HOMILY 4TH SUNDAY OF LENT 2025
THE VERY, VERY NAUGHTY BOY OR THE LOST SON OR THE GIVING AND FORGIVING FATHER? NOT TO FORGET RESENTFUL BIG BROTHER!
Lk 15.1-3, 11-32 Josh 5.9-12 2Cor 5.17-21
Today’s Gospel is one of Jesus’ classic parables of forgiveness. It follows on from the shepherd’s 1% lost sheep, and the widow’s 10% lost coin. This one is often used for our First Reconciliation liturgies, for Grade 3s, for whom, in some ways, it’s probably a bit too early, with ideas of premature inheritance, leaving home and looking for a good time, free from all constraints on behaviour and control. It’s a family story, although Mum is left in the background!
Claude Mostowik MSC has a good insight: “This parable is less about being or doing wrong, but about being lost. Jesus;’ concern was and is always with the lost. There is little about culpability, blame or finding fault, and everything to do with recovering and reclaiming the lost.”
At the same time, there is the simple notion that being naughty and doing the wrong thing at times, means that we need to say sorry and to seek forgiveness and understanding, and to have another chance at trying to be good and do the right thing. So a key message is in the young fellow realizing the error of his ways, and doing a U-turn, or a full circle, coming home, prepared to be a servant rather than a son, given the seriousness of his wrongdoing.
The second element to think about and learn from is the attitude of big brother, with whom you and I might well more easily identify. There is the sense that it’s just not fair that the naughty one gets the big welcome and the party to follow, while the understandably self-righteous son, who considers he has always been a good boy, misses out, as there has been no suggestion or thought of a party being thrown for him and his friends, if he has any, given his negative attitude!
Jesus likes to invert expectations, and is often counter-cultural in his own world, where the religious authorities, like the Pharisees and scribes, liked to have the upper hand and all the answers. Jesus, on the other hand, takes them on with an alternate approach, in encountering those on the outer and offering them hope and encouragement. He meets them where they are, without discrimination, and presents an image of a God who is first and foremost loving, without conditions, and so forgiving of anyone who is open to repentance and perseverance.
He reaches out to the untouchables, the lepers, the sinners, despised tax collectors, women in trouble, in particular, without judgement, but with compassion, concern and understanding. He puts the Law in its place, emphasising its importance, but not giving it priority over the needs of the ordinary people. The focus is on love and forgiveness, first and foremost.
And so we see this in the way, what could be described as, the giving, and then forgiving father, is out on the track, running to welcome back his errant son, significantly even before a word of sorrow or contrition is expressed. Still, there is certainly room for the young chap to say sorry and humbly request to be accepted just as a lowly servant.
The father is not just happy to see him back, but takes the further step of throwing a big party to celebrate, emphasising the joy of finding what was thought to have been lost for good. The main problem now is where big brother fits in, as he has quietly been compliant and obedient to his father’s wishes up to now. He has been dutiful but is unloving. His attitude is hard-hearted, in the way he resents the return of his brother, and moreso dad’s over the top welcome back!
The story ends abruptly and is open-ended, in that we don’t get to know if he does have a change of heart and come in to join the celebrations. Yet, it’s clear enough, from the tone of Jesus’ story, that he is only cutting himself off in isolation, and letting resentment eat away at him, to his own detriment and misery. He needs to let go and participate in the joyful return, for his own benefit, just as we need to overcome our sense of things not always being fair, and certainly not the way we might like them to be.
This is how Silvester O’Flynn OFMCap puts it: “So the characters portray the energy of youthful abandon and humility: the energy of forgiving and celebrating: the repressed energy of anger and stubbornness. What the story ultimately shows is the energy of God, creator and recreator of life. The energy of God is seen in giving and forgiving, in welcoming and celebrating, in finding the lost and restoring the dead to life.”
Today, Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion invites us to reflect on the inspiring story of Irene, a young woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose story embodies the power of transformation. Irene’s journey is a powerful testament to the transformative impact of hope, courage, and opportunity in the face of adversity. Just as Irene’s life was transformed by the support of Caritas, we too can be a part of the solution by extending our hands in generosity, care, and compassion.
john hannon 30th March 2025