The Return of the Prodigal Son by 17th Century Dutch master Jan Steen is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Photo: CNS The Sunday Gospel
If all of Scripture were to be destroyed with the exception of one passage, my choice to be preserved would be today’s Gospel (Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32), the parable of the Prodigal Son. This is the essence of salvation history, the story of sin and God’s offer of forgiveness. It describes three steps downwards to the pits of sin before the Prodigal comes to his senses and makes three decisions to direct his steps back to the welcoming father. This man welcomes sinners.
Downward steps
Like playing snakes and ladders, land on the snake of temptation and down you slide, but land on the ladder and up you go. This story has three downward slides and three steps up. The first slide down begins with putting me at the centre of affairs. “Give me my rights.” The father’s will which would hand over the inheritance ought not take effect until after his death. Effectively, the son is saying, “Da, I want it now. I want you out of my way.” This is the beginning of sin when I tell God that now I will do it my way whether you like it or not. This is the nature of the original temptation. “This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eat this fruit and you will be like gods, having the freedom to make up your own commandments and morality.”
The second stage on the slippery slope is the journey away from home and the values that home represents. The lost sheep did not set out to get lost but it nibbles its way lost. There is a rapid deterioration of living as the son goes to a distant country, squandering his inheritance in a life of debauchery.
The third stage of sin is the famine: the famine of peace of mind; the lack of contentment and joy; the loss of self-respect and idealism: all the self-punishment inherent in sin. Feeding with the pigs, to the Jewish mind, represented the lowest of the low: utter depravity.
The ladder
The turning point is when the lad comes to his senses. He looks into the mirror of life and does not like what he sees. Many people do not like what they see when they reflect on what they have done, but they do not know where to turn for help. They are smitten with remorse, literally a biting sorrow. This is the devil’s sorrow, and the more it bites, the less confident one feels, and the more one is vulnerable to further temptation.
Fortunately for this sinner, he remembers his father’s house where everybody is so well treated. Remembrance gives direction to his steps. Biting remorse is now replaced with repentance, which literally means to think again. In this new thinking he makes three decisions: “I will leave this place; I will go to my father; I will confess that I have sinned against heaven and against you.”
The hug
The focus of the story now switches to the father. The son is still a long way off, perhaps dithering about completing the journey. I have met people at that dithering stage. But the father sees him, runs to him, clasps him in his arms and hugs him home. This is my favourite picture of what God is like. He wants to hug us back home. He calls for the best garments and a ring for his son’s finger. This is the family signet ring which can seal the wax of a family document, the equivalent of today’s credit card. Full family membership has been restored. It is an occasion for a great banquet.
Refusing to forgive
The story now turns to the elder son who is angry with this celebration. He cannot even refer to the prodigal as his brother but calls him “this son of yours.” When Luke was writing his Gospel, he was facing a particular pastoral problem about accepting the repentance of lapsed Christians who wanted to return to the table where the Eucharistic Breaking of Bread expressed the unity of Christians. Even in the Bible, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews states that Christians who have lapsed but want to return must not be allowed back. “It is impossible for them to be renewed a second time” (Hebrews 6:6). Luke’s Gospel answers this pastoral problem by recalling the parables of Jesus and how he treated sinners. “He welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Confession
Many people question the need to come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “Why can’t I confess my sins privately to God?” Yes, it’s essential to talk privately to God. God already knows our sins even more clearly that we do, but having to put words on them takes ownership of our wrongdoing. Availing of the Sacrament is a way of celebrating the victory of Jesus Christ over sin. The father might have taken the son through the back door in a private capacity, but for such a loving man this would not be enough. He called for music and a great banquet. In the Sacrament the confession of sin opens the door for the celebration of the welcoming hug of the Father, the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and the breath of the Holy Spirit over the Church. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” St Paul in today’s second reading says that we are ambassadors of God’s reconciliation.
The homecoming of the prodigal was a journey from remorse to repentance and eventually to rejoicing. You will learn to love this Sacrament when you stop beating yourself up in guilt and learn how to rejoice in the powerful hug of our merciful Father.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world. You sat with sinners and gave them hope. Take us by the hand and lead us from the biting sorrow of remorse, through the honesty of repentance, unto rejoicing in your merciful embrace.
Fr Silvester O’Flynn’s book Gospel, Reflections and Prayers is available at Columba Books.