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The entire 15th Chapter of Saint Luke’s Gospel consists of three “lost-and-found” Parables. In reading through this chapter, three statements from the Lord stand out for me in the midst of a wealth of homiletic opportunities. They are:
“I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”
2) “While [the Prodigal Son] was still a long way off. this father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.”
2)”The father said to his son, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.’”
Let’s take a closer look at these statements, but in reverse order, so that we might come to know the depth of Our Lord’s message for us: a message that is profoundly human… in experiences most of us have already had… to gain insight into God’s divine love. So, we begin with:
1) “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.”
The father in the Parable doesn’t seem to be surprised by the older son’s bitterness: perhaps he knows it well, but he speaks to this son with the same love and mercy with which he spoke to the younger {prodigal) son.
Since the father in the parable is an image of God the Father, when he says, “Everything I have is yours…” a couple of questions arise: What does God have? How does it become mine? We could say that God has love, grace, holiness, and more. These are our inheritance. They come to us through the Sacraments, and thus become ours.
The younger, prodigal son spends his inheritance in visible, Mortal Sin: apostasy, and sexual licentiousness. The older son spends his inheritance much less visibly, in Venial Sin: un-loving, ungrateful and unholy.
2) “While the son was still a long way off, his father caught sight if him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.”
In this, the Father did not spare his own dignity. He was, after all, the injured party. He could have just stood there, arms crossed… furrowed brow… tapping toe… Instead he ran to his son. This was not a young man (as one can see in Rembrandt’s famous painting of this scene). He probably looked a little foolish, but love mattered to him more than chastisement.
I’ve had a minor experience of this event in my own life. Once, in my childhood, I had been sent to bed without supper (obviously unjustly framed for something one of my brothers had done). As I stomped up the stairs, my Grandmother appeared in the hallway. When our eyes met, she winked at me. No words were exchanged, but in that wink I heard her say, “I cannot keep you from suffering the consequences of your own bad behavior, but remember that I love you in the midst of it.” Later that evening Grandma smuggled a few cookies up to me in the pockets of her apron: Sanctifying Grace, with chocolate chips.
3) “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who have no need of repentance.”
Really? I have always thought that there would be greater joy when a Saint passes through the Pearly Gates than when I slip through, following a brief pit-stop in Purgatory. When you think of it, there has only really been one person to walk the face of the earth who had no need of repentance: Our Blessed Mother. Could there possibly be anywhere near as much joy when I turn away from sin as there was at the Assumption?
God in heaven is holding the finest robe, rings for our fingers and sandals for our feet, and will run to meet us when we come to our senses and return home to Him.
While I was on sabbatical in Rome, I went to Confessions at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the area set aside for this sacrament. Above the Priest’s door is a sign that tells the Penitent what language is spoken there. So, I went to the English-speaking priest, a fellow from Malta, who spoke with a heavy accent. He was there both times I visited. After I made my Confession, he said (both times) “For your penance and spiritual comfort…" and then assigned my penance. I had never previously thought that doing penance might bring spiritual comfort at the same time, but I remember a certain elation I experienced when I finished praying my penance and walked down the steps of Saint Peter’s. Turning to God and confessing our sins brings a spiritual comfort not available in any other way. This shows that there is joy in heaven each time we go to Confession.
And so, we learn today much about God the Father’s love for us, and how we, in turn, can become more like Him in our relations with one another. God’s love for us is unconditional… un-merited… free… spontaneous… compassionate… intimate… forgiving… merciful… constant… personal… participatory… redeeming… and life-giving. Who could turn away from that?