THE MOST HOLY TRINITY.

Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

We Catholics believe that we believe in one God, but in practice we behave differently. We speak of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and some accuse us of being worshippers of Mary too. Are we in practice polytheistic like the Hindus ? We begin our prayers taking the name of three persons. In the Mass we pray to the Father in the Son through the Spirit. So what do we actually believe ? We believe in a mysterious God. God by nature is a mystery, otherwise he is not God. The God who can be comprehended by my mind and thought is not the real God. God is transcendent and immanent. Immanent God we may be able to grasp some, but not the transcendent God fully well.

One day St Augustine of Hippo was walking along the sea shore and reflecting on the doctrine of the Trinity. He suddenly saw a little child all alone on the shore. The child made a hole in the sand, ran to the sea with a little cup, filled her cup, came and poured it into the hole she had made in the sand. Back and forth she went to the sea, filled her cup and came and poured it into the hole. Augustine went up to her and said, "Little child, what are you doing?" and she replied, "I am trying to empty the sea into this hole."
"How do you think," Augustine asked her, "that you can empty this immense sea into this tiny hole and with this tiny cup?" To which she replied, " And you, how do you suppose that with this your small head you can comprehend the immensity of God?" With that the child disappeared.

Like Augustine we may not be able to understand the mystery of the Trinity. But we can describe the mystery, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." Jesus knew very well that the disciples and his listeners were not able to understand the meaning of his message. Jesus expressed it in today’s Gospel. "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." Jesus revealed himself to the people gradually and as understandable to them. First He taught them to recognize in Himself the Eternal Son of God. When His ministry was drawing to a close, He promised that the Father would send another Divine Person, the Holy Spirit, in His place. Finally after His resurrection, He revealed the doctrine in explicit terms, bidding them "go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:18).

We can get an inkling of trinity from our human experience of life in a family.

We are created in God's image, and so the love that links husband and wife and gives rise to new life - this is a pale reflection of the divine family of the Blessed Trinity. The love of a husband and wife may reflect the love of the Father and the Son. As Jesus says: All that is mine is yours and all that is yours is mine » (Jn 17, 8-10). Similarly everything that a husband possesses becomes equally of the wife’s too and vice versa. As the Holy Spirit proceeds from the love of the Father and the Son, as in a family a child is born from the love of a husband and wife.

Speaking of the family life Jesus said: For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one.

In John Chapter 17:11 Jesus says: that they may be one as we are one » (Jn 17,11).

Another simile can be had from this lighted candle. This burning candle has three inseparable things in itself: the flame, the heat and the light. All the three are inseparably linked together but flame is not heat or heat is not light. The only visible thing in it is the flame, the heat and the light can be experienced as the Holy Spirit and the Father who are invisible.

One more example for the experience of the trinity in our life is our thought process. When I think of something, the thought is inseparably part of myself. Yet, I know my thought distinct from myself, though it is one with me. But when I express that thought in word or write it down, it becomes separate from me. It is like my thought as the Son who was with the Father before the incarnation and my word or written word is the Incarnated Word as St.John mentions… in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. When the time came the Word became flesh. And the implemented action of me resulting from my expressed thought can be compared to the Holy Spirit. ( in my thought in my word and in my action).

So, the trinity can be experienced in our self. As Jesus said: If anyone loves my commandment, the Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. St. Paul tells us that God's love is poured into our hearts through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Our idea about who God is and what he is like always affects how we live. Sometimes we may wonder why God even bothered to reveal the truth about his inner, Trinitarian nature, since he knew it would be impossible for us to understand it completely. But God knew what he was doing. He knew that our idea about what he is like would profoundly affect our idea about how to follow him.

The more deeply we ponder and absorb this revelation of God, the more we will love him. And the more we love God, the happier we will be.

But in order to love him more, we must know him better.

An old proverb says, "You cannot love what you do not know." This is the reason that God has revealed himself to us. He wants us to know him. Because he wants us to love him.

Today, on this feast of the Blessed Trinity, we need to ask ourselves: how well do we know God?

Have we become satisfied with the bare minimum?

Are we striving to know him better?

