Arise to go to the Heavenly Father: Jos 5:9a.10-12; 2 Cor 5:17-21; Lk 15:1-3.11-32 (Lent 4 / C)

Arise to go to the Heavenly Father

Jos 5:9a.10-12; 2 Cor 5:17-21; Lk 15:1-3.11-32 (Lent 4 / C)

“Come and hear, all who fear God. I will tell what he did for my soul” (Divine Office)

Today, on this “Laetare”  (Rejoice) Sunday, we hear the story of the Prodigal Son. There are two more parables in today’s Gospel. These three parables are to be known as parables of the lost. The first parable of the lost sheep depicts the pitiable folly. The second parable of the lost coin portrays wretched self-degradation, and the third is about ingratitude.

In the parable of the Prodigal son, there are three characters. First, the elder brother. He was sorry that his brother had come home. He stands for the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. His attitude shows that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not of loving service. He lacks sympathy. He referred to the prodigal not as ‘his brother’ but as ‘your son’. He was the kind of self-righteous character who would cheerfully have kicked a man farther into the gutter when he was already down.  He suspected his brother of the sins he would have liked to commit.

Secondly, the father. He was moved by the return of the son ruined by sin. He is indeed an icon of our Heavenly Father reflected in the face of Christ: “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” (Lk 15:20). Jesus makes us feel that any man, even the worst sinner, is so very important to God that he does not want to lose him in any way. He is with ineffable joy, always willing to grant us forgiveness even to the point of not sparing his Son’s life.

Thirdly, the self-seeking younger. From the root of self-seeking grow the sins of sensuality and pride. It is a state of perpetual dissatisfaction, departure, and distance from God. It is a vile, servile state. The soul that is made a drudge, either to the world or to the flesh, wastes its substance and lives riotously (Eccl. 9:18). It is a lost soul like a traveler out of the way. The Prodigal son considered how bad his condition was. He perished with hunger. He is determined to say, “I will arise and go to my father”. True repentance is arising and coming back to God. The confession of sin is a necessary condition of peace and pardon. True penitents have a high value for God’s house and its privileges (Ps 84: 4,10).

Sinners will not come to the service of Christ till they are brought to see themselves just ready to perish in the service of sin. We are not debtors to the flesh. The conversion of a soul from sin to God is the raising of our soul from death to life. It is finding the lost. It is a great, wonderful, and happy change. Because the lost is found, the dead is made alive, and the unprofitable became profitable.

“Your word is a lamp for my steps, and a light for my path” (Divine Office)