Prodigal Son. (2025-03-30, Lent, 4th Sunday)

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 [_ver-06, _]   Homily –  March 30, 2025 /  5^th Sunday Lent ● Joshua 5:9a, 10-12  ●  Psalm 34 ●  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ● + Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 ● 

 We read this in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, starting verse 1:

"Children, obey your parents, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth."

 The prodigal son did not read this.

 I recall that it went well for me and my brother with our parents when we obediently and promptly mowed the lawn. We took out the lawn mower, mowed the grass weekly, and shared the responsibility, doing as we were told. This was a chore we did throughout high school, preferably before the weekend. Each week, one of us would mow part of the lawn, leading to debates over who did more. Did we split it exactly 50/50, or did one of us take on more? We argued then, and we still do. Perhaps if I were to look at the property on Google Earth, I could finally answer this question.

 

Sometimes, we measure our loyalty, love, or relationships by what we do—whether for God or for each other. Yet, my parents did not love me because I mowed the lawn. God, our Father, does not ask us to obey and heed His Word simply through labor but through our receptivity to His love. At the end of the parable, both brothers learn this lesson. They are often characterized as opposites—one good, one bad; one who returns and receives a celebration, the other who does not. However, they are the same in one crucial way: both believe they must earn their father’s love.

 

One brother assumes he has lost his father’s love and must work to regain it, signing up for minimum wage or less to earn his way back. The other believes he has already secured his father’s love and needs to do nothing more. Yet, the father tells the elder son, "Everything I have is yours." He has always been treated as a beloved son, but paradoxically, he sees himself as a slave. Both sons receive forgiveness from their father, yet mercy and reconciliation require acceptance.

Mercy is, also, in the eye of the beholder.

 

The younger brother represents all of us who seek absolution in the confessional, vow faithfulness in matrimony, receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, and come forward in humility to receive Holy Communion, saying, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."

 

This parable is one of Jesus' most well-known and beloved, but it is both challenging and consoling. Whether we identify with the rebellion of the younger brother, the pride of the older brother, or the compassion of the father, each figure reflects traits found in all of us. You might say, "I know how this story ends, just like a summer rerun of 'Law and Order.'" The behavior of the two brothers is predictable—you can see it coming. But is the father’s response predictable? If you were hearing the parable for the first time, would you expect him to react this way?

 

If you are a parent, grandparent, or elder relative, you might recognize this instinct. When a rift occurs, it is often the parent who makes the first move. Years ago, I heard about a classmate who had a serious falling out with his parents. He was an adult by then, and the estrangement lasted months—then years. It saddened me to hear this. Fortunately, the rift was eventually healed, but it took time. The turning point, the "God moment," came when his parents reached out first. They prayed and persevered, refusing to wait for their son to make the first move.

 

In the parable, it may seem that the prodigal son initiates the reconciliation. He says, "I got up and went back to my father." But in truth, the father has been waiting all along. He sees his son from a distance and runs to meet him. The father’s mercy teaches both brothers the value of their lives and their future salvation. They both have a place in their father's house.

 

My father did not have my brother and me mow the lawn just so he could relax on weekends. He was showing us that we were not merely tending his property—we were tending our own. "Everything I have is yours." That is the message of the Gospel.

 

As parents, mentors, and leaders, our role is not just to demand obedience for its own sake but to lead others to God the Father. For a time, children look to their parents as their guide to God. But as they grow, parents must step aside, allowing their children to establish their own relationship with Him.

 

Teaching children to listen, be humble, and respect authority is not about control—it is about preparing them for a life of cooperation, love, and self-discipline. Learning to admit when we are wrong is essential in marriage, work, and faith. Obedience is not blind submission; it is an engaged response to truth. Sometimes, obedience means speaking the truth in love, as when a faithful friend offers guidance or when a parishioner holds a priest accountable to God’s will. A priest friend once told me, "I obey the Archbishop of Newark not just by following orders, but by telling him the truth—even when I disagree—and offering solutions." True obedience is not passive; it is an active cooperation with God’s plan.

 

Parents do not obey their children—although, as the Duke of Windsor once quipped, "Parents in America are very good at obeying their children." This is not the model we are called to follow. Parents lead not by submission but by faithfully carrying out their role as stewards of their children’s formation.

 

We often look back and realize that, although we may not have wanted to hear our parents’ words at the time, we are grateful for them now. As the saying goes, "When I was 16, I thought my parents were foolish. When I was 36, I thought they were brilliant. As I grew older, my parents grew wiser and wiser."

 

In the end, the prodigal son returns home—not merely to obedience but to a relationship. He comes back not as a slave but as a son, restored in love. This is what God desires for us—not just compliance but reliance on Him. He calls us not only to work for Him but to give Him our hearts. When we serve Him and one another, we build His house together, and in that unity, we find eternal happiness.

 

"Children, obey your parents, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth."  (Ephesians 6:1-3)