INTRODUCTION
Here is the famous parable of the prodigal son who returned to his father with sincere contrition. His father welcomed him back unconditionally. This son is symbolic of all who sin but are willing to reconcile with God. The first part of the parable shows God’s earnest desire for our contrition and His great mercy awaiting us. The tax-collectors and sinners experienced this warm welcome from Jesus. As a double-edged parable, the second part is more relevant. The Pharisees and Scribes’ approach toward the publicans and sinners was like the elder son’s unwillingness to accept his repentant brother. Jesus wants us to remain faithful to him and to imitate God’s generosity, to forgive and to welcome those who displease us.
BIBLE TEXT
The Parable of the Lost Son
(Luke 15:11) Jesus continued, “There was a man with two sons. (12) The younger said to his father: ‘Give me my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons. (13) Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and started off for a distant land where he squandered his wealth in loose living. (14) Having spent everything, he was hard pressed when a severe famine broke out in that land. (15) So he hired himself out to a well-to-do citizen of that place and was sent to work on a pig farm. (16) So famished was he that he longed to fill his stomach even with pig’s food, but no one offered him anything. (17) Finally coming to his senses, he said: ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! (18) I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. (19) I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me then as one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and set off for his father’s house. (20) He was still a long way off when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. (21) The son said: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ (22) But the father turned to his servants: ‘Quick! Bring out the finest robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. (23) Take the fattened calf and kill it. We shall celebrate and have a feast, (24) for this son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and is found.’ And the celebration began. (25) Meanwhile, the elder son who had been working in the fields was now on his way home. As he neared the house he heard the sound of music and dancing. (26) He called one of the servants and asked what it was all about. (27) The servant answered: ‘Your brother has come home safe, and your father is so happy about it that he has ordered this celebration and killed the fattened calf.’ (28) The elder son was so angry that he refused to go in. His father came out and pleaded with him. (29) But he answered his father: ‘Look, I have slaved for you all these years. Never have I disobeyed your orders. Yet you have never given me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends. (30) Then when this son of yours returned after squandering your property with loose women, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ (31) The father said: ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. (32) But this brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was lost and is found. And for that we had to celebrate and rejoice.’”
INTERPRETATION
Out of the four evangelists, only Luke recorded this parable. A parable is a story with a spiritual message. However, some stories are allegorical. This story is almost allegorical because the situation and characters are like the people and circumstances of the time.
There are differences of opinion in naming this story. Some named this, “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” giving importance to the first part of the younger son’s behaviour. We can also call this the parable of the repentant son because his repentance is the turning point in the story. Others note that the focus is on the father who forgave the repented son and consoled the elder son’s resentment. Since the father is the central character of the story, they consider this as “The Parable of the Forgiving Father.” However, the focus is also on the elder son’s unwillingness to receive his repentant brother. So some call this “The Parable of the Two Sons.”
(Lk 15:11) Jesus continued, “There was a man with two sons.”
In an allegorical sense, the father stands for God the Father. The elder son represents the people of higher strata like the Pharisees and the Scribes. The younger son signifies the tax-collectors and sinners. All of them are God’s children. However, the Pharisees and Scribes considered themselves as God’s obedient children who always remain faithful to Him. They considered the publicans and the prostitutes as God’s disobedient and immoral children.
(12) The younger said to his father: ‘Give me my share of the estate.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons.
The younger son demanded his share of the father’s property that would normally come only at the father’s death. His demand was insulting because it was equivalent to his wish for his father’s death so he could be free from the father’s discipline and inherit the property for which he never laboured. His only reason for demanding the property was his birth right. He did not care about his responsibility to his father or his fellowship with his elder brother. He had ignored the law, “Honour your father and your mother as the LORD your God has commanded, so that you may live long and may prosper in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you” (Deut 5:16).
The younger son’s behaviour was like that of the first parents who inherited everything from God their father without any
struggle. There is no mention of a mother in both stories of Adam and the prodigal son. The first parents tried for independency under the influence of Satan. So also, the younger son demanded his freedom under the pressure of his juvenile friends.
The Jews would divide the property only at the end stage of the father’s life. Sirach 33:24 instructed: “Wait until the end of your days, until death is near, to distribute your inheritance.” (v. 24). However, this father showed the generosity to give the younger son’s inheritance because of his stubbornness. God tolerates determined sinners who want to stay away from Him.
According to the Jewish tradition, the younger son would receive only half of what the elder one was eligible to receive (Deut 21:17). Father would have divided the property according to the custom. So, the younger son received one-third of the whole assets. The elder son kept the two-third, which the father continued to manage with him.
