(Audio)
‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
The offense of the son had not been trivial. It was not overlooked easily because it was easy to overlook. In asking for his share of the inheritance he had acted as though he wished his father were dead. He had told him that he didn't care about him, or want to be anywhere near him, but only wanted from him what was to his own selfish benefit. This begins to sound eerily familiar. Our own sins, even our smaller ones, fit this mold. This is archetypal disobedience. We want the good things from God, but for ourselves, with no reference to him or his plans for them.
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.
The great thing about the Father is that we can always return. No matter how far from him we have strayed we can always come home. And the treatment we receive when we arrive is in no way proportional to the offenses we committed in leaving. No wonder even our penances in confession often seem small. It is as if the Father is simply insisting that we begin to act as members of his family again. He is actually delighted to receive us home again. The father of the prodigal is already showering mercy on him before the son even finishes his speech. So too with us and the Act of Contrition we say. God is already wrapping us in his arms before we even finish it. He can hardly wait to fill the Priest's words of absolution with his own mercy.
Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?
The Father wants us to join him for the feast. If we have been away we do need to first return to him for mercy. But he gives us this mercy so readily because he is so eager for us to join him for music and dancing and the feast of the fattened calf. He is eager to remove any barriers to our sharing that feast with him.
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.
For those of us who don't explicit reject and wander from the Father let us still be careful to avoid the temptation to take him for granted. Let us harbor the sins of the prodigal as secret desires in our own hearts. Let us be careful to be thankful for the blessings to which are constantly available to us.
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
When we don't appreciate the feast of the Father when begin to harbor the beginnings of sin. We begin to plot other ways that we imagine would meet our desires. Let us quickly shed these illusions and return to the embrace of the Father.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
No comments:
Post a Comment