Do we know him better today than we did one year ago, five years ago, twenty years ago?

Today, when we profess our faith in God, let's really mean it. And let's ask God to stir up our desire to know him better, because if we really want to do so, he will gladly show us how to do so.

Easter VI [C] Acts 15:1-2, 22-29;Rev. 21: 10-14, 22-23; John 14: 23-29

Today’s readings show us the effects of the abiding presence of God in His Church and of His indwelling in each one of us. The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, tells us how the Holy Spirit indwelling in the Church helped the apostles to solve a major doctrinal problem about the Gentiles becoming Christians, which shook the very foundation of the early Church. The gospel passage reminds us that the Holy Spirit, abiding within us, is our teacher and the source of all peace.  The passage offers a vision of hope.  Jesus promises his followers that the Holy Spirit will come and instruct them in everything they need to know.

The story is told that after Helen Keller’s teacher, Annie Sullivan, had given her the names of physical objects in sign language, Miss Sullivan attempted to explain God and tapped out the symbols for the name "God." Much to Miss Sullivan’s surprise, Helen spelled back, "Thank you for telling me God’s name, Teacher, for he has touched me many times before." How could Helen Keller have known about God? Although she was blind and deaf, Helen Keller knew God, for God had shown Himself to her. That is “revelation” of an indwelling God about whom today’s scripture speaks.  

In this passage, Jesus reveals one of the great secrets of Christian life. When we are baptized, God himself, the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, actually come into our souls and take up residence there." We will come to him and make our dwelling with him," Jesus tells us.

Have we ever wondered why Jesus ascended back into heaven fifty days after his resurrection? Why didn't he stick around? Because he wanted to be closer to us; he wanted to be able to dwell deep within our hearts, beyond earthly limits. If Christ had not "gone to the Father," he would have remained limited by time and space, as he was during his earthly life. (It is good that I go, Jesus said).

But since he now dwells body and soul in heaven, he can be present to each one of us at all times, through the Holy Spirit. Since the three Persons of the Trinity share the same nature, where one is, all three are. 

But for the sake of our understanding, the Church has long attributed God's presence within our soul especially to the Holy Spirit, the most hidden of the three Persons of the Trinity, whom we are preparing to welcome in the coming Solemnity of Pentecost. 

We often live as if our Christianity were something outside of us, like a membership in a club, forgetting the God’s indwelling aspect of our faith life. That forgetfulness handcuffs God's power in our lives. The Holy Spirit is polite. He respects our freedom. He chooses to be a guest, not a dictator.

He sits in the living room of our souls, loving us, eagerly waiting for us to put away our cell phone, shut down our computer, and pay attention to him for few minutes, to listen to him, to ask him for guidance and strength. And whenever we do, he is able to increase what is good in us, and cleanse what is bad.

Jesus teaches us that the condition for this indwelling of the Holy Trinity is that we show our love of God by keeping his word.  And this keeping of his word will be facilitated by the Holy Spirit, God's Holy Breath. And he will be a comforter.

What kind of comfort can we expect from the Comforter?  Let’s look more closely at the word ‘comfort’. Modern usage has weakened its meaning to softness and gentle touches; in fact it has come to mean just about the opposite of its real meaning. The word comes from the Latin confortare, which means ‘to strengthen’; fortis means ‘strong’.  Comfort therefore means strength!  The Holy Spirit will make us robust, strong in faith. 

And what kind of peace can we expect?  “I give you my peace.  Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you.”  It is not the ego’s peace, which is like the peace after a good meal, or after some private victory.  He promises his kind of peace – which is “a peace the world cannot give” (Jn 14:27). The indwelling Holy Spirit will give us lasting peace and joy which can not be snatched away by any external force.

God inhabits our hearts so deeply and intimately that we become the visible dwelling place of God.  His living and life-affirming presence is always with us, yet '"hidden" in the very things we so often take for granted.  Thus, we are invited to look for and encounter "God-with-us," yet "hidden" -- hidden in the person sitting next to us, in the words we speak and the songs we sing at worship.

