Prodigals
This post is a response to Ohevin’s post on a closed page in which he cites the parable of the prodigal son in relation to the return of C.T.A. members to Communion.
Hollywood loves to paint a villain as a real bad apple so, when the good guy blows him away, we all cheer and say he got exactly what he deserved. Even Hollywood has never done as masterful a job of this as does the parable of the Prodigal Son. The lad goes from the son of a well off Jewish family to a friendless foreigner slopping pigs. A.A. should make him the poster child for defining the underside of the bottom of the barrel.
There he sat, looking at the swill the pigs were eating and wishing to stick in his hand and pull out a corn cob to chew on. How low can one sink? He has betrayed everything and everyone. He could not possibly have been guilty of greater sin. Now, read carefully what happens next. He suddenly comes to his senses and realized the hired hands in his father’s house are better off than he is. The story, while it certainly indicates he is sorry for himself, does not say he is sorry for his sins. Oh, yes, he is sorry about where his sins got him, but nowhere does it say he is sorry for sinning. He comes up with a plan and, personally, I find his motives very suspect. I know what I will do, he thinks, I will go home and say to my father, “I have sinned against God and against you (true) and I am not worthy to be called your son (also true). Treat me as one of your hired hands (even this would be very generous). So, with his plan all thought out, he heads for home rehearsing his little speech on the way. While he is yet far off, and long before he gets a chance to rattle off his spiel, his father sees him and runs to greet him. Still before the boy has a chance to say anything, the father throws his arms around the boy’s neck and kisses him. It is only now that the lad gets a chance to speak, but the father, if he hears him at all, pays no attention. He says nothing of how terribly wrong his son was nor does he demand a public (or even private) apology. Rather, he sends for the finest robe, a ring and shoes for his feet. He orders the fatted calf killed and a feast prepared.
You see, the story is really not about the son, it is about the father. Just as Hollywood sets up the bad guy for a fall, so too is this story of the son setting up, not for the justified wrath of the father which one might expect, but to bring out starkly the loving forgiveness of the father. The father had forgiven the son long before the son ever reflected on what he had done. The father’s love and forgiveness were not contingent upon the son’s return and the sincerity of the boy’s reasons for returning was never questioned. It was only when he was welcomed back by a father who ran out to meet him that the boy realized how loved he was.
C.T.A. members are in no way like the prodigal son and, unfortunately, the Magisterium is in no way like the father. They did not ask to leave, they were told to leave and please don’t give me that Papal Bull about them excommunicating themselves. Their “sin” was (is) to question some of the Magisterium’s teachings which, quite frankly, are questionable. The Magisterium can stand on infallibility all it wants, but its errors are giving it away.
This Gospel, in the parable of the prodigal son, has given the Magisterium a model to follow and, if it fails to follow, who is not in harmony with the teaching of Christ and the will of God? If the Magisterium cannot follow the teaching of Christ, why is anyone required to follow the teachings of the Magisterium?
I would like to say to members of C.T.A., I do not agree with you in all things, but I do respect your right to question. Rome may tell you that you are not welcome at the Table of the Lord, but Rome is not the Church, we are the Church, and I believe I speak for many when I say you are very welcome at the Table of the Lord.
Dear Saintandsinner, As we
Dear Saintandsinner,
As we know, the authors of the Gospels adapted the teachings of Christ to meet the needs of the audience to whom the message was being addressed. I believe the pope was, basically, doing the same thing and it was a very appropriate message for the group to whom he was speaking.
I am sure you are aware that, speaking to such an audience, he was not acting as pope addressing the whole Church with the intention of defining something and, therefore, his comments represent his personal thoughts and have no more weight that those of any other person.
It was,as I see it, hopefully an interesting message to young prisoners but not much by way of scriptural exegesis.
Hi Bob, You are so correct
Hi Bob,
You are so correct in stating that Luke's account of the 'Prodigal' son is not about the son but about the Father - a Father so filled with compassion and unconditional love for his wayward son that he goes out to welcome him back.
Rembrant captures Luke's imagery beautifully in his painting with the distinction between the two hands of the Father embracing his son. One, the right hand quite male on the son's left shoulder, the other distinctly female on the right shoulder.
Sevenup, your assertion that our hierarchy is trained to issue directives.. speaks volumes about the direction our leaders have understood their roles to take. I think you should read Matthew 23 on the subject of leadership and Jesus' expectations of those aspiring to leadership.
