Sunday Homily, September 11, 2016, 24th Ordinary Time
Readings:
Exodus 32, 7-11, 13-14, So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened.
Psalm 951, I will rise and go to my father.
1 Timothy, 1, 12-17, I am grateful to him who has strengthened me.
Luke 15, 1-32, The Great Parable & story of the Prodigal Son. (A superb story.)
Says Genevieve, "Wellll, Everybody, just come on in."
Exodus observations :
What : a story, a long parable. It has 2 parts, the exodus or exit from Egypt and the years wandering in the desert.
Who: the work is all about Moses, but he did not compose it. Rather, it was put together by a committee during the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.
When: it appears that the purpose of the work was to encourage the people during the Babylonian Captivity. It is not history and borrows stories from other cultures. For instance, the parting of the Red Sea comes from a Mesopotamian creation myth and the 10 Commandments resemble the Code of Hammurabi.
Our Subject: The people have been bad, God is mad at them, and Moses defends the people.
Sources: Good News Bible, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia
Kevin, too, says, "Grab a seat, Folks, we are ready to start."
The Prodigal Son: A Work of Art
I want to talk about my favorite parable of the whole Bible. Two special notes to start with:
- The author has carefully crafted a work of literary art. Not history, not reality, but parable, story.
- Purpose: to show that God loves us unconditionally, not conditionally.
Let me give you three observations about the son, three about the father, and an extra three to show you how astounding this story is.
The final question: can you believe in an unconditionally loving God?
Begin In the Name of the Father…
First, the younger son:
- He has no right to ask for inheritance. None. By asking he is saying he wishes the father and the older son dead. A symbolic murder. Father can kill him for this.
- He works feeding pigs instead of asking for help from the temple. This means he rejects the religious tradition and is considered a traitor not only to the family, but to the religion.
- So, as a horrible failure as a son of the family and a son of the religious tradition, he decides to return. A conversion, not quite. He makes up his little speech and heads home. He is hungry to the point of dying. Do this, he calculates, or die. Many listening Jews would say, Die.
Offertory with Tom, Teresa, and Tim Quinn.
The Father: he actually commits as many crimes and sins as the son.
- He runs down the road to the son when he sees him coming. A very undignified action. Outrageous. People who emphasize conditional love point out that the son at least came back. Despite this point, all the other elements of the parable point to a father with unconditional love.
- He embraced and kissed the son. Huge violation of Jewish religious custom and law. By doing this the father positions himself outside of the religious & cultural community. He is a reject like the son.
- He cuts the son’s speech off before he can finish, eliminating the last sentence, “treat me as you would one of your hired workers.” And to make it worse, he orders the servants to bring the finest robe, ring, and sandals.
Daddy, I think it is time I start playing this guitar.
The robe, the ring, and the sandals:
- The robe: restores the son’s dignity.
- The ring: gives authority to the son, even equal to the father and certainly more than before he left.
- The sandals: gives the son freedom. Slaves were not given sandals so they would not run away. The father is doubling the message he gave when he cut the son’s speech off before he could say the third part about being treated as a servant.
Thanks, Georgie, for being such a great help to Buddy.
A word about the older son, because we so often identify with him. Two additional and final points.
- That he tells his father how he feels. Great. In those days, it meant the father can kill him. Today: communication.
- What is his challenge: acceptance of his brother, his father, and himself; focus on gratitude for all he has; move from trying to be a good boy to loving? Any one of these? Or all? All.
Zoe, we got to get you up to light the candles again some time.
I apologize for so much data. There is even more. The point is that the story is a carefully crafted literary work of art that attempts to describe how totally unconditionally loving our God is.
I had once a lengthy discussion with another priest who insisted that the father's love was conditional, conditional on the son choosing to return. I still believe that the love was unconditional. I am influenced by the two previous parables, the lost sheep & the lost coin. Luke is an artist. It is no coincidence that the two little parables both emphasize the Hound of Heaven concept.
Tori at the play station.
How does this image of God reflect your image of God? Can you believe that our God loves you and me unconditionally?
Source: The Liberating Stories of Jesus, Francis Vanderwall
Peace!