As we prepare ourselves for the great feast of the Comforter, the strength giver, the peace giver- in two weeks, let’s pray every day for the mighty outpouring  of the Holy Spirit in our hearts so that he may make us holy by his indwelling presence in us.

Easter V [C] (4/28/13): Acts 14: 21-27; Rev 21: 1-5; Jn 13: 31-33, 34-35

Someone once said that the purpose of a sermon is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Jesus’ preaching had this effect. He comforted the suffering, the sick and oppressed. But he also made the Pharisees and Sadducees very uncomfortable.

In today’s second reading Paul and Barnabas tell us that the way to the Kingdom of God lies through many afflictions – reminiscent, of course of Jesus’ remarks to his disciples that they should strive to enter through the narrow door (Lk 13.24,Mat 7.13).

When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified. What is the relationship between Judas’ going out and Jesus’ glory? Because Judas went out to conspire with the Jews to crucify Jesus. Jesus’ glory came through his cross and crucifixion. And that is the pattern of any Christian’s glory too. That is why Paul and Barnabas tell the early Christians that "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.'"

In other words, only through the Cross can we reach the Resurrection; only through self-sacrificing love can we experience true Christian joy.

St John in the Second Reading gives us the same message from the other direction. He paints a picture of heaven, where the saints live in perfect communion with God. The main characteristic of that life is that God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away."

The old order - that's our order. That's our life here and now in the pilgrim Church on earth. It will pass away; it won't always be like this. But for the time being, it's full of wailing and weeping, mourning and pain.

Our society is so obsessed with pleasure, comfort, health, youth, and appearances that sometimes even we Christians forget about that, and we start thinking that the only meaningful life is a painless life.

The examples of the saints can remind us that, in fact, just the opposite is true: only through the Cross can we reach the Light.

Blessed Lydwina [LIHD-vine-ah] of Holland is a case in point. She lived in the 1400s.  She was a pretty, vivacious 15-year-old, until she got into an ice-skating accident and ran into complications during her recovery. For the next thirty-eight years she never left her sickroom. God sent her a rare and gruesome cross: Her flesh began to rot. She had agonizing headaches, constantly recurring fits of vomiting, unending fevers, maddening thirst, spasms of pain in every part of her body - it was as if she were already decaying in the grave, while she remained conscious to experience it.

At first, she felt anger and revulsion at her suffering. But gradually she learned that God was asking her to suffer for the reparation of others' sins.

Her confessor visited her frequently, taught her to meditate on our Lord's passion, and frequently brought her Holy Communion - which was her only food for the last 13 years of her life. As she recognized and embraced her life's mission, she began to add voluntary sufferings to the ones God had sent her (sleeping on boards instead of on a bed, for example).God rewarded her by giving her powers of healing (healing others’ sickness), prophecy, and special visions. Lydwina's specific vocation was uncommon, but its pattern is the same for every Christian vocation, ours included: through Cross to resurrection.

Death has a new meaning now not only for Jesus but for us too, and life can have a new meaning for us, if we allow it to be shaped by this new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you.

When I love I make myself vulnerable, and if I am afraid of that, I won't love.  I will dream and sentimentalize instead.  So, to love as Jesus loved means to make ourselves vulnerable and willing to be hurt.

In other words, we must walk the way of love, loving one another as Jesus loved us, and still loves us, pouring out his life for us now in the food which is his body and the chalice of his blood. This life of love that he calls us to lead is indeed a glorious life and a joyful one, but it is still a life overshadowed by death. We must allow to die every day, so that we may truly live, and follow Christ along the path of glory through the open door into the life of God. In the face of pain and struggles let’s always remember that the way to resurrection passes through the pain of the cross.

EASTER IV [C] Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rev 7:9, 14-17; Jn. 10:27-30

Historians tell us that the earliest popular image of the Christian faith in the Lord Jesus was not the crucifix which is perhaps the most common image for us today. It was rather the image of the Lord as the caring and loving shepherd. We do know that the two images really come together in a sense as one, because the Good Shepherd's care and love for us is so great that the Shepherd gives up his life for the sheep.

