The Prodigal Son: Discovering Mercy
March 3, 2010 | XII.Grace: To know the Mercy of the Father and His unconditional love for me even in the midst of my sinfulness.
Text for prayer: Lk. 15:11-32
Reflection: Jesus’ story of the prodigal son provides a uniquely comprehensive vision of the nature of our own sinfulness, the mercy of our heavenly Father even in light of that sinfulness and the beauty of the encounter when finally we come home to that mercy.
To start with, it is good to note that for the son to go unsolicited and ask for his inheritance while his father was still alive, he is effectively proclaiming to the father that he might as well be dead as far as he is concerned. The radical selfishness that has taken over the son’s desires has no room for the thoughts, feelings and concerns of anyone else, including the one who gave him life itself. The son proceeds to operate unhesitatingly according to this self-centered world-view as he goes to a “far off country”- far from home- far from the the source of his life.
This selfishness, taken to its logical end, concludes in misery. Sooner or later, we all “bottom out” when we live according to that mode of selfishness. The vividness of the scene where the son is stuck with the pigs and longing for what they feed upon conjures up in us the utterly pathetic state in which we are left when we have so totally turned in ourselves and turned away from the love and life in our own lives. It is a pitiful scene indeed and it can look like there is no way out of it. Only in this moment of “hitting rock bottom” is the son prepared to receive the mercy that the father has desired to offer ever since he turned away.
The father, who has apparently been scanning the horizon all the while looking for his son who has been lost, rushes out to meet his beloved son when he sees him. That is the heart of the Father that Jesus reveals to us. The son can’t even get his speech out of his mouth. The father’s mercy envelops him before he can even utter the words seeking some degree of forgiveness and toleration from his father. The father responds with much more than toleration- he restores him to a dignity greater than any he had apparently ever enjoyed- robing him in glory and majesty and initiating a great feast.
Questions for Reflection: When have I experienced this kind of mercy? When have I shown it? Remember and re-visit the conditions, what it felt like. Am I in the midst of a situation of shame and regret right now that seems to great to overcome? Am I stuck with the pigs somehow, in alienation, wondering what it would be like to “go home”? Is there a prompting in my heart in this direction? Is there another person in my life who might be liberated and lifted up if I showed him or her a taste of this same mercy of the Father?
Posted by Fr. Chris Collins, S.J. in XII. | Trackback
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