The Loving Father

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Jesus told them this parable:  "There was a man who had two sons.” -- and the story continues from there.

Today’s parable is the longest parable in the Bible - and the most quoted. It also is a parable that lends itself to speculation – because we aren’t told how the story ends. We don’t know exactly what happens to the prodigal son after the banquet is over.  Thus, the parable of the Prodigal Son, as it is known, has preoccupied and perplexed the thoughts and works of countless religious and secular scholars, writers, and even artists. 

On the surface, it doesn’t seem that complicated. The domestic scene it describes seems to be straight forward: the return to the fold of a beloved family member who has wandered off for a while. His family greets him with conflicting emotions. Some feel joy at his return; some feel relief that he is safe; some feel jealousy that all seems forgiven and even forgotten; some harshly judge his sinful and self-indulgent ways; and some feel it is unfair that they are not celebrated for staying and remaining faithful to their family obligations.

It is a parable, we think, about one family’s relationships, and we’re accustomed to hearing all about family issues on the news all the time.  But as you can expect, the real message of this parable, as with all of Jesus’ parables, isn’t quite so simple. It doesn’t lie so obviously on the surface of the story, nor does our “take” on it necessarily match that of Jesus’ listeners.

We need to put ourselves into that listening crowd. First, we would be truly shocked by the nerve of that younger son.  How dare he ask for his inheritance before his father’s death?  Even more shocking is the father’s response. How permissive of him to give that son what he asks for.  And then, we are totally appalled as the son takes off - to lead a life of debauchery, until he has squandered every penny he has. Finally, we are horrified to learn that he is forced by “need” to take a job that any Jew would find revolting.  Pigs were, and for Jews still are, considered unclean animals. 

So - eventually, the son comes to his senses and realizes he can find a clean and sustaining job if he goes home.  He said to himself, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!”  He will go home and confess his sinfulness and selfishness to his father, and hope that he can find a place among his father’s servants. We certainly think it’s high time he apologized.

Interesting that the son hopes, not for a full reconciliation, but merely for a place among the servants.  Is this because of the guilt and shame he must now be feeling?  Cetrtainly that is part of it, but there is another reason this is the best he can hope for.

Before this son left, his father told him, “Son all I have is yours,” which means that he made a contract when the prodigal left, and the contract was binding and final.  From that point forward, the younger son would get no more of the family inheritance, and when the father died, the older son would inherit all that he left behind.

From this we can gather, and the younger son must have known, that if he continued to live on the farm after his return, all he could do was draw wages like a hired servant.  Things would not change.  Since the older son was the only remaining legal heir of the father, when the father died the older son would inherit everything, and the younger son would inherit nothing.

It’s an interesting legal point, and certainly some, if not all, of Jesus listeners, would have heard the parable and understood it in this way – clean cut, no questions asked – prodigal is disinherited from anything more than he has already received.

But – is this what Jesus wanted His listeners to hear?  Undoubtedly, it was a point He did not want them to miss, but – obviously – it isn’t the heart of the story.  Contrary to the legal view, and though we aren’t told specifically, it seems that the younger son, when he returned, was completely taken back into full and total relationship with his father.

We gather this from the fact the older son was not pleased by the reception his younger brother received from their father.  And we know of his displeasure. because with the celebration in full swing, the older brother became angry and refused to go in. The older son would not have been so upset simply about his brother being given a party, and then starting work as a servant.  He must have understood that the younger son was back in the inheritance picture, and would one day receive a half of what the older brother had come to expect as the full remaining inheritance.

Unlike Jesus’ listeners, who must have sided with the older son, when we hear this today, we are struck by how unfair that son’s opinion and feelings seem.  Of course, we say, it would make better sense if the father welcomed the prodigal’s return, threw a party for him, and yet protected the older son’s investment by not letting the prodigal again become an heir.  That would affirm our natural idea of fairness. But that way of thinking places too much emphasis on the unfairness of the prodigal getting an additional portion of inheritance, and relies too much on the concept of rewards and punishments, and it certainly isn’t what Jesus is trying to tell His listeners, and us.

Some people call this story the “Parable of the Forgiving Father”, where the prodigal, younger son is forgiven and accepted by the father, and brought back fully into the family, and eventually given an additional share of the inheritance - unfair as that may seem.  We can see the father’s unconditional love when the prodigal returns to beg forgiveness, because before he can say a word, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 

When, toward the end of the parable, Jesus has the father say to the disgruntled older son, “All that is mine is yours,” He is describing God’s mercy and love that is inexhaustible. God makes each of us equal heirs of His Kingdom. God gives each of us an equal share, whether we come to the Kingdom early or late.

Through this parable, we learn that God’s love and mercy is totally unconditional. God’s love and forgiveness come to us without strings.  That the forgiveness and love of God is beyond reason and beyond any human concept of fairness.  It is not related to the bad or good of our actions, but to our repentance, turning around, and being ready to accept forgiveness, and to start anew.  God has enough love to extend to everyone who will seek Him and His kingdom.  The parable of the prodigal son is not a story of human sin or divine fairness.  It is the Parable of the Forgiving Father, the story of Divine love and mercy for us sinners.

When we hear this familiar parable, there is one very important thing we need to always remember.  We are all the Prodigal Son – all sinners – all people who in one way or another have squandered the gifts God has given, and continues to give us.  But in the parable today, Jesus gives us hope, and reminds us we need but confess and return to Him, ready to live in accordance with His will.  

St. Francis of Assisi summed up the message in a statement that can apply at least in part to all of us, even to those of us who have lived and are living, to the best of our ability, good and faithful lives.  He said, “I have been all things unholy.  If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.” 

And that is all God wants from us, to repent and then to be His instruments in the world, as Mother Terea put it, to be little pencils in the hands of God.

Every time we repent and return to God, Jesus accepts our apology, and then with joy celebrates our return.

Let us pray:

Dear God, help us to understand that true greatness comes from serving others. May we always strive to be servants to those around us, putting their needs before our own. Help us to be humble and selfless, and to follow the example of our Lord, Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve. May we never seek power or status or money, but instead seek to love and serve others as You have called us to do. Amen.