In the Old Testament, the image of the Shepherd is often applied to God as well as to the leaders of the people.  God chose shepherds to be the Patriarchs; he chose shepherds to be Israel's first kings; the prophets ceaselessly speak of Israel as a flock and God as their shepherd.

The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel compare Yahweh’s care and protection of His people to that of a shepherd.  “He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against His breast and leading the mother ewes to their rest” (Is. 40:11).  Ezekiel represents God as a loving shepherd who searches diligently for the lost sheep.  Psalm 23 is David’s famous picture of God as The Good Shepherd: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.  In green pastures you let me graze, to safe waters you lead me.”  The prophets often used harsh words to scold the selfish and insincere shepherds or leaders of their day.  Jer 23:1: “Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered."  

Jesus introduces himself as the good shepherd of his flock. He knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice: Just as the Palestinian shepherds knew each sheep of their flock by name, and the sheep knew their shepherd and his voice, so Jesus knows each one of us, our needs, our merits and our faults.  

That Jesus compares us to sheep is not a compliment, by the way. Sheep are among the dumbest of all creatures. Most animals, in many cases, will survive if released into the wild. They will learn to fend for themselves and make it. But a sheep released into the wild cannot survive. Sheep have no survival skills whatsoever. They are totally dependent upon the shepherd - just like we are. The sheep come to know that when the shepherd speaks they should follow because his plan for them is better than their plan for themselves.

In chapter ten of John’s Gospel, Jesus adds two more roles to those of the good shepherd.  He goes in search of stray lambs and heals the sick ones.  Jesus heals the wounds of our souls through the sacrament of Reconciliation and strengthens us in illness and old age with the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.  Jesus dies for his sheep: (As Isaiah says, by his wounds we are healed).  Just as the shepherds of ancient days protected their sheep from wild animals and thieves by risking their own lives, so Jesus died in expiation for the sins of all people.

A shepherd walks in front of his flock, whistling or speaking or singing. The sheep follow along behind. As long as they can hear the shepherd's voice, they keep following; they have to stay close enough to hear his voice.

As long as the shepherd is close by, the wolves will not attack the sheep. Only when a sheep falls behind, out of reach of the shepherd's voice, is there danger of getting lost and being attacked. When Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me," this is the image he has in mind. 

He wants to stay close to us, and he wants us to stay close to him, close enough so we can always hear his voice. That way we can be sure to arrive safely to the rich pastures and refreshing streams of a meaningful, joyful life. He is not a distant God, and he doesn't want to save us from far away.

Unfortunately, life in today's world is noisy, and it is not always easy for us to hear the voice of our good shepherd. We are bombarded with so many other voices, so many images, so many ideas. Christ knows this, yet he still tells us, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me." No matter how noisy, dark, or stormy it gets, he knows how to make his voice heard in our hearts. We can always tune into it - that's the gift of prayer. 

He gives us his word, his grace, his sacraments, and he sends us into the world around us, to gather all the wandering and lost sheep. Our mission is to bring them back to the flock. It's not always easy.  It takes prayer, sacrifice, and patience. It takes an ongoing effort on our part to know the faith well enough to be able to answer objections. But above all, it takes sharing Christ's own love for his people, for every person. 

Today, we pray for all those who have been chosen to be shepherds among us. We pray for our religious leaders that they may live and serve their flock according to the model of the Good Shepherd. We pray for parents and guardians of our youth who are chosen to be shepherds, too. We pray for our civic leaders and all who protect us with their service. And finally, we pray for each one of us that we may be shepherds to one another by the love and care we give to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today as we observe the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. the church invites us to reflect on the meaning of God’s call and to pray for an increase in vocations.

EASTER-2013

On Good Friday we saw how Jesus was scourged, mocked, nailed to the cross where he dies after a few hours and hastily buried in a tomb. If that were the end of the story of Jesus that would be a bad story, a tragedy. But glory be to God, it is not. Death is not the end of the story of Jesus. There is one more chapter. This is the most important chapter because, as the saying goes, they who laugh last, laugh best. And in the last chapter of the story of Jesus we see him rise from the dead in all glory and majesty. He is vindicated. His enemies are shamed and confused. Jesus regains his eternal glory with the Father.

