“On the basis of this way of manifesting the presence of God who is Father, love and mercy, Jesus makes mercy one of the principal themes of his preaching.” – Saint John Paul II

Luke 15:11-32: He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me. So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! 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. So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. Your brother has come replied the servant and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound. He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening. The father said, My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.’

Christ the Lord Many leaders in the world are “in it for themselves.” Christ isn’t. His greatest glory is winning people’s hearts for God, which also happens to be the best thing for them. When the Pharisees complained about his generosity to sinners, he made the most of their attention to try and teach them a lesson. He didn’t have to – they certainly didn’t deserve his mercy, but he chose to. Then, within the parable itself, Christ profiles his own heart – the heart of God – in the behavior of the father, who lived only for his sons’ well-being. “All I have is yours” is no empty rhetoric: in Christ, in the Church, in the Eucharist, God has held absolutely nothing back from us. Jesus is Lord, but he is the Lord of love, longing for hearts that will submit to his gentle and life-giving reign.

Christ the Teacher This parable teaches us that it is possible to live “in the father’s house” without really getting to know the Father. If the younger son had truly known how much his father loved him, how generous his father was, how eagerly he wanted to bequeath to him prosperity and joy, he would never have paid him the insult of asking for his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive. That was equivalent to saying that his father would be of more use to him if he were dead. And if the older son (the dutiful one who seemed to do everything just right) had known how much his father cared for him, he would not have resented the celebration at this brother’s return. So although they had lived their entire lives under the same roof, they had not opened their hearts to their father; instead they had closed themselves into the little world of their egoism.

We can easily do the same – spend our whole lives as “practicing” Catholics, going through all the right motions and looking great on the outside, but not opening our hearts to the grace and love of God, not getting to know him on a personal, intimate level. If we operate this way, we run the risk of some day abandoning the Father, convinced that he is treating us unjustly, when the truth is that he is giving us everything he owns.

Christ the Friend “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him…” God never stops hoping that we will come to him. He has his eyes on us all the time – not to pounce on us when we mess up, but to run to us, embrace us, kiss us, and clothe us with the robe of his grace and the sandals of divine sonship (servants went barefoot in ancient households, but family members wore sandals). The devil likes to make us forget about this – especially when we most need to remember it; let’s not give him that pleasure.

We can also please the father by going in search of our prodigal brothers and sisters. The rebellious son abandons his father, and his father respects that – he won’t go out and try to force his son to come back home. But if the older brother had really cared for both his father and his younger sibling, he could have made a trek or two in search of the unfortunate youth. We can imagine the conversation they would have had at the pig farm. The older brother, “We miss you and we would love for you to come back.” The younger brother, “But how can I, what I did was so horrible?” “Don’t worry, just come back – trust me, we’ll work it out. You don’t have to stay here eating corn husks…”

How many lost and sorrowful younger brothers are all around us, if only we would open the eyes of our hearts to see them! And how easy it would be to invite them back to the father’s house, if only we could see beyond our self-centered preoccupations!

Christ in My Life While the Pharisees needed to understand your goodness and mercy, I think that at times I need to be more aware of the evil of sin. I have been infected by the prevailing mentality that forgets about personal responsibility, and about the wounds selfishness causes to others. Lord, why do I act as if self-centeredness were okay? Free me, Lord, to love…

Something made that younger son come back to his senses. You are working in mysterious, hidden ways in every heart. I have placed my hope in you, because I believe that you are the way, the truth, and the life. But sometimes I have less confidence in your ability to help others, who seem so far from the truth, to come to their senses. Increase my hope, Lord…

I don’t have to go far to find people who are in trouble, who are sad, who need to come back to you and don’t know the way. Open my heart so I can reach out to them. Will you not use my slightest effort, even if it’s clumsy, as a channel of grace? I don’t want to hoard the treasure you have given me – knowing your love. The more I give away, the more you will give to me…

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the SECOND PART of the “longer reading” for this coming Sunday’s Mass. If you hear this reading, you will ALSO hear Luke 15:1-10 read before this…and you can find Father Bartunek’s reflection on that passage by clicking here.

PS: This is just one of 303 units of Fr. John’s fantastic book The Better Part. To learn more about The Better Part or to purchase in print, Kindle or iPhone editions, click here. Also, please help us get these resources to people who do not have the funds or ability to acquire them by clicking here.

+

Art: Cover of The Better Part used with permission. Return of the Prodigal Son, Guercino, 1651, PD-US author’s life plus 100 years or less, Wikimedia Commons.