CẢM NGHIỆM SỐNG LC- A REFLECTIONS
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- Category: 2. Cảm Nghiệm Sống Lời Chúa
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Mo NguyenMar 30 at 3:31 AM
THE PRODIGAL SON
A REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)
CELEBRATING THE MERCY OF GOD
Jesus tells the parable of the Lost Son as a defence against criticism of the welcome he gives ‘tax collectors (social outcasts) and sinners’ and his ‘eating with them’ – that is, his festive celebration with the mercy of God.
The parable powerfully depicts the dehumanisation of a young man who had callously requested his inheritance from his father and who subsequently squanders it. Reduced to wanting to eat what pigs eat – what could be worse for a Jew? – the young man ‘comes to his senses’. This may be a painful moment of growth in self-knowledge. It does not, however, represent much of a conversion: he remains calculating: ‘I can’t go back as a son. But at least if I get in as a servant, I’ll be clothed and fed’.
On his return, his father does not let him finish his prepared speech about coming back as a servant. Instead, overcome with compassion, he welcomes the boy and orders a big family celebration. Why? Because the son who was dead has come back to life; the lost one has been found.
The hostile reaction of the older brother is a key focus and challenge of the parable. We never in fact learn whether he goes in and shares in the music and dancing or whether he remains outside, locked in anger and resentment.
The parable seems to describe two kinds of sinfulness – and to suggest that one is much easier for God to deal with than the other? Is there perhaps a bit of both kinds in me?
Brendan Byrne, SJ
Take me father into your heart- The song of Prodigal Son:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c47OO813vL
CELEBRATING THE MERCY OF FATHER