When last have our leaders demonstrated real servant leadership?
'This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, to seek, to embrace the questions, to be wary of answers.' -Terry Tempest Williams, naturalist and author (1955- )
Ninja
><>
Bob, this is an eloquent
Bob, this is an eloquent homily. I've always loved the detail about the father running out into the road to welcome his errant son and cutting short the son's speech of repentance.
But until reading your meditation, I don't think I'd ever paid sufficient attention to the son's calculations as he returned. You're right: the story is obviously about the father's willingness to go more than halfway to meet a son who is not even truly repentant, to clothe him with festive clothes when he makes his way back, and to kill the fatted calf and have a party as he returns.
And I think you're very right to ask how the behavior of some members of the hierarchy looks, in light of the gospel. Jesus told stories that reflect his own all-inclusive behavior. Both his words and his actions model a different kind of inclusivity--one that keeps going out to look for the lost ones, one that keeps deliberately transgressing social lines that make some people clean and others unclean.
How can we expect anything less from those who tell us that they represent Christ to us in the ecclesial community?
William D. Lindsey
I understand where you are
I understand where you are going with the analogy of theologians and the Hierarchy as the prodigal son and father. However, it still condemns the theologians. Would a better comparison be the Hierarchy as the prodigal son? When they let go of the need to have power, money, and control, God will welcome them back with joy because they are hearing the message of Jesus. (I realize I'm generalizing and that not all of the hierarchy abuse their power or miss the message, but am doing so in following the lead of other posts.)
God Bless our Holy Father
God Bless our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.
In the parable the Father did not go to him. He waited for him to come back. As soon as he had come back he welcomed him with open arms.
Peace and Good,
Your Brother in Christ (Franciscan Tertiary of Mary, Mother of the Most Blessed Sacrament)
SaintandSinner, The whole
SaintandSinner,
The whole point and purpose of the parable of the Prodigal Son is to tell us of the love and mercy of God, our Father. It is not about repentance nor is it about any conditions we must fulfill to receive God’s mercy. As I said, I do not see the son being sorry for having sinned against his father. I see no sign of repentance or contrition. His motive for returning is the retched condition he finds himself in. His admission of sin is simply a ploy used in the hope of getting a roof over his head and food in his stomach.
Yes, he did begin the journey back to his father. But, when the father saw him way off in the distance, he did not wait for his son to make all the way up to the house. While his son was still far off, the father ran to meet and welcome him. That is the Father’s attitude toward each of us.
Paul marvels in Romans 5 that “At the appointed time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for godless men. It is rare that anyone should lay down his life for a just man, though it is barely possible that for a good man someone may have the courage to die. It is precisely in this that God proves his love for us; that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now that we have been justified by his blood, it is all the more certain that we shall be saved by his from God’s wrath. For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son, it is all the more certain that we who have been reconciled will be saved by his life.”
I am simply suggesting that the Church (and we are the Church) must demonstrate this attitude also. We must not drive people away but go after them and do all we can to welcome them back. I do not see excommunication as compatable with the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Luke 15:20 "So he got up and
Luke 15:20
"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 [caps added]."
Perhaps time to re-read the parable?
God Bless our Holy Father
God Bless our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.
AnnieO said:
"Perhaps time to re-read the parable?"
Good idea...
LUKE 15
11 Then he said, "A man had two sons,
12 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.
13 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.
14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.
15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
17 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.
18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'
20 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.
21 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'
22 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.
23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast,
24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' Then the celebration began.
25 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.
26 He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
27 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.'
28 He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 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.
30 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'
31 He said to him, 'My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.
32 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.'"
We can discuss the other players in this parable later but I think the movement of the younger son 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.' seems to be repentance. The son has now 'come to life again' in the words of the Father another parallel with repentance. This also works with the Churchs understanding of the Sacrament of Repentance...that a natural desire to avoid punishment (such as the fires of Hell) is sufficient to receive the graces of the Sacrament.
This is a beautiful parable and I will try to apply my self to it more next week. Thanks for continuing the dialog.
Peace and Good,
Your Brother in Christ (Franciscan Tertiary of Mary, Mother of the Most Blessed Sacrament)
I think the Father was
I think the Father was looking for his son, always. Scanning the horizon, always. He saw him from a long way off...and ran to him...
yes, a beautiful parable, and one we can all rest in always...at least as long as we put ourselves in some place besides the posture of the older brother...then we must struggle rather than rest to accept the Father and son.
