Exegesis: The parables of a loving and forgiving God: In the first two parables we are shown a God seeking sinners and in the third, we see God forgiving and receiving repentant sinners. The parables tell us about God's generosity in seeking and receiving the sinner and the joy of the sinner in being received by a forgiving and loving God. All three parables of Luke 15 end with a party or a celebration. The self-righteous Pharisees who found fault with Jesus for befriending publicans and sinners could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners. In response, Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd's joy on finding it again, the parable of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she recovered it, and the parable of the lost son and his Father’s joy when the young man returned home. Besides presenting a God who is patiently waiting for the return of the sinners, ready to pardon them, these parables teach us God’s infinite love and mercy. These three parables defend Jesus' alliance with sinners. They respond to the criticism by certain Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ frequent practice of eating with and welcoming tax collectors and sinners, and of his receptivity to the lost among God’s people.
The lost sheep: Shepherding in Judaea was a hard and dangerous task. Pasture was scarce. Thorny scrub jungles with wild animals and vast desert areas were common, posing constant threat to the wandering sheep. But the shepherds were famous for their dedicated, sacrificial service, perpetual vigilance and readiness for action. Hence the shepherd was the national symbol of divine providence and self-sacrificing love in Israel. Two or three shepherds might be personally responsible for the sheep owned by several families in a village. If any sheep was missing, one of the shepherds would go in search of it, sending the other shepherds home with the herd of sheep. The whole village would be waiting for the return of the shepherd with the lost sheep and would receive him with shouts of joy and of thanksgiving. That is the picture Jesus drew for us of God. God is as glad when a lost sinner is found as a shepherd is when a strayed sheep is brought home. Men may give up hope of reclaiming a sinner, but not so God. God loves those people who never stray from Him, but He expresses even greater joy when a lost sinner comes home.
The Lost Coin: The coin in this parable was a silver drachma. Since the houses were very dark, with one little circular window, and since the floor was made of beaten earth covered with dried reeds and rushes, it was practically impossible to find such a tiny coin. But the woman tried her best to get it back because it was worth more than a whole day's wage for a workingman in Palestine. If the coin was one of the ten silver coins attached by a silver chain to the traditional headdress of a married woman, it was as important to her as the wedding ring is in our society. Thus, we can understand the woman’s joy when at last she saw the glint of the elusive coin. God, said Jesus, is like that. The joy of God, and of all the angels, when one sinner comes home, is like the joy of a woman who loses her most precious possession, with a value far beyond money, and then finds it again. We believe in the seeking love of God, because we see that love incarnate in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to seek and to save that which was lost.
The lost son: This has been called the greatest short story in the world. It speaks about the deep effects of sin, the self-destruction of hatred and the infinite mercy of God. This is a story of love, of conflict, of deep heartbreak, and of ecstatic joy. The scene opens on a well-to-do Jewish family. With the immaturity of a spoiled brat the younger son demanded impudently of his gracious father, "Give me the portion of goods that falls to me." Under the Jewish law, when a father divided his property between two sons, the elder son had to receive two-thirds and the younger one-third (Deut.21:17). In Jesus' parable, the younger son sold out the share of his inheritance and then squandered the money in a far away city. The land was sacred to the Jewish people because it was the Promised Land given to the Chosen People, and each bit of it was considered holy. Hence, no Israelite could lawfully sell his property (Lev. 25:23, I Kg. 21). The ancient social security basically consisted in sons farming their father’s land and taking care of their parents until their deaths. Hence the prodigal had sold, not just his own legacy, but his parents’ social security.
The conversion, return, and confession: When he became bankrupt the prodigal son ended up feeding pigs, a task that was forbidden to a Jew (Leviticus 11:7; 14:8). Having sunken to the depths of economic, spiritual and moral depravity, the prodigal finally “came to his senses” (v. 17). So he decided to return to his father, asking forgiveness and the status of a hired servant, knowing he was “unworthy to be called a son.” But when the father saw his son returning, he ran down the road to meet him and gave him a cordial welcome along with a new robe, a ring and new shoes. Symbolically, the robe stood for honor, the ring for authority (the signet ring gave a person the power of attorney) and the shoes for the son's place as a member of the family (slaves did not wear shoes). The father also threw a great feast killing the fatted calf reserved for the Passover feast so that all might rejoice at the wanderer's return.
The “Prodigal Father” and the self-righteous elder brother: The parable illustrates the wonder of God’s love which seeks out the sinner and forgives him unconditionally. Jesus recounts the story of the elder brother as his response to the accusation by the self-righteous Pharisees that he was the friend of sinners. The elder brother represents the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved, and who believed that obedience to Mosaic Law was a duty, not a loving service. Like the Pharisees, the elder brother lacks sympathy for his sibling, levels accusations at him and refuses to forgive him and welcome him home. His grudge becomes a sin in itself, resulting in his own choice of exclusion from the banquet of his father’s love. That is what we all do when we sin. We choose to exclude ourselves from the banquet of God’s love
Messages: 1) Challenge for self-evaluation: This must be a Sunday of reflection and self-assessment. If we have been in sin, God's mercy is seeking us, searching for our souls with a love intense beyond imagining. God is ready to receive and welcome us back just as Jesus welcomed sinners in his time. Let us pray today that we may allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives. We shall also ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As forgiven prodigals, we must be forgiving people. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God's divine mercy on those who have fallen away from grace. May their ears be opened so that they may hear that Jesus is welcoming them back home.
2) Let us confess our sins and regain peace and God’s friendship. The first condition for experiencing the joy and relief of having our sins forgiven is to see them as they are and give them up. We have to be humble enough to recognize that we need God’s forgiveness to be whole. At that very moment of sad and painful self-recognition, we will also know how much our brothers and sisters need our compassion, and we will be more able to help them.
The pastor told the story of "The Prodigal Son" to a first grade class. To check on their understanding, he asked; "Who was the most unhappy character in the story when the prodigal son returned?" An eager boy raised his hand and stated the simple truth. “The Fatted Calf.”
