Homily for Saturday 23rd March 2019
_“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.” *(Luke 15:31-32)*_
The key to understanding the story of the Prodigal Son is to bear in mind that Jesus gave the story in defence of his association with those whom the Pharisees and Scribes labelled as “sinners.”
It is true that birds of the same feather flock together but in the case of Jesus, it was a different ball game altogether. People flocked around Jesus not to make Him like one of them but because they wanted to return to God as the Prodigal Son did.
By giving us the story of the Prodigal Son, Jesus teaches us that God is compassionate. God is the Father who takes more joy in seeing the sinner repent than in seeing the sinner perish. God is the Father who waits patiently for the return of his lost Son and eagerly rushes to welcome him when he returns.
As Micah tells us in today’s first reading: “God does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-20)
Heaven is often described using the analogy of a banquet, a wedding feast, a place of joy and happiness. Just as the Father gave a great banquet for the prodigal son, so is God going to give a great banquet for all sinners who change their ways and return to Him. Whenever we realize we can no longer depend on sin (pig-food) for survival, God is ever ready to welcome us.
In truth, to live in sin, to live outside of God’s commandments is to live in death. The father said to the elder brother, “this your brother was dead.” We sometimes think like the Prodigal Son, we feel that God’s commandments are such a terrible burden on us; too difficult to obey. We assume we would be happier elsewhere; outside the scope of God’s instructions but like the Prodigal Son, all we get in the end is sorrow, tears and regret. The only reward for sin is death.
The attitude of the Prodigal son upon coming to his senses is also worthy of note. Like the tax collector who went to the temple to pray, the Prodigal Son could not look at his father in the face but said: “I have sinned against heaven and before you, I no longer deserve to be called your son, treat me as one of your servants.” As the Psalmist says, God will never reject a humble heart and a contrite spirit. This was why one the thieves crucified with Jesus got a ticket to heaven right on the spot.
The refusal of the Elder brother to enter the great banquet also teaches us something about our human nature. There are some people who will be kicked out of heaven not because they don’t deserve to be there but because they could not imagine themselves being treated equally with persons whom they had judged and condemned here on earth.
The Pharisees and Scribes by their attitude acted just like the elder brother. Not only did they condemn others, they questioned Jesus’ rationale for attempting to welcome them back by eating and drinking with them freely. Moreover, they were hypocrites because, in secret, they did worse than those they openly condemned.
The anger of the elder brother was that His Father never gave him even a kid to celebrate with his friends. This means he was only obedient for the sake of getting a reward. Is my worship of God reward-oriented? If for instance, heaven does not exist, will I stop being a Christian?
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me a very large heart, purge away from me all bitterness, all past pains, all hatred and all forms of evil intentions against others. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent. Bible Study: Micah 7:14-20, Psalm 103 and Luke 15:1-3,11-32).
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