Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,

but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So to them Jesus addressed this parable.

“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,

‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’

So the father divided the property between them.

After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings

and set off to a distant country

where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything,

a severe famine struck that country,

and he found himself in dire need.

So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens

who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.

And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,

but nobody gave him any.

Coming to his senses he thought,

‘How many of my father's hired workers

have more than enough food to eat,

but here am I, dying from hunger.

I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I no longer deserve to be called your son;

treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’

So he got up and went back to his father.

While he was still a long way off,

his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.

He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

His son said to him,

‘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.’

Then the celebration began.

Now the older son had been out in the field

and, on his way back, as he neared the house,

he heard the sound of music and dancing.

He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.

The servant said to him,

‘Your brother has returned

and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf

because he has him back safe and sound.’

He became angry,

and when he refused to enter the house,

his father came out and pleaded with him.

He said to his father in reply,

‘Look, all these years I served you

and not once did I disobey your orders;

yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.

But when your son returns

who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,

for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’

He said to him,

‘My son, you are here with me always;

everything I have is yours.

But now we must celebrate and rejoice,

because your brother was dead and has come to life again;

he was lost and has been found.’”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are my merciful Father, always ready to embrace me when I return home. Comfort me in your arms and wipe my tears away. Do not let me forget how good it is to be in your house.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Title of the Parable: The traditional title of the parable, “The Parable of the Prodigal Son,” tends to focus our attention on the sins and repentance of the younger son. And who of us this Lent doesn’t need to hear that lesson and repent and go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Unfortunately, this focus can make us miss other important lessons about the older son. In fact, Jesus addresses the parable not just to the tax collectors and public sinners drawing near to him but also and especially to the Pharisees and scribes who complain about Jesus welcoming sinners and eating meals with them. Eating a meal in this context symbolizes entering into a covenant relationship and familial relationship with Jesus. In the parable, then, Jesus is like the father who welcomes back his wayward son. The tax collectors and sinners are like the prodigal son who returns to the father’s house and confesses his sin. The pharisees and scribes are like the older son, who remained in the father’s house but refused to welcome back his brother.

2. How God Welcomes Back His Children: When the prodigal son returns to his father’s house, he feels that he has forever lost his status as a son: “I no longer deserve to be called your son.” He asked to be treated as a servant in the house and not as a son. But when God welcomes us back, he does not reduce us to slaves in his household. No, he restores us to divine sonship: “this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.” This restoration to sonship happens often in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We enter the Sacrament as wayward children, humbled by our weakness and sin, and leave restored as royal children of God and heirs of the Kingdom. 

3. How the Older Brother Refuses to Welcome Back His Brother: The Pharisees mistakenly think that they are like God and can judge those around them. Instead of seeing themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness, they see themselves as the “separated ones,” the righteous and healthy ones who have no need of a physician. They are blind to their sin and also to their need for repentance. The parable doesn’t tell us about the eventual meeting between the two sons or how the older son reacted to the request of his father. This means that each one of us has to decide how we will welcome back our wayward brothers and sisters. Will we stay outside the feast prepared by the Father, or will we go inside and embrace our brother who has returned?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your parables continue to speak to me and reveal the mysteries of God and the Kingdom. Help me to be merciful like you and your Father. When I struggle to repent, move my heart with your grace. When I struggle to forgive, soften my heart with your grace.

Living the Word of God: What are my main sins? If I list them out, am I more like the younger son or the older son? Do I need to be forgiven today, like the sons in the parable, or do I need to forgive someone today, like the merciful father in the parable? How can I seek forgiveness or be merciful today?