The Parable of the Prodigal Son

People in Spain recount an old folk story. In the city of Barcelona, there lived a father and a son; the son's name was Antonio. They get into a little misunderstanding, egos get hurt, and in the rage of anger and stubbornness the son leaves home. Father waited thinking that Antonio would come back, a few hours passed, a day passed, his son did not return. He went in search of him, but he could not find him. The father was desperate to find his son, so he approached the city's most popular newspaper to give a notice of missing. He gave the advertisement as, Dear Antonio, meet me at the central fountain in the evening next Saturday. All is forgiven. I accept you as you are. I love you -your father. The father could not wait for next Saturday to arrive because of the anticipation of finding his son. On Saturday the father goes to the central fountain and there he finds hundreds of Antonios, waiting and looking out in expectation of their fathers to show up to receive them.

There are so many who are lost, and there are so many who have lost their children and other dear ones. Therefore this is a parable (Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32) for all. There were publicans, who were like the younger son, who were listening to the parable, there were Pharisees, who were like the elder son who were listening to the parable, there were also the disciples of Jesus who were getting trained into the ways of the father, listening to it, and among us to there is a bit of the younger son, a bit of the elder son, may be a bit also of the father. Most connect to it when we listen to it. Rightly so, this has been one of the most popular parables of Jesus.

We must unload from our heads the disproportionate importance given to varied stuff, like laws, religion, traditions, etc. to make such a parable possible in our lives. One must become comfortable in telling the other (in whatever way others have made up their otherness) ‘it is okay’, or ‘doesn't matter’. In Indian languages we say, saramilla, paravāyillai, paravagilla, koee baat nahin-theek hai; all meaning the same thing. Whatever may be the situation, and if the other is trying to change or do something, don't carry the weight of some man made rules and traditions and let go off the good that can happen.

As we grow up, at least as we pass through our forties, we must be known by a few keywords. Getting past two thirds of our lives, still to be just known only by our first names says something about our non-becoming. As Christians, in the light of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, some of the keywords by which we must be known are compassionate, merciful, forgiving, etc. If our lives haven’t reached the point of compassion, mercy, it is time that we adopt these keywords and gradually converge into it. It is something like the fitness plans that we adopt as we reach our forties. Some of us find ourselves fit; some others of us must adopt a fitness plan and work towards it to get fit and healthy. Do you have a 'becoming plan'?

The keywords are the legacy that we leave behind. Popular explanations of the parable of the prodigal son points out that in Jewish tradition if a son demands for his share of inheritance before the father willingly gives or before his father death, means that the son wishes the father to die. Taking a deeper look at the passage we realise that the younger son asks for his share of his father’s property, takes it, and goes away to a distant land where his father does not exist. He wanted to build his own legacy. The father’s legacy is compassion and mercy, and that he did not want. He only wanted his fathers wealth. The elder son is no better, he too just wanted the fattened calf to celebrate with his friends, if he had asked for understanding, compassion form his father, life would have been far better. If wealth or money is the only inheritance or legacy that sons and daughters look forward from their parents, if wealth is the only inheritance that parents have to leave to their children as inheritance and legacy, we are bound to have a limited becoming. It also explains why many rush to churches and shrines praying for success and wealth. The inheritance or legacy that God wants to give to us is compassion, mercy, forgiveness, love, and the like.

Getting a little more closely to the elder son; he was committed to his work, hard working, orderly, successful, and we meet him coming back from work in his father’s farm, on the contrary we find the younger son coming back from a wasteful life. The response of the father to the elder son categorically tells us that nothing matters without compassion, nothing matters without mercy. Our slogging, our success, our institutions, our businesses, our farms do not matter if we do not have mercy. Matthew 5: 23-24 tells us, when you come to the altar and there you realize that your brother has something against you, leave you offering there, first go back and reconcile to your brother, then come back and offer your sacrifice. Without mercy and forgiveness, not even our sacrifices matter.

It is interesting to look at the three lost stories in chapter 15 of Luke’s gospel as one whole. All three parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, have the same theme of losing, finding and celebrating. But the gravity of the matter and the reason for losing are different. First, a sheep is lost from a sheepfold of hundred. The proportion is negligible. The coin is lost from a collection of ten coins. It looks serious for the proportion and it is not just anything but most valued money. Finally, from two sons one son is lost, which is really serious and damaging.

Every effect has a cause. What are the reasons for losing? The sheep left due to ignorance (anjatha). Ignorance at times is to be treated with religious fervour and importance. The woman was supposed to be very careful in keeping those 10 coins, but she lost one of them. The reason for losing is negligence (asrattha). This is what acts of omission are all about, you don’t do what you are supposed to do, and it is very serious. The son is lost because of rebellion, and arrogance (ahantha). He asked for his father's property, his inheritance, while he does not want his father’s legacy. The good news is that at the end of all three parables, because of mercy and compassion, the sheep, the coin, and the son have returned back to their respective fold.

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