March 27, 2022, Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C)
Like the readings from last week, on this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we once again learn about reconciliation. There is a beautiful verse from Paul in the Second Reading which sheds light on this theme. He writes, “The old things have passed away. Behold new things have come. And all this is from God who has reconciled us to himself through Christ.” (2Cor. 5:17).
Initially we find a passage in the First Reading from the book of Joshua (Jos. 5:9a, 10-12) which demonstrates the old things passing away and the new things which have come for the Israelites as they are reconciled with God. Because of the sins they had committed after their escape from Egypt, basically not trusting in the Lord, the people of God were punished by having to wander the wilderness for forty years. During that time, they were fed by God with bread from heaven called manna. Now they have come to the Promised Land and are preparing to take control.
On this day they celebrate the Passover and eat from the produce of the land. It is a new beginning for the Israelites. For God’s chosen people, “The old things have passed.” They will no longer eat the food they were given in the desert. The Lord has forgiven all of the transgressions they had committed in the wilderness and tells them, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” (Jos. 5:12).
In the Gospel from Luke (Lk. 15:1-3, 11-32) we find a parable told by Jesus which also carries the theme of forgiveness and reconciliation, of old things passing away and new things coming. It is the familiar story of the Prodigal Son. As the story goes, a man has two sons and when the youngest son asks for his share of the inheritance prematurely so that he can go off and have an entertaining lifestyle, his father gladly concedes.
Unfortunately, the young man squanders his inheritance in a distant country where a famine occurs, and he is left penniless, forced to tend the pigs as a hired hand on a local farm. After some time, the man realizes that he could make a better living serving on his own father’s farm where the workers are not mistreated. So, he decides to return to his father and beg for mercy and the opportunity to work on his father’s farm.
When his father sees the young man approaching from a distance, he runs to him and receives him with a compassionate embrace. The son then offers his plea for forgiveness: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son” (Lk. 15:21). However, the father holds no grudge against his son. He has his servants dress him in fine clothes and jewelry. And he has the fattened calf slaughtered to prepare a feast of welcome for his son.
Meanwhile, the older brother who had been working in the field inquires of one of the servants the purpose for the singing and rejoicing that he hears from the house. When he discovers that his father has prepared a celebration for his delinquent brother, he becomes very angry and refuses to enter the house even though the father comes out to beg him to come inside. He spurns his father, telling him, “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.” (Lk. 15:29-30).
In this parable, old things have passed away and new things have come for the father and the younger, prodigal son. Reconciliation has occurred between them through the efforts of the father who exhibits no grief or anger and the young son who confesses his remorse. But the older brother cannot let go of the old things. He has resented his brother from the very beginning, saying “you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.” He expresses his fury and disillusionment, not willing to join the celebration even though his father tries to console him, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” (Lk. 15:31).
Both the story of the Israelites from the book of Joshua and the parable of the Prodigal Son contain a lesson for us during Lent. It is the fact that, no matter how far we stray from God or squander the gifts He has given us, He is happy when we turn back to Him. Like the father in the story, God our Father accepts us with unconditional love into His open arms. And, unlike the older son, this should not be something surprising for us to hear and accept. Rather we should always appreciate the absolute compassion and mercy of our heavenly Father which we receive through Christ who makes all things new again.
