Fourth Sunday of Lent

The Merciful Father (The Prodigal Son)

         Living in the culture in which we presently find ourselves, there are a couple of critical aspects to today’s parable that each of us needs to come to terms with … they are: 1) that in order to be forgiven … each one of us must recognize evil and sin … plain and simple it’s out there … 2) we need to recognize it for what it is … 3) we need to admit to ourselves and to God that we have sinned ... and then 4) we need to genuinely go to our Father and ask for forgiveness.

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Entrance Antiphon: Is 66:10-11 – “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”

First Reading: Jos 5:9a, 10-12 – “The people of God entered the Promised Land and there kept the Passover.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 – “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”

Second Reading: 2 Cor 5:17-21 – “God reconciled us to Himself through Christ.”

Verse Before the Gospel: Lk 15:18 – “I will get up and go to my Father and shall say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”

Gospel: Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 – “Your brother was dead and has come to life again.”

Communion Antiphon: Lk 15:32 – “You must rejoice my son, for your brother was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”

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         And as I continued thinking about today’s Gospel, I came to the conclusion and I believe that, for the most part, we are a people who live in great denial. As Scott Peck wrote in his classic book several years ago, we are a “people of the lie.” We live in lying to ourselves ... maybe by telling ourselves that sin doesn’t exist …  or perhaps by thinking that we have done no wrong … that “everybody’s doing it,” ... and so it’s okay ... “God will understand,” some of us might even tell ourselves that “going to Confession is old-fashioned, I just say an Act of Contrition to myself and I’m all good” and thus we try to absolve ourselves from the need to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation or to admit anything to Him. Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, that’s called denial ... and these days, it’s holding far too many of us in its seductive and addictive grip.

There are the three characters in this parable today whom Jesus wants us to examine. And actually, He is presenting them to us so that we might, in turn, take a look at ourselves. So, take some time to really think about this parable. How does each one of these characters mirror you or reflect back to you your own attitudes and conditions relative to God? On this fourth Sunday of Lent, we are invited to enter into the actors and to see ourselves in each of them.

         I have read in several commentaries that the parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most loved of all the parables. I suspect this is true because of the simple reason that it is easy for many of us to identify with the younger son ... or maybe you identify with the older son ... or perhaps some of you can see things the way the father does in this story. And so having said that, at first glance, this parable reminds us of two ways that we can become alienated from God … either by running away from Him … or by merely following His rules. Let’s face it. We would all like to have our own autonomy and independence and do whatever we desire, right? However ... in this parable ... God wants us to know one thing. We are all sinners. Whether our sins are conspicuously stinking like those of the younger son or dutifully covered like those of the older son, the message for us today is that every one of us has a weakness calling us to repentance. And the second important part of the message of today’s parable is that we can all return to our Father’s house.

         Pope Saint John Paul II renamed this parable “The Parable of the Merciful Father.” Thinking about that title shows us that the attention shifts ... from the wayward son to the father who is the proper main focus of this beautiful parable. Each of us, today, is invited to reflect on the word “merciful” instead of “prodigal.” This alteration should turn our thoughts toward the ocean of mercy that awaits the sinner who returns to God our Father. We can always count on God’s gentleness when we come crawling back, making the point that God is both strong and gentle.

         I also think it’s good to remember that we are all made in God’s image and likeness ... right? And if that’s true … if we are all made in God’s likeness … then please consider the idea that we are all called to mirror His compassion and His forgiveness as well. We are all called to act like the father of the parable. It is part of our vocation to be strong in virtue, but soft in our understanding of others and of ourselves, too. We have no right to judge. Being cold like the older brother is actually a worse fate spiritually than being in the pickle of the younger son. And so, ultimately ... it is the merciful father whom we are called to imitate daily. If we are like him, we will invite everyone to fly to God’s loving arms in any need, and we will strive to be like God in our own capacity to forgive.

         Let’s face it. The good news here is that God loves the lost. God reaches out to us as the father did to the two sons … whether we are lost in rebellion or in seeming compliance with God. No matter how much we sin against God, He is never outdone in His forgiveness. The Lord forgives those who trust in His forgiveness … those who overcome their independence and denial … those who surrender to His love. The fun-loving, sinful younger son won the favors of his father even before he admitted his sins. That’s something the older son could not do.

         Lent is a time to face up to the simple fact that we have all strayed in one way or another … even if just a little … and we have all had to come back and say “I’m sorry” to God and to others. We have all hungered for forgiveness as the younger son hungered for something to eat. You have all probably heard the adage: “People living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” If we are humble enough to know our own faults, then we will not be so quick to judge others. We will hopefully realize what keeps us from having the stubborn attitude of the older son is our willingness to be honest about our own shortcomings. There is still a little over three weeks left in Lent ... and today we are once again reminded ... it’s never too late.