The parable of the lost son!

Today’s Gospel reading is a parable that all Catholics must have memorized after hearing this gospel read year after year. I was a little boy when my parents told me this story. We’ve written this many times over yet I still love writing this gospel story because of its powerful message of forgiveness especially at this season of Lent. Today’s gospel is taken from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.

“The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing hear to listen to [Jesus], 2 but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So to them [Jesus] addressed this parable. 11 “A man had two sons, 12 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. 13 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.

14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need…17 Coming to his senses he though, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”

20 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. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 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. 23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.” Then the celebration began.

25 Now the older son… became angry and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But when our son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughtered the fattened calf.’ 31 He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. 32 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.”

We can get a lot of lessons from this parable. The first one is about one of the precepts of the Ten Commandments, “Honor thy Father and they Mother.” The prodigal son didn’t show any respect to his father and demanded to get his share of the property even if the father has not yet passed away. This scenario continues to happen today where we’ve heard of families breaking apart because the children wants to already get their share of their father’s estate even if he is still alive.

Yet the father showed only his love and compassion to his son who was full of remorse for squandering his inheritance. It did not matter to the father how his son may have hurt him when he demanded to get his inheritance and worse, that he squandered it to a life of dissipation. What only mattered to the father was that his lost son had returned and was remorseful for the sin he had done to God and to his father.

You can say that the title of this parable should have been the Parable of the Two Sons, because there are two characters in this parable. The prodigal son and the obedient son who stayed with his father. Yet, the obedient son was unhappy that his father slaughtered the fattened calf for his brother who squandered half of their fortune in another country. But you can say that the obedient son committed the sin of envy because he hated his brother for asking half of his father’s fortune. But his father assured his obedient son that everything he had was already his, but they must celebrate the return of his brother who was lost and have now returned.

All of us have sinned. But when we are remorseful of our sins and find ways to go to confession so we could ask our Lord God to forgive us by this act alone you are already forgiven by God; after all, he can read our hearts. So for this season of Lent, do find time to go to confession. Let’s cleanse ourselves from our sins and God will forgive us. Sure, we may confess to a priest, but he is doing it “In persona Christi” because the priest is merely a vessel for God’s salvific plan.