Jesus’ parables are sometimes referred to as earthly stories with heavenly meaning. During this Lenten season, I invite you to reflect on the parables in our Gospels. Today’s Gospel, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32, is part of a series of three parables that seek to demonstrate God’s mercy – The lost sheep, The lost drachma (coin) and The lost son (the “prodigal”) and the dutiful son. The latter is one of the longest parables in the Gospels.
Jesus uses these parables to highlight the fact that He came to save us all. I wonder if the Scribes and the Pharisees who were complaining that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners really understood the divine truths contained in these three parables?
We are all saints in the making. However, on the way there, we will often fall because of our human frailty. God gives us free will, and, like the younger son in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we can choose freely whether we wish to follow God’s commandments or to stray from His path. Whatever decision we make, this parable should fill our hearts with joy with the knowledge of God’s mercy.
God is indeed merciful and will forgive all our transgressions if we come to him with contrite hearts. The contrition of the prodigal son is very moving. He says: “I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.”
Embedded in these words is a deep faith in God’s goodness and mercy. When we think we have hit rock bottom, we must not despair, turn back to God and He will receive us with open arms. To be truly penitent we must develop a well-formed conscience that will enable us to know right from wrong; good from evil.
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In Lumen Gentium, no.16, we read: “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment…For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God… His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.”
Through the sacrament of reconciliation God reconciles us to Himself; sanctifying grace is restored to our souls. Our Catechism tells us:
“1487 The sinner wounds God’s honour and love, his own human dignity as a man called to be a son of God, and the spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone.
1489 To return to communion with God after having lost it through sin is a process born of the grace of God who is rich in mercy and solicitous for the salvation of men. One must ask for this precious gift for oneself and for others…
1490 The movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the firm purpose of sinning no more in the future. Conversion touches the past and the future and is nourished by hope in God’s mercy.”
See how God receives the penitent sinner. The father’s actions in the parable give us a glimpse of how God rejoices on our conversion from sin. He runs out to meet his younger son with loving forgiveness and a warm embrace. The older brother in the parable is like the Pharisees who were complaining that Jesus was welcoming sinners and eating with them. God loves us all – those who seek to live righteous lives and those who stray from the path of righteousness. It is only by deepening our spiritual lives and drawing closer to God that we will come off our high horse and recognise that God’s love embraces all of us. He came to save all of us.
Compassionate God, your love for us is boundless. Open our eyes to our transgressions and lead us back to your loving arms.
