THIS Sunday’s gospel (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) is often entitled as The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Instead of using this popular title which focuses on only one of the three major characters in the story, let us use the more inclusive title, The Parable of the Merciful Father and His Two Sons.
The father in the parable, as we know it, had two sons. One of the sons, the younger one, demanded that his share of the inheritance be given to him. So the father divided his estate between his two heirs. Receiving his portion of the property, the younger son went out to a distant country where he squandered his wealth in corrupt living. Soon a famine struck that country, and left penniless, this son worked as caretaker of swine. So hungry did he become that he longed to eat the pods of the swine he tended. Coming back to his senses, he soon decided to go back to his father and ask for forgiveness.
Seeing him from afar, the father ran toward his returning son, embracing him and kissing him. Admitting his sin, the prodigal son told his father that he no longer deserved to be called his son. But before he could say a lot more, the father asked the servants that his son be clothed with the finest robe, his finger be adorned with a ring, and his feet be tucked with sandals. Then he ordered that the fattened calf be slaughtered, and that his son’s homecoming be marked with a celebration.
Many times, don’t we see ourselves in the life of this prodigal son? Secured in God’s love and care, don’t we set our sight on other things outside our father’s house, thinking that these things might be better? Don’t we abuse the Lord’s kindness and generosity, and use our God-given gifts and possessions for worldly pleasures and selfish gains? And don’t we, like the vagabond son, end up in emptiness and despair?
The good news is that like the father in the parable, we have a Merciful God who has never abandoned us. We may have turned our backs on him, but he never did the same. From the moment we’ve traded our heavenly inheritance with the deceptive attractions of this world, God has not ceased waiting for us to return home. And when we do, his arms are wide open to welcome us back, to forgive us, and to restore in us our dignity as children of God.
The elder son in the parable was not happy with his brother’s return. He even took offense against his father tendering a celebration with the best calf. Expressing his sentiment, he pointed out before his father how, through the years, he has served him and obeyed his orders. Grossly unfair; that in his mind was what the father did. But was he really?
Again, don’t we, at times, also see ourselves in the attitude of the elder brother? Don’t we complain that the “bad guys” are so easily forgiven, and that we, having been the “good guys,” deserve something more or something better?
Well, the parable reveals the heart of our own Heavenly Father. God is a Father who loves us more than what we deserve, or do not deserve at all. The truth is that for such a long time, the elder brother has failed to see and appreciate his true worth as a child of the father. Notice the father’s answer in the parable, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.”
Let us not think the way the elder son did. Let us not put God in a box, and let us live up with the full potential of who we really are. We are not mere servants; we are God’s children! And if we are, then are co-heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ. God offers us not servitude but a relationship in which we can bask in his goodness and love.