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Fourth Sunday of Lent
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
Father Miriyala Balachandra
2007
What is the
difference between a crisp $20 bill and a soiled and rumpled $20 bill? A
preacher showed his congregation a crisp $20 bill and asked who wants it.
All hands went up. Then he crumpled it in his palms and asked who still
wanted it. Again all hands went up. Lastly he threw it on the ground,
marched on it and repeated his question. Still the hands went up. Then he
explained to them that the difference between a new, crisp $20 bill and a
rumpled and soiled $20 in our eyes is the difference between a good person
and a bad person in the sight of God. Both are equally acceptable. Basically
both stand equal before God "since all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Henri Nouwen says it differently: "We are all
handicapped; some are more visibly handicapped than others."
Today's gospel is
the family story of a man and his two sons. At the beginning of the story we
see that the younger son is the bad boy and the elder son the good boy. But
by the end of the story we see that both of them in different ways prove
themselves to be obstacles to the family unity and harmony which the father
desired more than anything.
The problem begins
with the younger son. Without waiting for his father to die he asks for his
share of the inheritance. Then he abandons his duties and responsibilities
in the family estate and goes abroad to live a life of fun. His reckless
lifestyle drains his fortunes and he finds himself reduced to abject poverty
and misery. That a Jewish prince like him should condescend to feeding pigs,
which Jews regard as unclean animals, shows the depths of degradation in
which he finds himself. A life of sins quickly enough leads people to a
situation where they lose all sense of shame and decency. But no matter how
far sinners stray from the father's house, the loving heart of the father
always follows them, gently whispering in their hearts, "Come home! Come
home!" Our wild, fun-loving sinful youngster has one thing going for him: he
is not too proud to go back and say, "I have erred; I am sorry." And this is
precisely what he decides to do.
How his heart would
be pounding as he approaches his father's house, not knowing whether his
father would take him back or not! "But while he was still far off, his
father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms
around him and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). The young man begins to read his
prepared confession but his father is so overjoyed he does not listen.
But the father said
to his slaves, "Quickly, bring out a robe -- the best one -- and put it on
him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted
calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was
dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to
celebrate (verses 22-24).
At this point the
story shows us the flaws of the good elder brother. Instead of rejoicing
that his brother who was presumed lost has come back, he is angered by the
fact that their father has received him back with a celebration. In anger he
distances himself from his own family and from the party. As he leaves he
mutters to himself, "This is unfair. This is unfair" – a word that is often
used to justify anger, intolerance, self-righteousness and violence. In so
doing the "good" elder brother brings disunity to the father's house and
sorrow to himself. The sins of those who are not good enough (younger
brother) as well as the sins of those who are too good (elder brother) are
equally obstacles in the realisation of unity and harmony in the father's
house.
We are all sinners.
Whether your sins are more visible like those of the younger son or more
hidden like those of the elder son, the message for us today is that we all
need to repent and return to the father's house. The younger son needs to
turn back from his frivolous lifestyle and return to the father's house and
be a responsible and obedient son. The elder son needs to turn back from
anger and resentment and learn to share the house with the apparently
undeserving younger brother.
After teaching her
Sunday school kids about the Parable of the Prodigal Son, a teacher asked
them: "Now tell me: Who suffered the most in the story?" A child raised her
hand and answered, "the fatted cow." Absolutely! Next to the fatted calf
comes the elder son who remained outside while the party went on inside. He
did not even taste the fatted calf that he had helped to raise. All because
he stuck to his own ideas of fairness and justice and failed to see that the
father's ways are not our ways. Thank God! |