Fourth Sunday of Lent
“… everything I have is yours.” Lk 15:31
Jesus loved to tell stories.
He especially liked to tell them when he was being challenged by those who opposed him – like the Pharisees and scribes in today’s gospel reading.
The complaint being made by his critics is: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” And so, Jesus, instead of getting into a debate that will only exacerbate matters, does what he likes to do best: He tells a story – a story that turns out to become among the most memorable in the entire New Testament.
What’s so compelling about this story is that it is chock full of surprises.
The first surprise is that it’s about a family: “A man had two sons ….” We’re all a part of a family, so everyone can instantly relate. The second surprise is that it’s a story about a broken family, a family that is divided and in pain. Again, most people can nod their heads in the affirmative knowing that their family has endured heartaches as well.
The next surprise is that the younger son does the unthinkable – he dares to ask for his inheritance before his father has died!
After that, the surprises never cease. First, the younger son goes prodigal, wasting his father’s hard earned wealth“on a life of dissipation.” Next, after the money is gone, the same son ends up “tending the swine,” which in Jewish culture was the ultimate debasement. Finally, this son surprises even himself, and “coming to his senses,” he makes the decision to return to his father and beg his forgiveness.
Then comes the greatest surprise of all – the father. In utter grief and even greater love, he is pictured as pacing back and forth waiting, always waiting, continually on the lookout in hopes of catching just a glimpse of his errant son. When he at long last sees him “a long way off,” the father rushes out the door, runs to his son, throws his arms around him, kisses him, refuses to even listen to the son’s words of regret, and instead orders a feast “because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
Surprises. Everywhere surprises.
And then comes another – the elder son. He is angry and jealous. His words to his father are filled with scorn and envy. The sibling rivalry found in many families becomes viciously apparent.
But once again, the father surprises us. He does not express anger towards his son. He does not list all the things he’s done for him. He does not rant about how ungrateful and unappreciative he’s being. He does none of the things that most of us would do!
Instead, the father, fully representing the kind of God that Jesus came to reveal to us, uses the most tender and heartfelt words imaginable: “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
“Everything I have is yours”- !!!
This is the God of Jesus speaking to each of us – the greatest surprise of all.
Why do I say this? Because the belief that God invites sinners back is not new. The belief that God welcomes sinners back is not new. But, what is utterly new, what is breathtakingly unique, what is the surprise of all surprises is a God who leaves the 99 and goes in search of the one who is lost. What is brand, spanking new is a God who, like the woman in the story that immediately precedes this one in Luke’s gospel, leaves everything to go in search of the one lost coin.
Always the God who seeks us out. Always the God who can’t wait to welcome us home.
Francis Thompson, in his classic poem, referred to this image of God as the “hound of heaven” – ending with these words: “Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He Whom thou seekest.”
Why is the father so generous, so profoundly lavish towards both his sons? Because he’s in love – just as you are with your children and grandchildren. Love changes everything.
Fr. Andrew Greeley used to tell the story of a particular saint who had a mystical conversation with God. And, according to the saint whose name I can no longer remember, the conversation went something like this:
Saint: God, tell me, why … why do you love me … why do you love any of us?
God: You know, I really don’t know why, but then love is an unreasonable thing.
God is Love, John’s gospel tells us. And so he’s a God who can’t seem to help himself, any more than you can with your children and grandchildren.
“Everything I have is yours.”
Surprise!
Ted Wolgamot, Psy.D.
11809194.1
3/2/16
NOTE: For those of you who might be interested, I recently gave a talk for the St. Thomas the Apostle Lenten Series. The theme was predicated on the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The title of my presentation was: The Psychological Dimension of Mercy. You can find the full text of this presentation on my website: drtedsweb.com. Once there, click on Presentation or Psychology.