Resurrection is the greatest of the miracles, for it proves that Jesus is God.  That is why St. Paul writes: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your faith is in vain” (I Cor 15: 14). “Jesus is Lord, he is risen” (Rom 10: 9), was the central theme of the preaching of the apostles, because Jesus prophesied His Resurrection as a sign of His divinity:  “Tear down this temple and in three days I will build it again” (Jn 2: 19). The founder of no other religion has an empty tomb as Jesus has.  Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection.  Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will live even though he dies” (Jn 11: 25-26). 3) Easter is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain, sorrows and tears.  It reminds us that life is worth living.  It is our belief in the Real Presence of the risen Jesus in our souls, in His Church, in the Blessed Sacrament and in Heaven that gives meaning to our personal as well as our communal prayer, and gives strength to fight against temptations and freedom from unnecessary worries and fears. 

No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she has spent time in the dark place (like Jesus in the tomb) where hope cannot be seen. When we are going through very difficult times: through betrayal, unjust discrimination, lies, misrepresentations; and when the enemy seems to be winning the battle in our lives, Easter will come live to us. Easter is the last thing we are expecting. It's about more hope than we can handle. Easter promises us more than the stars in our darkness.

Easter tells us that the tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the twilight; it opens on the dawn."

Jesus built a bridge to death with his Cross, so that men might pass from the land of death to the land of Life.  Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark "but the darkness did not remain. The dawn broke. God's Son had risen.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was never meant to be proved but experienced. As a matter of fact it cannot be proved, as none of us was there. We have to take the word of others who were. Those early witnesses were very passionate about their testimonies. Many were to be martyred in defense of their convictions. The most convincing evidence of the Resurrection of Christ is the transformation of the people who know Jesus and believed in Him after his death.

You do not say: resurrected Christ, appear to me and then I will believe. It is just the opposite. The resurrected Christ appeared only to those who did believe. He did not reveal himself to the Caiaphas and Pilates and Herods of the world.

The evidence of resurrection is overwhelming, and life makes no sense without it. Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  The Twelve apostles  were not going to give up their lives to simply perpetuate that which they know to be a hoax.

Islam religion believes everything about Jesus, including his miraculous virgin birth and his life full of miracles, except his death on the cross and his resurrection. Because it is the central point of Christian faith- Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again. Of course Muslims believe too that Christ will come again.

For most of us, believing that Jesus rose again from the dead becomes a little like believing the earth is round and that it orbits the sun. Once upon a time people didn't know that. They thought the earth was flat and that the sun orbited the earth. It caused quite a stir when this view had to be revised. But that was a long time ago and now we accept that picture of our solar system without much thought. Sure the world is round and we orbit the sun, but what does that have to do with anything? It doesn't change what you have to do at work tomorrow, does it?

Easter has somehow become part of the "routines" of this world. Easter is no longer shocking for us--it surely does not make us re-evaluate everything else we think we know. But, unless it changes everything in our life, it makes no sense. This is not some fact we can ponder just once every twelve months. This should change everything.... and on EVERY day. And we should witness this resurrection of Jesus among people who live as though God doesn’t exist or is dead for them.

Billy Graham responded to someone who shouted out "God is dead! God is dead!" Dr. Graham with tenderness replied, "That's strange because I just talked to Him in prayer a few minutes ago." Yes, the day you really believe in the resurrection is the day you change your life, change your universe.

The most important thing of Easter after acknowledging and believing in the resurrection is to share in the victory of resurrection. How can we do that ? Jesus said ‘unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you can have no life in you’. If so, only by sharing in the Eucharist with believing faith can we share in the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus vanished from the physical sight of the disciples going to Emmaus when he broke the bread. He hid himself in the bread so that they could receive him spiritually. Let’s receive the resurrected Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and be empowered by him to witness his power everywhere we go today and tomorrow.

