A Tale of Two Brothers

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Joshua 5:9A, 10-12
The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth of the month. On the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Brothers and sisters: Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 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.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, 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.’”

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. What’s wrong with the older son’s reaction to his father’s joyous celebration of the younger son’s repentance and homecoming in the prodigal son story? The short answer is: plenty. Suffice to mention one problem - the most devastating one - in this brief Sunday reflection.

The key lies in the son’s reply to his father: “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat…” (Lk 15:29).

Obedience is good. But we need to obey because we see the goodness in the commands and the joy in doing them. It cannot be a mere submission to something imposed on you – something you don’t really understand, like, or even agree. How do we call the latter mindset? Yes, slavery!

All these years the older son was operating like a slave. Doing his father’s work and following his commands was the son’s way of “serving” his father. He didn’t particularly like, enjoy, or agree with the work. In fact, if he were the boss, he just might run the family in a very different way. But he did it as told out of obligation and obedience. The problem is: whenever we “pay a price”, we expect to get something in return. That’s exactly what happened to the older son, which is why he complained that his father “never gave me even a young goat”.

Why is this part of the prodigal son story important to us Christians? It’s because there are too many “older sons” in the Church; too many Christians see their faith as a slavery. Obeying God’s commands and the Church’s teachings are an “obligation”; going to Mass on Sundays and receiving the Sacraments are “chores” that cannot be avoided; works of mercy hurt but must be done somehow….Chances are, they will be in denial when asked. But the way they conduct themselves in living out their faith reveals the ethos of a slave in their hearts.

These people labor hard under the collective yoke of church obligations, and their lives are depressing. The only reason they continue to hang tough is because they believe their reward will come one day: heaven. When it doesn’t, they get angry. “It’s not fair,” they say. “It doesn’t add up,” they complain. To them when you put in so much, you are supposed to receive so much in return. How do we call this kind of mindset? We call it the marketplace mindset, the buy-and-sell mindset: you give me $100 in cash and I give you $100 of goods or services in value. But is heaven a marketplace? Is God’s grace something money can buy? Can we earn our way to heaven? The answer is loud and clear: No! This is the kind of mindset that Jesus was angry about when he cleansed the Temple and chased out the merchants and money-changers (cf. John 2:14-16).

The Exodus story is in many ways the capsule of the whole Bible. Captured in this miraculous historical account is God’s key message to man: that he will be liberated from slavery. Ironically, liberation from slavery is exactly what eludes all these “older sons” of the Church. It’s fair to say that they “work their way into slavery!” What’s the answer to their dilemma? The answer is in the younger son: repent; trust in the father’s mercy, not in your own hard work.

Reference: BXVI, Jesus of Nazareth - From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, pp. 202-211.

Edmond Lo

As a Catholic speaker, writer and RCIA Catechist, Edmond is very active in promoting and defending the Catholic faith. He has a MBA, a CPA-CMA, and a MTS (Master of Theological Studies) from U.T., St. Augustine's Seminary. Having worked many years as the CFO of a non-profit organization, he retired at 55 to follow his special vocation of evangelization. The activities he conducts include the CMCC Bible Study Program, the Catechism Revisited Program, the FLL Spiritual Formation Program, Living in the Holy Tradition, RCIA, family groups and retreats, etc. Edmond is a member of the FLL Core Team. He writes Sunday Mass reflections regularly for the weekly FLL NewSpiration. His personal blog: http://elodocuments.blogspot.com/

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