We all recognize this gospel of the “Prodigal Son”. It is a parable that Jesus told to teach the Pharisees and scribes to open their hearts and minds. The older son represents the scribes and Pharisees.
According to the parable of the Prodigal Son spends all of the fortune, his inheritance, which his father gave to him. He spent it all on women and parties in a distant country. Then he experienced economic disaster, bankruptcy, and hunger. The son began to reflect and said to himself:
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
This reflection we should understand as the younger son’s “conversion”. It is conversion of heart and attitude. This is also known as repentance. After such a profound conversion, it is very difficult for a person of conscience to return to his life as it was before the conversion, like nothing ever happened. The younger son repented, and discovered humility instead of the arrogance that led to his ruin. That son learned to appreciate what he had shared with his father, and the justice and generosity of his father.
Now, let’s examine the eldest son. The eldest son lacked generosity. The eldest son kept his grudge against his brother and father. The eldest son did not appear to experience love for his brother and father. Although the eldest son experienced the generosity of his father every day of his life, and nothing was lacking for him, he had never thanked his father. His anger can be seen in his words to his father, when he said,
… you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
However, this son never went hungry, and had everything he needed to live well. However, he could not thank his father.
During the past month, we’ve been reflecting on the generosity of God and our responsibility to acknowledge with gratitude and praise. For many people, to say “Thank you” to God is difficult. It is also difficult to share their goods. That is the point of the spirituality of tithing as a sign of our gratitude for all we have. When we learn to tell God and our community of faith, “Here I am! You can count on me,” it is a sign of our conversion and spiritual maturity.
With the faithful practice of tithing, we find a strength that helps us to repent and mature, with conversion of the heart toward God and generosity toward others. The person who has learned to share and be generous is more spiritually mature than those who have not had this experience. With the discipline of generosity, we learn to control our desires and temptations and reconcile with God and others.
In Lent, we seek that conversion again. Christians do not experience conversion only once, but often in our lives. Lent reminds us that we must examine ourselves, repent and confess our sins, as did the Prodigal Son. Last Wednesday, we experienced our parish Lenten Reconciliation Service. Many people came to confess, and we had nine bilingual priests present. It was, perhaps, the largest attendance in the history of the parish for confession. Thank God! We forgave many sins and rid many sinners of demons.
We invite all parishioners to confess during Lent, prior to Easter. If you have not confessed in over a year, as the Church teaches us, you should not be receiving Holy Communion. It is a sign that you need to spend time examining your soul and your conscience, repent and go to confession. Do you have a hard heart like the eldest son? Ask God for the gift of conversion like the Prodigal Son when he sought reconciliation with his father.
Listen again to the message of St. Paul in the first reading. He was teaching about the Sacrament of Confession, or Reconciliation. St. Paul said,
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ
and given us the ministry of reconciliation, ….
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting their trespasses against them
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
… as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
This is our message today: Repent!
As St. Paul said,
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.