THE HEAVENLY FATHER’S
HEART
4th Sunday of Lent
Luke’s parable today is the
center of his magnificent work on the life of Jesus. Bible experts readily point out that this is the summary of
all the gospels put together. Luke
15, with its story of the prodigal son and his merciful father, is the
centerpiece of the teachings of Jesus as it makes us aware of God, of ourselves
and of our response to the invitation to have a change of heart.
The first thing that we notice in
the parable is the amazing way of loving that the father exercised over his
sons. Those of us with children
know that we cannot love our children in the same way, although we try to love
them equally. They have their
proper and special needs and they demand to be treated accordingly.
To the younger son, whose heart
longed for freedom and rebellion, the father gave perfect freedom. Wanting to
run after pleasures, the father, with a heavy heart no doubt, allowed him this
desire. The father was not a possessive lover. After counseling his son about the perils of his decision,
he allowed him to experience the consequences of his dreams.
Many of us are possessive in
love. We are afraid to let go of
people. We dread the day they move
away from the ambit of our care. We do everything to contain them and fashion
them within our small, limited world. We love others with glue in our hands so
that they may not wander far. We are possessive!
To the older son, loyal to the
family and to the estate, the father also allowed perfect freedom. As he was
not forced to stay behind, now he was not compelled to alter his feelings of
anger and envy at his brother-returnee. After the father explained valuable
lessons in compassion, he allowed his older son time to heal and
understand. He was not a
manipulative lover.
How many of us are manipulative
in love! Because people are on our side, don’t we try to influence them,
control them, direct and dictate our own ideas on them? We take advantage of
others’ goodness by making them subtly fit in and follow our plans. We want to
play with their feelings and control their minds.
Today we see a totally different
father, neither possessive nor manipulative in his love. As a result, we see an awakening in his
two sons. The younger, sensing his
father’s great compassion, took the courage to return home and be
reconciled. The older, though his
story was incomplete, certainly had enough time to reflect on his anger and
move on to acceptance and forgiveness.
This is the Father our Lord Jesus
introduces to his disciples and to us, a God who loves us so much as to set us
free to both discover our own desires and his own immense heart. Whether we identify ourselves with the
younger or older son, there is a Father patiently waiting for us to embrace the
light and come home.
This Lent, let us reflect on the
freedom of love the Father bestows on us. Touched by it, may we take the step
back to the Sacrament of Confession where the Father waits for us with arms
wide-open and a heart flowing with mercy.
