Luke 15:1-32
The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking
the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the
scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
So he spoke this parable to them: ‘What man among you with a hundred
sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go
after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not
joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his
friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep
that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in
heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no
need of repentance.
‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not,
if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly
till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends
and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I
lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God
over one repentant sinner.’
He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said
to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to
me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the
younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where
he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced
a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to
one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he
would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but
no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of
my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of
hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your
son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back
to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his
father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his
arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the
father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been
fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because
this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.”
And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on
his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.
Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has
come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened
because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to
go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father,
“Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders,
yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.
But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your
property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always
and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is
found.”’
Food for thought!
The parables in today's gospel arose out of real
life situation. It was an offence to the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus
associated with men and women who, by and large, were labelled as sinners. So
Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd's joy, in order
to tell us something about God. This story should correct our false notions
about God.
God the Father, says Jesus, is as glad when a lost
sinner is found as a shepherd is when a strayed sheep is brought home. As a
great saint said, "God, too, knows the joy of finding things that have
gone lost."
There is a wondrous thought here. God is kinder
than men. Many of us write off many people we label as sinners or worthless,
and as deserving of nothing but hell; not so with God. We may give up hope of a
someone; but not God. God loves the saints, but in his heart there is love for
sinners.
What is the difference between a crisp $20 bill and
a soiled and rumpled $20 bill? A preacher showed his congregation a crisp $20
bill and asked who wants it. All hands went up. Then he crumpled it in his
palms and asked who still wanted it. Again all hands went up. Lastly he threw
it on the ground, marched on it and repeated his question. Still the hands went
up. Then he explained to them that the difference between a new, crisp $20 bill
and a rumpled and soiled $20 in our eyes is the difference between a good
person and a bad person in the sight of God. Both are equally acceptable.
Basically both stand equal before God "since all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Henri Nouwen says it
differently: "We are all handicapped; some are more visibly handicapped
than others."
Today's gospel is the family story of a man and his
two sons. At the beginning of the story we see that the younger son is the bad
boy and the elder son the good boy. But by the end of the story we see that
both of them are bad. The problem begins with the younger son. Without waiting
for his father to die he asks for his share of the inheritance. Then he
abandons his duties and responsibilities in the family estate and goes abroad
to live a life of fun. His reckless lifestyle drains his fortunes and he finds
himself reduced to abject poverty and misery. But no matter how far sinners
stray from the father's house, the loving heart of the parent always follows
them, gently whispering in their hearts, "Come home! Come home!"
The wild, fun-loving sinful youngster has one good
thing: he is not too proud to go back and say, "I have erred; I am
sorry." And this is precisely what he decides to do. Parents, are you
ready to receive back home your strayed children? Spouses are you ready to
receive each other back? If you are ready make the first step. Did you notice
that both the father and the young son each took the first step? As the son was
coming, the father too was waiting. Do the same.
I can imagine how the young son's heart was
pounding as he approached his father's house, not knowing whether his father
would take him back or not! But while he was still far off, his father saw him
and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed
him. I imagine how the young man begins to read his prepared confession, while
his father, so overjoyed he does not listen. But also he does not accuse. He
instead says to his slaves, Quickly, bring out a robe -- the best one -- and
put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the
fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was
dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to celebrate.
This story tells us also that it is a thousand
times easier to come back to God than to come back to humans. I wish the story
ended here, but it does not. It continues to show us the flaws of the good
elder brother. Instead of rejoicing that his brother who was presumed lost has
come back, he is angered by the fact that their father has received him back
with a celebration. In anger he distances himself from his own family and from
the party. As he leaves he mutters to himself, "This is unfair. This is
unfair" – a word that is often used to justify anger, intolerance,
self-righteousness and violence.
Which lessons do we take from this story? Many. One
of them is that we are all sinners. Whether your sins are more visible like
those of the younger son or more hidden like those of the elder son, the
message for us today is that we all need to repent and return to the father's
heart.
Did you know that the speck you judge in someone
else's eye may very well be a reflection of the plank in your eye? When
you judge someone for being prejudiced, could it be because you struggle with
prejudice yourself? The older son says, “Look, all these years I have slaved
for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much
as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when
he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill
the calf we had been fattening.” Until now, no one knows anything like
"his women" until the elder son mentions them; the gospel talks of
"a life of debauchery" not of women, as the elder son puts it. He
thinks his sins are every body's sins.