(13) Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and started off for a distant land where he squandered his wealth in loose living
The younger son went with his inheritance to a far off country like Antioch, Alexandria, Rome, or Corinth to be out of reach of his father. As a result, he abandoned the Holy Land, the Temple of Jerusalem, the synagogues, and the fellow Jews. Thus, he ended up keeping away from God and the Jewish observances. Since he was seeking a Gentile and sinful city, he might have engaged in pagan festivals and their sinful practices. Prodigal means thriftless. Since he did not work for money, he did not know the value of the hard-earned money. So, he misused the money he inherited and did not bother about his future.
(14) Having spent everything, he was hard pressed when a severe famine broke out in that land
Severe famines were natural during those days. The younger son freely spent everything he had with no caution. He became homeless and friendless. His dire need was for his survival and necessities of life. In a spiritual sense, his poverty was setting the backdrop for his conversion. Unfavourable circumstances might help a person to return to God.
(15) So he hired himself out to a well-to-do citizen of that place and was sent to work on a pig farm
Out of poverty and unemployment in the region, the prodigal son ended up serving in a gentile household, entrusted with the responsibility of feeding swine. Both working for a gentile and feeding the ‘unclean’ pigs were humiliating for a Jew. Besides his physical hunger, this would cause him mental agony. He, who had been like a prince heretofore and had never worked, became a lowly slave. He could not consider returning to his father because he had received all he could inherit from the father and had cut off relationship with him. However, he was unaware that his father was eagerly awaiting his homecoming. The Father expected that just in case the prodigal son squandered everything, he would learn his lesson and return to him for help.
(16) So famished was he that he longed to fill his stomach even with pig’s food, but no one offered him anything
This illustrates the pathetic situation of the prodigal son. Even the unclean pigs’ situation was better than his. They at least had full bellies. The employer was exploiting him. Though doing a menial job, he had no food, no money, and no one gave him anything. The friends who had enjoyed costly food and fun at his expense before had already disappeared. He felt alone with no human connection. He longed to eat the animal food competing with the pigs to satisfy his hunger. The employer might have restricted him in sharing the food with the pigs. Once he lived in his father’s mansion and later in costly inns. He ended up sleeping in the filthy and rotten pigs’ cage, taking care of them.
(17) Finally coming to his senses, he said: ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’
The prodigal son reflected on his glorious days at his father’s house. He recalled the copious food that the servants at home were enjoying while here he was, starving to death! No human, but God, might have given him the insight to reconcile with his father. His goal in returning to the father was to ask for a job so he could at least have some human food for survival. He had never worked when he was with his father. The prodigal son knew that he was not worthy to ask for sonship and its privileges. He was fortunate that such a thought came to his mind.
It was a recovery stage that Judas who betrayed Jesus missed. If Judas had repented before his death, Jesus would have saved him. The first parents Adam and Eve, Cain and many others in the Holy Bible were justifying themselves for their faults instead of repenting and confessing their sins. This is the critical stage of transformation that we need in our lives. Without our repentance, Jesus cannot save us.
(18) I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you
The son devised a step-by-step action plan for his reconciliation with the father. His first step was to get up and abandon the life with the unclean animals. That should be the primary step for any sinner who lives in a sinful addiction or friendship. The second step was to return to his father in haste. He even coined the words for his confession. He wasn’t going to ask for any favour, but simply acknowledge his sin against God and his father. He knew that he had transgressed God’s design for family and the commandment to honour parents. Thus, he became a transformed person when he reached his father. His proud mentality turned into humility and repentance. That is what God expects from us sinners.
The prodigal son’s only hope was in the mercy of his father. He knew that only his father, unlike his employer, or his friends, or his elder brother would help him out in that dire need. He might have seen the forgiving and loving approach of his father from his experience in the family. Whether a sinner or a misunderstood innocent, there might be situations when no judge or even a family member might understand or pardon us. Still, we have hope in God through Jesus Christ.
(19) ‘I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me then as one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and set off for his father’s house
The prodigal son decided to acknowledge to his father, his unworthiness to be considered as a son. He had lost his sonship by claiming and squandering the inheritance that he was supposed to get only at the father’s death. So he dared only to ask his father to hire him as an employee.
(20) He was still a long way off when his father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him
The prodigal son did as he planned. However, things turned out much better than he could ever dream of. The father recognised him even from a great distance because he was eagerly awaiting the return of this dear son. Even before the son could roll out his prepared script, the father expressed his compassion and love by embracing and kissing him. The penitent son had mentally prepared for quite a different reception. He was expecting his father to first reject him, disregard him, scold him, humiliate him, question him, or at least set conditions for his employment. None of these happened. It was the father who was more joyful in the reconciliation than the repentant son!
(21) The son said: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son’
After the embrace and the kiss, the son went ahead with his confession before the father with the sincerest regret. He stuck to the script that he had prepared. However, he could not complete it before he could say, “Treat me then as one of your hired servants,” the father interrupted the confession because he could not bear to see his son humbling himself more than that. A son is always a son and a father is always a father regardless of any broken relationship between them. The father had already unconditionally accepted the lost (and found) son as expressed in his embrace and kiss. We too must express our contrition via body language as well as in the words we speak.