PALM SUNDAY [C] IS 50: 4-7; PHIL 2: 6-11; LK: 22: 14-23 - 23: 56

Constantine the Great was the first Christian Roman emperor. His father Constantius I who succeeded Diocletian as emperor in 305 was a pagan with a soft heart for Christians. When he ascended the throne, he discovered that many Christians held important jobs in the government and in the court.  So he issued an executive order to all those Christians: “Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.” The great majority of Christians gave up their jobs rather than disowning Christ. Only a few cowards gave up their religion rather than lose their jobs. The emperor was pleased with the majority who showed the courage of their convictions and gave their jobs back to them saying: "If you will not be true to your God you will not be true to me either.” Today we join the Palm Sunday crowd in spirit to declare our loyalty to Christ and fidelity to his teachings by actively participating in the Palm Sunday liturgy. As we carry the palm leaves to our homes, we are declaring our choice to accept Jesus as the king and ruler of our lives and our families.

Accepting Jesus as king requires surrendering to his demands. The owner who lent him the donkey accepted his Lordship. What would have happened if he had refused to lent the donkey ?

Maybe we would have no the story of the triumphal entry, at least not in the way Jesus wanted it. No matter how unknown a person is, he or she can still play a crucial role in the unfolding of God's plan. The Lord needs each one of us as he needed the unnamed owners of the donkey in the reading. We are not told who these owners of the donkey are but the fact that they understood that "the Lord" refers to Jesus and voluntarily gave up the donkey shows that they could be his secret disciples or admirers. Otherwise one would have expected them to answer, "But who is this Lord who needs my donkey?"

A donkey was a very big thing in those days. The donkey was the equivalent of a car, a truck and a tractor, all in one. It was a car because people used it to move around and do their shopping, a truck because it was used to carry load, and a tractor because it was used in cultivating the land. Adding to this the fact that the donkey had never been ridden, means it was brand new and had a very high market value. You can see that giving up the donkey just because the Lord needed it was a very big sacrifice. It was a generous and heroic act of faith.

Max Lucado reminds us that each of us has got a donkey that the Lord needs. Here is his reflection on using our donkey for the service of the Lord:

Sometimes I get the impression that God wants me to give him something and sometimes I don't give it because I don't know for sure, and then I feel bad because I've missed my chance. Other times I know he wants something but I don't give it because I'm too selfish. And other times, too few times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place. And still other times I wonder if my little deeds today will make a difference in the long haul.
Maybe you have those questions, too. All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road. Maybe you can sing or hug or program a computer or speak a foreign language or write a check. Whichever, that's your donkey.

Whichever, your donkey belongs to him. It really does belong to him. Your gifts are his and the donkey was his. The original wording of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples is proof: "If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, you are to say, 'Its Lord is in need.'" So, what is the name of your donkey? The Lord has need of it.

LENT IV (C): JOSH 5:9, 10-12; IICOR. 5: 17-21; LK 15:1-3, 11-32

The agony that we experience when we lose something is very great. In 2004 the Earthquake in the Indian Ocean washed off the shores of India. Thousands of people were found missing. It was a common sight on the beaches, that mothers were  looking for their sons, wives were waiting for the return of their husbands; and fathers were frantically searching for the life beat of their children. All waited in eager expectation that the lost ones would come back. The expectations of some were realized, and others continued indefinitely.  And many miracles happened.  The missing people returned after days and weeks. Jesus gives a more touching story of the “home coming” of a son, and the joy of the father on receiving the lost son.

It is difficult for us to see something new in the parable of the Prodigal son. We have heard the story so many times we believe that we have squeezed it dry of meaning. When we hear the opening words of the parable once again, "And there was a Father who had two sons," we greet the words with ho-hum. Heard it. Heard it. Heard it.

Today I would like for us to re-examine this familiar story from a different angle. Usually when we read the Bible, we basically think we are spectators looking out of a window at something that is happening out there to others. But when we think of reading the Bible as more like looking into a mirror, when we too are very much in the picture we are caught up and involved in the story. We can assume the role of any one of the characters.

It is primarily the story of the Father, though it is kind of named as the parable of the prodigal son. It is the Father who showed prodigality with the riches he had. He lavishes his wealth on the squanderer when he came back. If he did not accept him as his son, or accepted him just as one of his hired servants he would have been a normal, unexceptional father. That is what the world and society would expect from a normal father. But he is the heavenly Father who accepts the sinner unconditionally.

