contradiction here is hypocrisy. Thus, today I suggest that we learn not only to be like the prodigal son but also the prodigal father.
3. The losers in the parable are the Pharisees and the scribes symbolized by the older son. They considered themselves righteous. They consider themselves saved. They stood outside and looked at sinners and were glad that they were not like them. These are the most pathetic people. They have no compassion for others do not understand the love of God. But in the process something sad happens. They become incapable of sharing in God’s joy. No matter what happens, let us never become like them. We only exclude ourselves from the Kingdom. The most visible expression of the parable is the sacrament of reconciliation. It is called a sacrament for a reason. The confessional is the place where the prodigal son/daughter and the prodigal father meet.
As we come to celebrate this Eucharist, let us remember that this Eucharist is a celebration of the scandalizing love of God. The cross is the scandal of God’s love and this Eucharist commemorates that celebration. Let us come to the God of scandalizing love like the prodigal son and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I wanted to be your son/daughter again.” Amen.