(22) But the father turned to his servants: ‘Quick! Bring out the finest robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet’
The father did not seem to be looking for any explanation nor did he have any pre-conditions. He expressed his unconditional forgiveness in his attitude towards the son and the directions he gave to the servants. The son received far more than what he wished and deserved.
The story gives details of acceptance and recognition the father gave to his returned son. The father did these in haste. He did not wait to assess the changed behaviour of this son or delay till the return of his elder son from the field. The father enthusiastically accepted and honoured his returned son in front of the servants and slaves.
The finest robe
The son returned with a dirty, stinking, and torn dress like a beggar. His poor dressing was symbolic of his pathetic situation. The father asked his servants to dress the son in the finest robe, which could be a symbol of his position in the family, distinct from the servants and the slaves.
Ring on his finger
The ring was symbolic of sharing the father’s authority. The signet ring was like an official seal or credit card of modern times. Its use was to sign documents and give assurance for any credit that the father would pay. When Pharaoh made Joseph his prime minister, he gave a ring as the sign of sharing his authority in the palace. “He then took the signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He clothed him in fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck” (Gen 41:42). The father honoured and empowered the prodigal son in like manner.
Sandals on his feet
Sandals were the symbol of family membership and authority. Others like servants and slaves had no sandals.
(23) Take the fattened calf and kill it. We shall celebrate and have a feast
“The fattened calf” meant a specific calf specially fattened by families for special occasions, like offering a sacrifice in the Temple or banquets in honour of distinguished guests. So, the slaughtering of the fatted calf showed the great joy and enormous celebration at the return of the son communicating to all gathered that the father had restored the son with full rights in the family.
The scripture scholars parallel the sacrifice of the calf to recover the prodigal son to the sacrifice of Jesus to redeem the sinful mankind. Just as the father sacrificed his fatted calf, God the Father let his favoured son die on the cross as a ransom to recover humans from their sinful state. Unlike the fattened calf that nourished only once, Christ continues to sustain us with his flesh and blood when we gather in his name to enjoy the spiritual banquet of the Holy Mass.
(24) … ‘for this son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and is found.’ And the celebration began
The father justified to his servants for the unusual joy and celebration. The son’s departure had caused extreme grief for the father and was more painful than the death of a son. His sinful behaviour was his spiritual and moral death like that of Adam when he lost paradise because of his misuse of freedom. This reminds us how much God would have felt when the first parents who were the pinnacle of his creation ruined everything and had to be evicted from paradise. And how much the Father is joyful in the redemption of mankind through the death and resurrection of his Son. Jesus expressed the joy in heaven over the repentance of sinners: “There is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner” (Lk 15:10).
Through his self-repentance and confession, the prodigal son came back to life. That became complete only with the generous and forgiving acceptance of the father. He considered the return of the lost son like a resurrection. Our reconciliation with God becomes complete only when God graciously accepts our confession.
PART TWO
Double-edged parable
Scholars consider this as a double-edged parable because it has two parts with a double message. The message of the first part is the magnanimity of God the Father to offer unconditional forgiveness to the repentant and His amazing joy in the sinners’ conversion. Before presenting this parable, Luke presented the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:1-7) and the parable of the lost coin (Lk 15:8- 10). Both preceding parables were giving importance to the unusual rejoicing in the lost and found. However, these examples do not have repentance element because they dealt with sheep and coin.
The parable’s second part gives importance to the necessity of the “righteous” to join the father’s magnanimity in accepting the repentant sinners. For a double-edged parable, the message of the second part has precedence over the first. That is why Jesus addressed the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son to the Pharisees and Scribes who criticized Jesus for welcoming sinners and eating with them (Lk 15:1-3).
(25) Meanwhile, the elder son who had been working in the fields was now on his way home. As he neared the house he heard the sound of music and dancing
Music and dancing
The grand celebration with music, dancing, and banquet was like rejoicing with friends and neighbours after finding the missing items in the previous two parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin.
Now the older son had been out in the field
The elder son did not see the return of the younger one. He was out in the field engaging in his father’s work. When he returned home, he noticed the unusual celebration that he did not understand.
(26) He called one of the servants and asked what it was all about. (27) The servant answered: ‘Your brother has come home safe, and your father is so happy about it that he has ordered this celebration and killed the fattened calf’
The elder son naturally asked what was going on. The father did not inform him of the return of the younger son; nor did the father consult him on the celebration. He might have felt like the father giving too much love and undeserving honour to the younger son while ignoring him. He would have no problem accepting the younger brother as a paid labourer. His objection was because the father gave him more than what he deserved. The elder son felt that he would lose part of what he earned with his father. He was uncharitable and selfish.
