Cycle C - Year I:

10 March 2013 - 4th Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

God is faithful and loving Father!

Christians are forgiving people. We are taught to despise sin but not the sinner.  Because before God we are all sinners.

Jesus finds himself in the company of tax collectors and sinners who were all drawing near to listen to his preaching. So the Pharisees and Scribes criticize him for welcoming sinners and eating with them.

Of course, we know that Jesus' action towards sinners manifests God's mercy. He receives sinners in order to convert them.

So Jesus uses this opportunity to tell the parable of the prodigal son in today's Gospel reading. Some say it is actually the parable of a loving father. Because this is one of Jesus' most beautiful parables which teaches us that God is a kind and understanding Father. It describes the infinite, fatherly mercy of God and his joy at the conversion of sinners.

This parable of the prodigal son is well known among Christians, and there is no need to re-tell the parable here. Instead, let us reflect on the message of the parable for inspiration in christian living.

The younger son who asked the father for his part of the inheritance, and then foolishly squandered all his share, is a symbol of the person who cuts himself or herself from God through sin. We are shown the unhappy effect of sin by what happened to the younger son in the story. His experience of hunger evokes the anxiety and emptiness a person feels when he or she is far from God. In the end the prodigal son decided to return home and ask for his father's forgiveness. The father doesn't greet him with reproaches but with immense compassion.

Like the father in the parable, God is waiting for us with open arms, even though we don't deserve it. It doesn't matter how big our sin is, all we have to do is open our heart and return to Him. God always hopes for the return of the sinner, and wants him or her to repent.

In other words, the Gospel teaches us that no one is excluded from God's forgiveness and that sinners can become beloved children of God if we repent and convert.

We return to the Father's house by means of the sacrament of reconciliation in which, by confessing our sins, we put on Jesus Christ again and become his  brothers and members of God's family.

What about the attitude of the older son in the parable who was angry that his father welcomes home again his squanderer-brother? Well, we should likewise consider that if God has compassion towards sinners who repent, He must have much more compassion and love towards those who strive to be faithful to Him. Because God loves each one in a special way.

In the Father's house, there is no room for jealousy in God's mercy and love. God is a faithful and loving Father to those who follow in his way.
 
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!