Homily: 4th Sun. in Lent, YR C
“The Prodigal Father and Us”
by Fr. William Holtzinger
March 21, 2004

How many of us have ever lost our car keys? Don’t you feel a panic until you find them? For those of you who have a cell phone, how did you feel the last time you couldn’t find it? Was panic on your heart? How about losing a credit card? Identity theft is rampant these days? Teens, how about losing your Gameboy, your bicycle, or your homework? Okay maybe not your homework. Parents, how do you feel when your child has not yet returned from a friend’s home or an outing with their school? Worry is the common experience in all of these examples.

Let me step it up a little more. How many of you have had a loved one in a car accident? How many of you have had a loved one who needed to go to the hospital emergency room? The level of emotion and worry is even greater, no? Without raising your hands in public, parents, how many of you have children who no longer practice the faith or who have renounced their entire family? And young people, how many of you have rejected your parents or told them that you hate them? The pain of these separations is real and hurts others well beyond ourselves.

Today, God is speaking to all of you who have lost something or someone. Today, God is giving us an example that reveals his will to us all. His youngest son rejects his family for his own desire and goes off in selfish ambition. But, his return is not what many think it is. Recall that he compares the life he has created for himself with the life he used to have in his family. He calculates and plans his return, practicing the whole way his speech to his father. He is minimally contrite.

But the focus of the parable is not the lost son, but the compassion of the father. A good Jewish father would not wait for his son. Rather, once he finds out that his son is returning, he would make sure that the son begs for mercy. After all, his son disgraced him. A good Jewish father might allow his son to become a slave. Yet, the father does none of this. He runs, unconcerned that others would think him a fool. He meets his son and doesn’t even let him get a word out before he hugs his son and kisses him. This story would have scandalized the scribes and Pharisees who were listening to Jesus. The father re-incorporates his son into the family by putting the family ring on him and putting a cloak of dignity on him. This behavior of the father would be ridiculous to the hearer of the parable. His love was over done and lavish. It was wasteful in proportion to the offense. Yet, it exactly what Jesus wanted to tell us about his Father in heaven. The word “prodigal” can be defined as excessive and superabundant, reckless and wasteful. And so while this parable has so often been called the “prodigal son,” it should be called the prodigal father. It is the behavior of the father that is outside reason. We can all imagine and have already acknowledged that we have experienced persons who have disowned or rejected us, people who have lost their way and spent it recklessly. That kind of behavior is as ancient as humanity. But, it is the behavior of the Father that confronts our sensibilities. He should not have done what he did. How many of us, when finding out that our son or daughter has squandered their allowance or disrespected our curfews, would welcome them back to possibly make us a victim all over again? Practically none of us.

In fact, many people have left our families or church, or the Christian faith altogether because of our behaviors that have been hurtful. Don’t you really, deep in your hearts, want them back? What could you or I do to bring them back? If you have driven down Pacific Ave. recently, you would have noticed that we have a new banner inviting people back this Easter. But, that is just the beginning. How many people will be effected by our invitation? I don’t know. However, I can tell you that your personal invitation will go even further towards that goal. As a parish, we have trained some special people to assist those who have been away and don’t know how to return. It is called Landings. It is for those Catholics who have “flown the coop” and are thinking about landing back home. What would you do to bring back those family members into the church? Would you move to another seat in the church? Would you attend a different Mass time? Would rearrange the entire Mass schedule just so that loved one of yours might find the church more compatible with their schedule? What wouldn’t you do in order to bring back those who have left the faith altogether? Pray about it.


My brothers and sister in Christ, therein resides the power of this parable about the Father. God, the father is a ridiculously loving and forgiving God. Are you willing to receiving his forgiveness? If not, what’s stopping you? Let nothing come before you and the grace that God wants for you.

This coming Tuesday, we have our last communal reconciliation service. It will be at 7 pm and there will be five priests. The service will be bilingual. So, come! be reconciled. Let our prodigal father take your sins and forgive them. Let him run to you, kiss you, and bring you back into the family of God.