From Where we Are

 Today's gospel takes a look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. The gospel begins with Pharisees, as many sinners and tax collectors gather around Jesus, and they say about Jesus: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”. Jesus then offers them a parable. Jesus uses these parables to compare things of heaven to the words and understandings which people of his time had. The parable which we are given is the one of the Prodigal son, which is often used during penetential service. I can remember when we did our Examination of Conscience in grade school, this was the gospel reading we were given.

At face value, this is a story of repentance, of a son returning to his father. This is a very simple understanding we have. We know this, many of you know this story very well. If you have been to church before during Lent, you have heard this gospel before, and if you have ever taken any classes in our faith, than you have probably too heard this story. This parable is a very nice one, and certainly teaches us about repentance, no doubt.

But there is something else I want you to look at in this gospel, a particular detail we are given:

Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’

The detail I want to make of note is this: While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

The father is the one who goes to the son, the son does make the first move, but before the son can even make a return to his father, his father goes to him, and brings him back. And when he is brought back, he is given a great feast, much to the dismay of his brother.

This relates greatly to the Pharisees at the beginning of the Gospel. The Pharisees see Jesus who welcomes the deplorable, that is the sinners and the taxcollectors (the unjust) to dine with him. The Pharisees saw themselves to be highly just, and anyone who was not like them, such as the taxcollectors or sinners, or as we saw last week very similiarly to the woman at the well, that Jews and Samaritans did not mix. 

What both of this tells us, is that God meets us where we are. He does not excpect us to make ourselves righteous, like the Pharisees, who can be seen as self-righteous, and their actions as excactly that. 

God, like the father in the parable, meets us where we are at. And Jesus, met with sinners, not because he condoned what they did, but because he called them to accompany him, and by this to change their lives. We can see this with his disciples and apostles. We see this that the Apostles were called by Christ, and then commisioned to be sent forth to preach. 

In this same way, God calls us from where we are. And from where we are, he offers us grace, and builds us up. That is to say, that God calls us to himself, and we accept this calls. Just as the prodigal son accepts that he must return to his Father. Then, from this God, like the father, meets us where we are, and then brings us, rejoicing home, where we are to be made perfect.