 The father promptly forgave him, kissed him on the cheeks, and healed the broken relationship between them.  He ordered a bath for his son, gave him new garments and a golden signet ring (sign of authority and trust).  By ordering sandals for the feet of his son, the father signaled his reacceptance of his son. The killing the fatted calf, specially raised for the Passover feast, meant that the entire village was invited for the grand party given in the returned son’s honor. He doesn’t even allow the son to make his full confession of sins. He was so busy getting the celebration started that he did not listen to any of the apology of his son. God is so forgiving that he doesn’t raise any accusing finger on us sinners.

There is a story about a woman who had upset her pastor because she claimed that she had conversations with God. She had attracted quite a following in the church and every day people gathered at her house, got on their knees, prayed, and listened to her describe what God was saying to her.

The pastor thought all this was getting out of hand, so he went to visit her. "I know you say you are talking with God," he said, "but what you hear is your imagination talking back at you. Just to prove it, I want you to ask God to name three of the sins that I confessed this morning. Then tell me what God said. If you can name those sins, I'll believe that you really are talking with God." The woman sat there for a long while, praying. Then she looked up and said, "I asked God to name your three sins, but God said, 'I forgot.'"

God doesn’t keep an account of our sins. He says: Even though your sins are like scarlet, they'll be white like snow. Though they're like crimson, they'll become like wool. (Is.1:18).

It is God who takes the initiative in restoring our relationship,  not us. It is God who finds us, not we finding him. Before the younger son spotted the Father, the Father spotted him and ran to him and embraced him. It is the classical prototypical Christian experience: I once was lost and now am found”. Our job is to allow God to disentangle us from our mess from which we cannot get ourselves out. If we could save ourselves from our sins Jesus would not have to come to save us.

The sign seen in a textile mill was: "When your thread becomes tangled, call the foreman." A young woman was new on the job. Her thread became tangled and she thought, "I'll just straighten this out myself." She tried, but the situation only worsened. Finally she called the foreman. "I did the best I could," she said. "No you didn't. To do the best, you should have called me."  Do we call God to do our best, before we make a more mess of it…?

Let's step back outside with the older brother, for a while, still in need of a shower, standing there with pouted lips. The elder son had no feelings of sympathy for his brother.  He was resentful, bitter and angry.  He cannot even bring himself to acknowledge his brother with a name -- "this son of yours." He was so jealous of his younger brother that he never wanted to see him again. In fact he bonded with the Father only after his younger brother left home.  Instead of honoring his father by joining him in accepting his brother and playing an appropriate role at the meal, the elder son publicly insulted and humiliated his father (vv. 28-30).  

We are much like the elder brother who preferred justice to mercy. We have earned God's favor (or so we think) by "staying at home." We have merited his acceptance by the good life that we live. So how dare God receive and accept our sinful brother who has returned home saying he's sorry.

So where are we at parable's end? Are we inside the party celebrating? Or are we standing outside with our arms folded, refusing to come in? The father passionately invites the older son inside, "pleads with him" to join in the welcome. Curiously, however, we are never told what the older brother decides to do. The story ends but it doesn't end. In a world where God does not play fair, this parable forces us to make a choice.

We are all sinners. Whether your sins are more visible like those of the younger son or more hidden like those of the elder son, the message for us today is that we all need to repent and return to the father's house. The younger son needs to turn back from his frivolous lifestyle and return to the father's house and be a responsible and obedient son. The elder son needs to turn back from anger and resentment and learn to share the house with the apparently undeserving younger brother.

Lent is a time to "pass over," from a world of sin to a world of reconciliation. The story of the prodigal son asks each of us an important question: Will you accept the Father's   forgiveness and partake of the banquet, or will you remain outside?   The message of Lent, therefore, as St. Paul tells us, is:  “We implore you, in Christ’s name: be reconciled to God."  The first step, of course, is to do as the younger son did: "When he came to himself, he said: 'I will break away and return to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against you." Am I still in pigsty feeding pigs ? Have I come to my senses ?