4^th Sunday of Lent

Gospel – Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Dad Always Liked You Best

Wailing Wall, Jerusalem

There’s an old Jewish story about two adult brothers, each of them a farmer.  The older one was married with 10 children and the younger one was single and had no kids.  The younger one felt sorry for his older brother having to feed all those kids; so, every night he would load up a bag of wheat from his barn and take it to his brother’s barn.  And every night the older brother, worrying about his younger brother growing old and having no one to support him, would also load up a wagon with wheat and place it in his brother’s barn.  Finally, one night they met midway between their barns, realized what was happening, and they embraced!

That is certainly not the case in the story of the Prodigal Son.  The older son harbors resentment and anger toward his brother for wasting his inheritance and his father for welcoming him back with open arms and a wondrous feast. 

A simple case of sibling rivalry?  A unique family situation?  Maybe, maybe not!  So, I’m wondering – how many Christmases did you spend as a child counting presents?  I mean literally counting your brothers’ and sisters’ presents to make sure they didn’t get more than you!  Or maybe it was a birthday!  Did they get a bigger cake or more guests or did the guests sing louder on their birthday?  Sometimes, over the years, resentment and anger can build and build.  And it can block and even destroy what should be a loving relationship.

That is what’s so obviously present in the Jewish story and so obviously missing with the Prodigal Son’s older brother – LOVE!  Yes, he is obedient and responsible but there is no bond of affection.  He seems incredibly blind to it!  He doesn’t recognize the abject repentance of a brother who realizes the error of his ways.  He doesn’t recognize the outpouring of love and forgiveness of his father. He sees the situation only in terms of himself – what he has done for his father and not what his father has done for him.

It's a reaction so completely at odds with the father in today’s Gospel.  All he offers to both of his sons is his love and forgiveness!  One son embraces it and asks for forgiveness!  The other rejects it completely!

Too often we find ourselves in the same situation, holding in resentment or anger until it could harm or even destroy a relationship.  But we always have the opportunity to heal the hurt, to repair the damage. 

The one thing missing from the story is a happy ending, actually, any sort of satisfying conclusion!  We never know if the older son joins the feast!  We never know if he reunites with his father and brother.  Maybe that’s deliberate!  Maybe it’s up to us to finish the story ourselves! 

God reminds us – “You are here with me always; everything I have is yours.”

No matter our faults or our failings, no matter how often we stumble and fall, our Father offers us a relationship of love.  How do we respond?  Which brother do we identify with?  Do we turn our back on God out of anger and resentment?  Or do we embrace our Father in love and affection?  Do we join the feast and celebrate?