Prodigal Son and I

                      

Today let us reflect on the parable of Prodigal son and his loving father. The parable of the Prodigal son told by Jesus comes after the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the lost coin.

The youngest son comes to the father and asks his inheritance. There was no tradition among the Jews that children demand their share of property when father is alive; but the younger one does. For him his father was dead in his mind, because he fails to understand the care and warmth of his father’s love towards him. So, temporal things became more attractive factors for him than the affection of his father.

Secondly, we see in the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd seeks after the lost sheep; in the parable of the Lost coin, the woman seeks after the lost one. On the contrary here the father does not go in search of the younger son; but the loving father patiently waits for the return of the prodigal son. Why?

It is the peculiarity of the loving God.  Because God always respects us as persons; and He gives us full freedom to select either life or death, light or darkness and good or evil. Whenever we choose the positive side he rejoices and even if we opt for the negative side, God does not block us but patiently waits for our return towards him. Let us meditate: Are we away from God? If so are we moving in direction towards God? Or still are we in opposite direction from God? Anyway God the loving father respects our freedom. If we are away from God recognize ourselves and be aware of the situation where we are. Recognize, and take a decision to be with God always, and return to God as fast as we can. Try to remember that a Christian has no existence without Christ.

However the glorious and joyful moment for the children is to be in the presence of the loving father. Are we still in the aware of the loving presence? Let us meditate and pray.

“God keep in me always in your loving presence, so that I may not run after merely temporal things.”