{"id":2835,"date":"2019-03-31T12:12:30","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T16:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2835"},"modified":"2019-03-31T12:12:39","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T16:12:39","slug":"4th-sunday-of-lent-year-c-homily-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/4th-sunday-of-lent-year-c-homily-2\/","title":{"rendered":"4th Sunday of Lent, Year C – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

4<\/a>th<\/a><\/sup> Sunday of Lent, Year C<\/a>
Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (9a)
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
March 31, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I hear parents lamenting that\nthey feel like all they are to their children is a chauffeur and\/or a source of\nmoney.  \u201cMom, I need to drive me over to\nSusie\u2019s house.\u201d  \u201cDad, I need money so I\ncan go to the movies with my friends. \nOh, and I need you to drive me there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s gospel we see this taken to an\nextreme.  The younger son asks his father\nfor his inheritance now.  No good motive\nis given for this.  He wants the money so\nhe can leave and do what he wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was allowed at the time but you need\nto understand the full significance of what the younger son is saying.  The culture of the time allowed him to ask for\nhis inheritance before his father died but to do so would be akin to divorcing\nhis father.  In asking for the money, he\nis saying he is going to take the money and leave, never to see his family\nagain.  He would be considered dead to\nhis family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See what I mean when I said this takes a\nchild seeing their parent as a chauffeur or money source to extreme?  He doesn\u2019t want his dad in his life.  He just wants his money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remarkably, his father gives him the money\nand he \u201cset off to a distant\ncountry\u2026squandering his inheritance\u2026freely spent everything<\/em>.\u201d  He made no plans for the future.  If he had planned well, he might have been\nable to live a long time on his inheritance but because he squandered it, when\na severe famine struck, \u201che found himself\nin dire need.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He hit bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only when he hit bottom did he come to his\nsenses.  He recognized how good life was in\nhis father\u2019s house.  However, because of\nthe way he left, he had no reason to expect his dad to take him back.  He just hopes to become a hired hand there.  He heads back to confess his sins and beg for\na job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His family could choose to forgive him or\nto be reject him, holding his sins against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which would you choose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His father chooses to forgive.  In fact, he is so happy when he sees his\nyounger son returning that he runs out to meet him.  No one would expect him to do it but the\nfather is merciful.  Maybe others would\nmake him a hired hand but the father does more. \nHe tells his servants to put the finest robe on him and a ring.  This symbolizes the father giving back his\nfull status as his son.  He is so happy\nthat he \u201ccelebrates with a feast.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one would have expected such a merciful\nresponse by the father.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us not forget the older brother.  He has always done as his father asked and\nnever asked for much.  He might seem like\nthe epitome of a good son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, his reaction to his brother\u2019s return\nis very different than his father\u2019s. \nClearly, he does not want to forgive his brother.  He is even angry with his father for throwing\na feast to celebrate his younger brother\u2019s return.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He refuses to forgive.  He refuses to show mercy.  He refuses to let his brother begin anew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three characters in this\nstory.  Which one are you like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n