Tag Archives: Lent

The Prodigal Son

Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

The ultimate act of forgiveness has to be when Jesus uttered these words from the cross:

“Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”   (Luke 23:34)

As disciples of Christ we are asked to follow His example. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells the well-known parable of the prodigal son which is perhaps His greatest teaching on forgiveness:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.   (Luke 15:11-20)

This parable shows that God the Father delights in forgiving us. In the parable, even before the prodigal son can make his confession the father rushes to receive his son with open arms of love and forgiveness. As parents what would have been our response under the circumstances. I am afraid that many of us might have responded more like the eldest son in the parable than the father. The eldest son was not pleased with his father’s act of forgiveness towards his brother:

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’   (Luke 15:25-30)

Why did the eldest son react in this way? Was it because he was keeping score on himself and his brother? Perhaps it was his sense of fairness and equality. How could his father overlook his brother’s despicable behavior and not notice his own faithful service to his father?

Forgiveness if difficult when we become the arbiter of fairness. It is even more difficult when we leave out the element of love. The Apostle Paul reminds us of the quality of love:

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.   (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)

God is love and we have received the mercy of His love. Let us remember that we are forgiven by God and have beens asked to participate in His Kingdom even while still on earth. We are no longer bound to make judgement from a worldly point of view:

From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.   (2 Corinthians 5:16-20)

We are new creation. Let us rejoice in our status with God and overlook the things in this world that would ensnare us.

Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven,
and whose sin is put away!

Happy are they to whom the LORD imputes no guilt,
and in whose spirit there is no guile!   (Psalm 32:1-2)