The Other Side To The Prodigal Son

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable:
“A man had two sons, 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.
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.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
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.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
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.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
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.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
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.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
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.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
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.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
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.’” – Lk. 15:1-3, 11-32

Today’s gospel is the parable of the Prodigal Son. This is one of the most famous parables and one that people today still struggle with. I am a believer that this parable has a meaning that is deeper than what many see.

The idea that God is always forgiving and rejoices when we return to him isn’t so much the challenging aspect, but rather how the father treats the “good” son. When I go over the parable with my Sophomores, they always have the same reaction as that son. “That is unfair,” they say. They argue that the son who stayed loyal to his father is being taken for granted and unappreciated. They don’t understand how a nice guy could finish last in a story from a man who says to always do the right thing. They are no different that the Pharisees and scribes that caused Jesus to tell this story.

We as a society get so wrapped up in doing the right thing for a reward that we really aren’t doing the right thing, but rather the thing that gets us what we want. We know that if we do good we are rewarded. Do bad, and we are punished. It is from the animalistic nature in us that we learn this truth. But what separates us from other animals, is our desire to do good because we want to do good even without the need for reward or acknowledgement.

What Jesus is saying is that it is not the act of doing goodness that is to be rewarded, but rather the understanding of why certain acts are good. The Prodigal Son returns not in hopes of being welcomed back into the family, but rather to seek assistance as a lowly servant to his father. The other son stays with the father because he knows that he will receive his inheritance (reward), and wants to look good compared to his sinful, fallen brother. Both sons are attempting to do the right thing, but it is the sinner that has sought forgiveness because he knew he was wrong that is rewarded in the parable.

Let us not focus on the reward or even the concept of being rewarded. Let us instead focus on doing what God wants us to do because it is what he wants us to do. Acts of kindness are what God expects of us. Let us go beyond the minimum in order to bring about the Kingdom of God, which is the best thing we can do in this life.