The Adventurous Lost Son

Have you ever been so gripped by a sense of adventure that you set out, full of enthusiasm, hoping to discover and experience something new and different? And in doing so, you didn’t carefully weigh the risks and rewards? You simply went for it! Hopefully, it turned out well, and you were happy with the results.

But maybe, it didn’t go quite as well as you had planned.

Maybe you had moments of failure, doubt and even remorse. Maybe you got lost along the way and had feelings of sorrow and regret. Maybe you felt bad, especially if you hurt or disappointed people; people who cared about you, who loved you.

That is what happens to the young man in the parable Jesus tells the Pharisees and Scribes.
They should have known very well what God wants for humanity and how God reveals himself to us. The young man in parable, swept up by a spirit of adventure, demanded his inheritance and quickly squandered it, he threw it all away.

At rock bottom, he’s faced with a choice:

• stubbornly keep going down the same road to the bitter end
• or humble himself and admit that he took a wrong turn?

We all know the touching scene that follows: the lost son returns home, and the loving and just father welcomes him with open arms.

The Questions Remain

Pope Francis often speaks of God’s mercy. For him, one of its greatest signs is the forgiveness of sins. Some might think this parable is almost too beautiful, too perfect. But when we take a closer look, there are questions, which are unanswered.

We hear nothing about what happens between the two brothers after the younger one returns looking for forgiveness. Do they remain at odds, unreconciled? Or does the older brother have a change of heart and take parte of the joyful celebration of his brother’s return?

Dear friends, with the father’s response to the older son standing outside the door, Jesus makes something clear: God longs to bring people together, like the loving father in the parable. God seeks reconciliation and peace among us.

The father speaks with tenderness to his older son. And at the same time - his heart is filled with deep compassion for his lost son.

“My child, 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.”

Dear brothers and sisters

The younger son, broken by the harsh realities of life far from home, was deeply changed. But what will it take to stir the heart of the older brother, the one who lived a life of quiet obedience? This open ended gospel message is maybe something we are still working on each day.

Our Assignment

We can put ourselves in the shoes of the younger son and his desire to break away. He asks for forgiveness. We can easily understand the role of the father who lovingly welcomes his remorseful son home. He can forgive.

Can we also put ourselves in the position of the older brother? Can he understand his brother, his father? Can he forgive? Will he join in the festivities? Or does stubbornness get in the way?

On this Laetare-Sunday, I invite you to take this story home with you and finish it, and let me know next Sunday how it ends.

But One Thing Is For Sure

God longs for joy, healing, and reconciliation among us. God longs that each day, we might help make the world more livable.

Not just for ourselves but for generations to come.

My dear brothers and sisters, I’m grateful to walk this path with you. In Jesus Christ, it is possible. When we live closely united with Jesus, then we are healed from within and we become transformed into a new creation.

The old has passed away, and something new has begun.

Let us pray

Lord God, help us to walk together each day, in reconciliation, in peace, and in the hope of renewal.

Praised be Jesus Christ. Amen.