Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
(Micah 7:14-15.18-20; Luke 15:1-3.11-32)
People usually contrast the two sons in the “Parable of the
Prodigal.” One is older; the other,
younger. One leaves his father; the
other stays home. One squanders his
fortune; the other is as tight as a clam.
And so on. Perhaps readers might profitably compare the brothers’ similarities. They have the same father. They also have the same sense of
privilege. Both believe that the inheritance
is his by right, not by the father’s will.
And both spurn their father. One
leaves him as if he were dead. The other
refuses to call him “father” when he hosts a party at his son’s return. Finally, both are stymied by pride. The younger when he hesitates to return home
after spending his money. The older by refusing
to recognize his chastened brother.
In noting the similarities, we should not fail to see their
common traits in ourselves. We likely
think in terms of rights and privileges.
Many of us are not above claiming our rights and forgetting our
responsibilities to others. We too often
allow pride to blind us from doing what is right.
The turning point in the parable comes when the younger son
contemplates the lot of the pigs that he is forced to deal with. He sees that the pigs have food and that he
doesn’t. He likely notices as well how
the pigs eat in filth and fight among themselves for more pods to eat. The young man then “comes to his senses.” He remembers that on his father’s farm there
is food aplenty. He should realize also
that he is a human being, and not a pig.
As such, he should not behave like them but emulate the best of his kind. He seems to do so when he overcomes his pride
and returns to his father with a confession on his lips.
The parable ends without saying whether the elder son comes
to the same realization. As the father
offers this son a chance to repent of his anger against his brother, God offers
us an opportunity to curb our pride and selfishness during Lent.
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