Fourth Sunday of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

If you had never heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son, how would you think it would end? Wouldn’t most of us conclude it this way: 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 anger and furious wrath, he stood on the porch of the house with a look of disappointment and utter disdain for the shell of what used to be his son. His son extended his arms to embrace his father, but his father turned away coldly and disgusted, not even able to look at what had become of his son.

Sadly, many people still approach God the Father with this image of an unforgiving father who is disappointed and upset with his child. Too often, people project their experiences of their earthly father onto their Heavenly Father, and as a result, their damaged relationship with their earthly father obscures the image of God as a Loving Father. It distorts our image of God the Father and can impact the way we perceive ourselves as sons and daughters, how we interact with others—and it can impact our ability to relate to God in prayer. In our spiritual life, we might find ourselves overly crushed when we fall into sin because we think “God must be disappointed with me,” and “I deserve punishment,” or “I need to earn the Father’s love.” While we should always recognize that sin damages our relationship with God, we should also not allow our sin to lead us further down the path of being self-focused and prevent us from reaching out to Our Heavenly Father, who always offers us reconciliation and love. The Father doesn’t respond with anger, but rather, with love; he doesn’t respond with disgust, rather he rejoices when what was lost was found.

We are that son or that daughter in whom the Father delights and rejoices that you are here. We must discover that all that we truly desire, we already have—because it is found in abiding in the Father’s love. We don’t have to look anywhere else!

Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB