Cycle C - Year I:

15 September 2013: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 15:1-32

God is a loving and merciful Father!
What do we know about parables? Christians must be familiar with parables, because they represent a key part of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the parables of Jesus form approximately one third of his recorded teachings.

Well, Jesus' parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, referring to everyday things or events, often with imagery, and all convey messages which are deep and central to the teachings of Jesus.

We hear three well-known parables in this Sunday's Gospel: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son or the prodigal son. All these three parable convey the same message of God as a loving and merciful Father.

The parable of the prodigal son is probably one of the most familiar and beautiful stories found in the Gospels. It is a beautiful parable because Jesus reveals to us the great and infinite depth of His Father's love and mercy.

Let us reflect further on the message of the parable of the prodigal son for inspiration in our Christian living.

The younger son who asked his 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 his father's forgiveness.

But the father doesn't greet him with reproaches but with immense  compassion. He welcomes his son home and rejoices that the one who was lost has now returned. He has his son back, and that is all that matters to him. In showing forth such love and mercy, he restores the dignity and worth of his son. In other words, he gives him new life.

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

In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus teaches us that no one is excluded from God's forgiveness and that sinners can become beloved children of God again when we repent and convert.

We return to the Father's love and mercy 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.

But then we may also asked, 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 more compassion and love towards those who strive to be faithful to Him always. Because God loves each one of us in a special way.

In the Father's House there is no room for jealousy in God's mercy and love. God is 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.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!