The Pharisees and Scribes behaved like the elder son when Jesus favoured the “unrighteous.” Like the younger son, the tax-collectors and sinners were in distress. Jesus forgave their transgressions and accepted them as his disciples like Matthew the tax collector and offering salvation to families like that of Zacchaeus. That was unacceptable for the elite Jews.
(28) The elder son was so angry that he refused to go in. His father came out and pleaded with him
The elder son resisted entering the house and joining the festivities. The loving father noticed the negative reaction of his elder son. He observed that while the one who had abandoned him once was inside the house, the other used to be inside was staying outside in protest. As Jesus taught, “the last will be first, the first will be last” (Mt 20:16).
The father showed his compassion also to the elder son. He went out to meet him and pleaded with him to reconcile with him and the younger son. The elder son’s protest was more to the father than to the younger son. He got upset because the father killed the fattened calf to honour his wretched brother. He felt that the father never acknowledged him in the same way, though he was obedient and submissive to the father throughout his life.
(29) But he answered his father: ‘Look, I have slaved for you all these years. Never have I disobeyed your orders. Yet you have never given me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends’
Like the Pharisee who went to pray in the Temple, in “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector” (Lk 18:9-14), the elder son recited how he had been serving and obeying the father. In contrast, the younger son did never serve the father nor obey him, yet the father was being so magnanimous towards him! The father did undue favour to the prodigal son.
The elder one complained that the father did not give him even a young goat to celebrate with his friends. He was contrasting himself with his younger brother and complaining about the disparity in the father’s treatment of both. He felt jealous of his brother. What might have hurt the father more was the elder son’s expression that he was working like a slave for the father.
(30) ‘Then when this son of yours returned after squandering your property with loose women, you killed the fattened calf for him’
It is natural that when we hate someone, we go to the extremes to find fault and accuse that person. The elder son had detached himself from his brother and said, “Your son” expressing his rejection of the younger one as his brother. He accused the younger one of financial and moral irresponsibility, though the father gave it as free will present to the younger son. The first part of the parable does not mention his next accusation that the younger son was mingling with prostitutes. So, it could be the elder brother’s exaggeration to put down the prodigal son. He also might have felt that the father arranged the celebration in a hurry without getting solid assurances of good behaviour or finding out what his subsequent demands would be. He probably could not tolerate that the father killed the fattened calf reserved for special celebrations.
(31) “The father said: ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. (32) But this brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was lost and is found. And for that we had to celebrate and rejoice’”
The father wanted the elder son to forgive his brother as generously as he had done. He justified his action by repeating what he had told the servants, viz. that he had got back a treasure that he thought he had lost forever. Such was the marvellous feeling of the father!
In the allegorical sense, God was with the Israelites throughout the centuries, being faithful to His covenant with them as His firstborn. When Jesus came, the sinners and ordinary people repented and joined the church, whereas the Jews rejected and persecuted Jesus.
An open-ended story
The story does not end but was to continue in the life of the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus did not conclude whether the elder son continued his protest, or left the father and the younger son, or entered the house and joined the celebration, or whether he accepted the younger brother and lived in harmony. The Jewish elites had to decide the future of the story. Later we know that their response was negative. They crucified Jesus, the God incarnate. They expelled Christians from synagogues and persecuted the early church composed of the former Jews and Gentiles.
MESSAGE
1. Like the younger son, we like to be free from religious restrictions. Our attempts for happiness often lead us to ill- health, economic crisis, demoralization, and humiliation.
2. In our shameful and dire need, no one might be there to support us. Still, we can turn to God our Father who would welcome us with our elder brother, Jesus Christ.
3. In this story, the father was eagerly waiting for the return of his son. So also, God is eagerly awaiting the return of us who are his lost children. When we exhibit the signs of repentance, God comes down to greet and embrace us, as the father did to his prodigal son.
4. Confession of the prodigal son changed his life. We also need to come to our senses, go to God through confession, and get reconciled with Him. That can change our lives in this world and the world to come.
5. We notice the father’s approach in Jesus’ response to the repentant sinners. He never questioned them but only said, “Your sins are forgiven,” “sin no more.” In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
6. Unlike the elder brother of the prodigal son, our elder brother Jesus is not only welcoming us to the lost sonship but also came down to convince us to return to the Father, assuring ahead of time that the Father will forgive us.
7. Sin or repentance leads to the reversal of our spiritual status. When the prodigal son sinned, he lost his “paradise” and ended up in a hell-like situation. When he repented and reconciled with God, his status reversed from “hell” to “paradise.” We have the freedom to choose. It is God’s grace that He will reinstate our sonship when we repent.
8. Each character in this story has a message for us. Like the prodigal son, we need to turn to God with repentance. Like the father in the parable, we need to be compassionate to others who hurt us. Unlike the elder son in the parable, we should wish others’ betterment even at our expense.