SaintandSinner, You wrote, "
SaintandSinner,
You wrote, " 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.' seems to be repentance. Now, read this line, " 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. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you." Is he sorry or hungry? Does the father, filled with compassion, run out and embrace and kiss him before or after the son says he has sinned?
I would agree with you on the Magisterium's understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I question whether it reflects the mind of Christ. The Magisterium sounds more like the older son who just can't seem to accept how compassionate the father is. The Magisterium has taken this wonderful compassion of the father and twisted it around so that Reconciliation is a weapon controlled by the clergy used to intimidate rather than to proclaim God’s
Bob said: "The Magisterium
Bob said: "The Magisterium has taken this wonderful compassion of the father and twisted it around so that Reconciliation is a weapon controlled by the clergy used to intimidate rather than to proclaim God’s" (?cut off?) maybe you meant love?
It's my understanding that the Sacrament of Reconciliation has become easier to access as the penances involved have become less onerous and public than they used to be.
How do you see this Sacrament as a "weapon controlled by the clergy used to intimidate". I have not found anything but understanding and compassion in the confessional.
Perhaps you are generalizing a bad experience. (not an uncommon thing around here) ;0) *wink*
Peace and Good,
Your Brother in Christ (Franciscan Tertiary of Mary, Mother of the Most Blessed Sacrament)
With all that winking above,
With all that winking above, let's remember that bad experiences aren't trivial. They can take and twist years of a person's life away...and are the stuff of our spirituality. When those representing church do bad things to people, it's a bigger whammy to most people than when done by those in the big bad secular world. It hurts more deeply and destroys more nearly.
In no way am I trying to
In no way am I trying to minmize a painful experience. Sorry if it came off that way. (I was just trying to lighten to mood, these discussions can get so serious).
Peace and Good,
Your Brother in Christ (Franciscan Tertiary of Mary, Mother of the Most Blessed Sacrament)
Sevenup, The Hierarchy may
Sevenup,
The Hierarchy may well be trained to issue directives rather than scour the horizon for wayward sons and daughters as you say, but is that what Christ sent them to do? Yes, the treatment of theologians is also an example of lack of paternal love being replaced by police discipline. I wonder why they are so afraid of questioning? Could it be they know the only basis they have is the authority they have given themselves and they realize, as Thomas said, the arguement from authority is the weakest of all arguements?
The Hierarchy is trained to
The Hierarchy is trained to issue directives not scour the horizon for wayward sons and daughters but I rather apply the parable to Rome and the condemnation of university theologians.In neither place is there paternal love but police discipline.
Hi Sevenup, You are correct
Hi Sevenup,
You are correct in your assertion and that is where much of the problem lies with the hierarchy of the RCC.
As Bob so eloquently asserts Luke's account of the Prodigal son is not about the son but about a gracious Father whose unconditional love and compassion goes way beyond what the Greeks, for whom Luke was writing, understood of their Gods.
Rembrant captures Luke's imagery beautifully in his painting with the same title. The Father's two hands are distinctly dis-simmilar. One hand is male and the other female.
Jesus had some strong words about 'leadershp' as recounted in Matthew 23. Perhaps our hierarcical leaders should take note and keep their minds fixed on that chapter.
'This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, to seek, to embrace the questions, to be wary of answers.' -Terry Tempest Williams, naturalist and author (1955- )
Ninja
><>
Bob you wrote" "This Gospel,
Bob you wrote"
"This Gospel, in the parable of the prodigal son, has given the Magisterium a model to follow and, if it fails to follow, who is not in harmony with the teaching of Christ and the will of God? If the Magisterium cannot follow the teaching of Christ, why is anyone required to follow the teachings of the Magisterium?
I would like to say to members of C.T.A., I do not agree with you in all things, but I do respect your right to question. Rome may tell you that you are not welcome at the Table of the Lord, but Rome is not the Church, we are the Church, and I believe I speak for many when I say you are very welcome at the Table of the Lord."
Amen Bob. IMHO, You speak the Truth. God Bless you and may the Holy Spirit of God continue to fill your heart with the Love, mercy and discernment of God. God's Will be done. :-)
The more we discover how much we are Loved by God, the more we want to do God's Will