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

"If you are bringing your offering to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offerin" (Mt.5:24). This is the warning given by Jesus himself in his Sermon on the Mount, and it is one that every Christian should ponder over, especially before celebrating the Blessed Eucharist. Before we can hope, in any meaningful way, to experience the presence of God, we must first endeavour, not only to be at peace with God, but also be reconciled with members of the community of which we are part. This theme of reconciliation, and of the joy that arises from it, is something which is highlighted in all the readings today. There is the joy of the Israelites eating the first Passover meal in the Promised Land, after the the often bitter quarrels which marked their sojourn in the desert; there is the joy of the Christians realizing that they, however unworthy, are ambassadors for Christ; and above all there is the tremendous joy of the father in the gospel story that describes the return of his prodigal son, despite everything that son had done. We might say that in all this we are being urged to reflect on the necessity of repentance in our lives, and especially on our attitude towards the sacrament ofreconciliation, the sacrament of penance. We keep on referring to this sacrament as confession; but the greatest and most essential part of the sacrament is not confessing all our sins, or even being sorry for them, however necessary these may be. No, the greatest and most sacrament is meant to be a celebration of our restoration to friendship with God.

This is depicted for us in a most wonderful way by St. Luke, in what we refer to as the parable of the Prodigal Son, but which should more rightly be called the parable of the Loving Father, a father who lavishes love and forgiveness on his erring son, and rejoices and celebrates at his son's return. This was a son who had sunk to desperate depths. Having squandered in sinful living the share of the family inheritance due to him, he was reduced to looking after swine-animals abhorred in Jewish tradition as being unclean - and he even joined with them in eating the same food.'When he came to himself', Jesus says, he decides to return to his father's house, meaning that a person is not truly himself/herself while trying to keep God at a distance. In his joy at his son's return, the father almost forgets the dignified bearing of a Jewish parent, the filial respect commanded by a father in those times. The father in the parable, however does not stand on his parental dignity. He runs out to meet his son, he doesn't allow him finish what he had intended to ask, namely, to be treated as a hired servant. He puts a robe on him as a sign that he is being reinstated as a member of the family, a ring on his finger to indicate that he will have authority within the home once more, and sandals on his feet to show that he is no longer a slave. A feast is made that all may rejoice at his return, for this son is dead and has come back to life, was lost and is found.

What Jesus is telling us in all this is that God the Father likewise rejoices when a sinner seeks a reconciliation with him once more. In the actions of the elder brother we see typified the outlook of the Pharisees, who had lost the vision of themselves as being children of God. Indeed the elder brother, by choice, was more of a hired servant that a son.'All these years i have slaved for you,' he said to his father, 'and never once disobeyed you'. There was little love in his life, but rather a soul-destroying bitterness towards such a loving God, who in Christ loved us even unto death on a Cross, when instead our attitude should surely be, 'What can I render to God, for all that he has done for me.?

from A Time to Speak
by John W. Walsh, OSA
Paulines Publication