‘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.’ - Luke 15:21-24
I’ve been contemplating the story of the Prodigal Son according to the Gospel of St Luke during my morning holy hour. I am quite rusty at my practice of Lectio Divina. I have also been lacking in posting reflections to my blog as well.
Jesus is teaching the people through parables. Jesus also speaks to us as well. In the parable of the prodigal son, we focus on a selfish and greedy son who demands his inheritance and then leaves his father and older brother. He goes and spends all his money in a foreign land and ends up having to hire himself out. He realizes his folly when he becomes jealous that pigs have enough to eat while he himself suffers to try to get by. He goes home and offers to serve his father. He is forgiven and his father offers a feast for his son who is alive again. The older brother freaks out and refuses to participate even though his father pleads with him.
The story of the younger son seems to pique our interest because it is very relatable in the context of today’s culture. The younger son has an entitled mentality and demands his living. He then takes his money and splurges himself with various carnal pleasures. He eventually blows through his money because of this frivolity. He goes home humbled. He finds mercy from his father. This is what we find from Jesus.
The Lord gives us free will so that we can selflessly choose him. The Lord does not coerce us into serving him and love, by its very nature, cannot be coercive. I know that I often, by my actions, tell the Lord that I want my inheritance and I go out and do what I want. And I realize my error, I come back to the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I say to the Lord, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son. Have mercy on me a sinner.’ And the Lord, in his love and mercy, takes me back and calls me to resume my friendship with him.
My contemplation focused on the older brother. Where was the older brother when the younger demanded his share of the estate? How is it possible that the older brother misses a party thrown in the big house while he is in the field? I realize from the older brother’s reaction to his brother’s return that he is fully aware of everything that is going on. The older brother has an interest in how his father divides the estate. So he sees when his brother leaves, what his share would have looked like. What he saw was enough to convince him to stay and do as he was told. The older brother appears like the good guy; he says what needed to be said and does what needed to be done. However, it is when the younger brother comes home, that we see what lurks in the heart of the older brother. The father sees the son, runs to him and gives him the best robe in the house. It is problem adorned with jewels and threads of precious metals. He gets a ring, probably with the family crest on it which symbolizes his return. And he is given sandals. The father orders a feast for the return of the son. The older brother is angry and refuses to enter the house. It seems that he is jealous and angry at the charity and mercy shown to his younger brother. He seems greedy because he is upset that his father never gave him so much as a goat. And the father compassionately points out that all he has is to be inherited by the older brother. Why is this so upsetting for the older brother? I think that he is upset because he thinks the repentant brother is going to carve into his inheritance. Again the same entitled mentality that plagued the younger brother is also present in the older brother.
What I want to reflect on today is the older brother. I think the older brother’s behavior should be a warning to me and all people of good will. The brother is obedient and dutiful. He does what he is told and fulfills his obligations. But his heart is selfish and lacks love and mercy. And thus the warning to me seems to be that I should constantly reflect upon my actions and words and review their source. Do I perform my tasks and endeavors with a heart of love and mercy, or are they for selfish reasons? The Lord wants his people to seek him with their whole heart out of love for him. The Lord does not want us to do “Christian things” because we think we can earn salvation. And so, with each passing day, I pray for the strength and grace to love Jesus so much that he is the source of everything I say and do.
And if I fail to love as I should, may we be welcomed by God, the Father, back into his love and life. Through his love and mercy, my I be brought to new life. May he tell the servants when he sees me to get that calf and kill it.
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