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 one 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 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 fatted 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 feed on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughtered the fatted 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."
The Gospel of the Lord.
The parable of the prodigal son appears only in the Gospel of Luke. And it is the longest parable in all the Gospels. I tell you this as a reward for sitting though its reading. Some call it one of history's best short stories.
In commenting on the parable, one may focus on the prodigal son with the theme that no matter the extent of his sins he was welcomed back, or one may focus of the forgiving father, who is like God the Father in that His mercy is without limit, or one can focus on the older son who is like the Pharisees and scribes in his complaining, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." But I liken this parable to a graduation in that the elder son concentrates on the husbandry of the father's property, but is unable to celebrate and further, although the younger son asks for his share, the older son waits for his father to give him a goat without understanding that he should ask for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment