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Sin, repentance and reconciliation
- three major themes of the holy season of Lent – once
again capture our attention on this Fourth Sunday of
Lent.
Sin, iniquity, guilt and such words
are not popular in modem day usage. But that is not so
in the Bible, where the reality of sin, with or without
the actual use of the term, is found in practically
every part of it.
Ordinarily we take sin to mean a
wrong or evil act, thus laying emphasis on the "action"
and not on the state of the mind or the attitude which
is responsible for the action. The understanding of sin
in the Bible is more comprehensive. There sin is
understood in terms of a relationship of love which has
been broken. So sin or evil is a turning away from the
love-relationship with God, and the actions which result
from that broken relationship are sinful. So rebellion,
seeking one's own ways, selfish actions and anything
that goes against charity would come under sin.
Repentance from the part of the one who has breached the
relationship and forgiveness from the part of the other
who has been offended once again re-establishes the
relationship of love.
Keeping this in mind, we look at
one of the most well-known parables of Jesus that is
given to us in today's Gospel. This important parable is
called variously - the Parable of the Prodigal Son, of
the Loving Father, of the Angry Elder Brother -
depending on whom the interpreter focuses his attention
in a particular context. At the time when Jesus spoke
this parable three characters were represented on the
scene: Jesus himself who is represented as the Loving
Father, the tax collectors and sinners (like the younger
son) in whose company Jesus was happy, and the indignant
Pharisees and leaders of Judaism who, like the elder
son, were frowning on such a scene.
Each of these characters has an
important role to play in the parable and today it is
better that we assume the role of each of them and ask
relevant questions to ourselves. We need to remind
ourselves that the story is about a loving family
relationship that is breached because of selfishness and
then mended later.
Let us first assume the role of the
younger, prodigal son. Well, he only demanded his
legitimate right, a "share of his property", and that,
too, from his own father. However, did he value his
right more than the peaceful and loving relationship
that he enjoyed with his father and the rest of his
family? We know very well that there an~ institutions
that would take care of our rights; but a peaceful and
loving family relationship can be guaranteed only by our
willingness to have it. The modern day ideals of
independence and personal assertion have produced such
by-products as quarrelsome households and broken
families. If I have valued only my rights, disregarding
love, peace and charity, then it is time to turn back.
We may now take the position of the
father in the parable. He is really a symbol of love and
forgiveness. He is ready to forget the unpleasant
incident that took place in the family when his younger
son left the house. Real love survives hatred and
separation. Has it occurred to us that when someone whom
we loved and cared for has turned
away
from us, we were tempted pay
him/her back in the same coin? That is not the case with
God whose love is unconditional. The Father in the
parable stands for God.
The elder brother in us comes to
the surface when we are convinced that we alone have the
right to be saved as we have been faithful Christians
all the time and those wayward "late comers" have
forfeited their right to redemption. Indeed God will
reward us for our loyalty; but does he not have the
right to show kindness to others? That is where mercy
triumphs over justice, as in the case of the parable of
the Labourers in the Vineyard (Mt 20: 1-16).
In our parable, the elder brother
is left standing outside the house. Did he change his
mind and join the celebrations later on? If so, the
story would have had a different ending. Jesus has left
that option to those of us who have taken the role of
the elder brother.
The Eucharist proclaims the love of
God for all. By an active and wholehearted participation
in this celebration each of us change the image of the
elder brother from a pouting and indignant person to one
who is caring and ready to reconcile. |
