Gospel Luke 15:11-32
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Reflection
By Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento
“…Yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.”’
The naïve me used to think, ang daya (How unfair). Even in high school, each time this was discussed in the classroom or retreats, in my mind, I would mutter, ang daya-daya nung tatay (That father is very unfair). Of course, this is also me when I see good things happen to bad people.
Now I realized that this is the very core of that dangerous sense of entitlement, the “I-Deserve-This” thinking. It starts with jealousy or envy, then it escalates to a pity party. Entitlement borders on narcissism, and is way different than self-worth. Should the good son been genuine in being upright, then he should not feel in any way jealous of the prodigal son’s celebration. He must also not expect any reward at all from his compassionate father.
In the past, this parable centered on the prodigal son. Being prodigal means to spend resources, i.e. money, recklessly. I wonder why in Filipino this story usually translates to alibughang anak, when alibugha means taksil, more appropriately used on an unfaithful partner. Gladly, this parable eventually evolved to focus on the compassionate and forgiving father.
We can learn many things from this loving dad. How well do we forgive those who have wronged us? How many times have we given up on those who betrayed us? How do we deal with family members who went the wrong way?
Forgiving is loving. And when we forgive, we don’t do it for the other person. We do it to free ourselves.
So ponder on.
Who are you in this story? The prodigal son? The jealous brother? Or the brokenhearted father?
Prayer
Dear Jesus, more than anything today, we ask for Your Holy Spirit to help us manage our emotions. We believe that it is only with You that we can react to situations appropriately. You have shown us how it is to be a human, and we would want to follow You. Help us. Teach us. Fine-tune our thoughts, so we can proclaim Your kingdom through our ways. Amen.
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