HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Mar 30, 2025

700

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Joshua (5: 9a, 10-12)

The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you."

While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth of the month. On the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that same day after the Passover, on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7)

(R) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the Lord at the times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R)

Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (R)

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (5: 17-21)

Brothers and sisters: Whoever is in Christ, is a new creation: 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 and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke (15: 1-3, 11-32)

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So to them Jesus addressed this parable: "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, "Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me." So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, "How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father, and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called you son; Treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.""

So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son." But his father ordered his servants, "Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found." Then the celebration began.

Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, "Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound."

He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, "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 with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf." He said to him, "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.""

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

The well-known proverb, "East or West, home is the best" implies that no matter where one goes, one's own home is the best or most ideal place to be for safety, security, care, love and happiness. But in today's gospel, Jesus tells us a story of a young man who had almost everything he needed in his home and yet couldn't wait to get away from his home. He demanded his share of property from his father in advance so he could live his life as he pleased without anyone's restraint. Asking for his inheritance while his father was still alive was tantamount to saying he could not wait until his father's death. Yet the father graciously allowed his son to rebel and respected his wish by equally distributing the property between his two sons.

Upon receiving his portion of the inheritance, the young man went to a faraway land where he lived recklessly until all his money was gone. Eventually he ended up working on a pig farm, eating and sleeping alongside the pigs. Sometimes he was given so little food that he even was willing to fill his stomach with the pig's food. Those pigs were better off than he was at that point. He was hungry and lonely. No one cared about him. When he reached rock bottom, he came to his senses and remembered how good his life had been back home after all. Subsequently when he found his way back home, he got more than he had ever wanted.

We all know the story well. Yet, it is worthwhile to dig into the story once again together, to understand what it meant back then so we can better grasp what it means for us Christians today, especially in a personal way. The father in the parable had allowed his son to go on his own way but never forgot him. Patiently and eagerly, he waited for his return. One day, while looking out the window of his house, as he had always done, to see if his son was coming, the father saw a man coming down the road - a man who was ragged, dejected, tired, dirty, smelly, and hungry. Although he was still a long way off, the father recognized him as his son and ran to meet him.

Likewise, God our Father allows us to wander away from Him but at the same time eagerly anticipates our return to Him. He also sees us busy, distant, distracted with earthly concerns, lacking interest in praying, reading the Scriptures, and going to church, wasting our time, talents, and treasures for selfish gain, worldly pleasures and living in sin. God knows everything about each one of us, Psalm (139:1). He knows who and what we are, and all that we do and have done, yet He desires us to be back into His fold. Despite our sins, He "loves us with an everlasting love", Jeremiah (31:3), Romans (5:8) and John (3:16). An ancient eastern proverb says, "Who draws near to me an inch, I will draw near to him a mile, and whosoever walks to meet me, I will leap to meet him." Yes. When we take one step towards Him, God our loving Father takes a hundred steps towards us.

The father in the story not only raced out in excitement to meet his son. Seeing that his son did not look as before - physically, mentally, and emotionally - he hugged him dearly and kissed him repeatedly. In doing so the father wanted to help his son overcome his guilt, fear and shame and to let him know that his life mattered more than anything else. In the same way, no matter what we have done or how imperfect we may feel, our Heavenly Father is always there, waiting for us with open arms, ready to welcome us and renew us in His love. He never rejects anyone truly repentant and turns to Him for forgiveness. In fact, "He keeps the door open which no man can shut" so that we can walk through it anytime, Revelation (3:8). Simply put, not only does our Heavenly Father welcomes us with open arms He also envelops us in His mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, reminding us that He still loves us.

Upon meeting his father, the son began his rehearsed confession speech, saying that he had sinned; that he was no longer worthy to be the father's son; and that he should be treated as a servant, but the father interrupted him and with great joy ordered his servants to prepare a feast, demonstrating his unconditional love for his son. He called for a robe, a ring and sandals to be put on his son, and a fattened calf to be slaughtered to celebrate the happy reunion. By dressing his son with "the best robe," the father did not just cover the stains and dirt of the piggery on his son's clothing or body but also reinstated his honour and status in the family and erased all the visible signs of his sinful past. By giving a ring to his son, the father restored his son's right relationship with him and at the same time entrusted him with authority and responsibility. By giving his son sandals to wear, the father was declaring that his son was completely forgiven of his past and thus was restored to full membership in the family, with the freedom that came with this status.

In the same way, when we turn away from sin and return to God, Christ covers us with His robe of righteousness, so that all the pain and stain of our past could be washed away, and we could be right with God and with everyone and everything. Instead of being cast away as recalcitrant sinners, we are blessed, adopted, redeemed, forgiven and accepted as saints through Christ, Isaiah (61:10), Revelation (7:9-14) and Romans (5:1). Moreover, through Christ, we are made sons and daughters and heirs of God. We are not only brought into God's family, but also all the rights and privileges of family membership are restored, thereby giving each one of us permanent access to God's grace, mercy, peace and joy, 1 John (3:1-2), Act (1:8), Romans (8:17) and Galatians (4:4-7).

Finally, the father in the parable threw a great feast by killing a fattened calf, complete with music and dancing, and inviting his servants, neighbours and friends to come and celebrate his son's return. Such celebrations had not been possible before because this son was like the one that was dead. But now that he was alive and had come home in humility and repentance, he and the father could have a joyful celebration. Just as the Father gave a great feast for his son, so God gives us a great feast when we change our ways and return to Him. Whenever we wander away from the path of God, we are not in fellowship with God. But when we come to our senses and repentance follows, along with a longing to return to fellowship with God, He is waiting for us to come home - waiting to forgive and restore us to our rightful place as His children once again and to celebrate our return with great exuberance and joy. However, this is not the end of the story.

While there was a great celebration, the elder son refused to attend despite his father's plea. In doing so, he distanced himself from both his father and brother. First, in his self-righteousness, he refused to acknowledge his brother as his brother. Instead, he referred to his brother as "your son". Secondly, by refusing to stand by his father and welcome his brother, he, in his turn, publicly brought shame and embarrassment to his father. Furthermore, in anger and envy, he said that his brother had spent his money on prostitutes and his father was stingy and unfair for "he never gave him even a young goat", Luke (15: 29). However, the father explained that as he had always been present with him, everything he owned also belonged to him, thereby expressing that He did value and appreciate the elder son's faithfulness, diligence, dedication, obedience and loyalty.

Like the elder son, the Pharisees and the scribes were accusing Jesus of "welcoming sinners and eating with them", Luke (15: 1-2). It was in response to their grumbling Jesus told them this parable, Luke (15: 3). We too sometimes despise and vilify others, seeing them as unworthy of a second or third chance. We grumble and charge God as being unfair towards us when we deem someone more blessed than us. God gives us the choice to stray from Him and go our own way. At the same time, when we repent and turn to Him, He receives us, forgives us, restores us, rejoices over us, and invites others to join in His celebration.

This is exactly what He does for every sinner who returns to Him with humility and remorse. Sadly, however, like the elder son we too often react in envy and anger and refuse to rejoice when someone else returns to God. Instead of being content and appreciative of our own blessings and rejoice that repentant sinners like us are welcomed in the company of Jesus, we become envious of the blessings and graces that they receive despite their sin. We also become self-righteous and shun those who do not live up to our standard of righteousness. We do not realize that envy, anger, and self-righteousness are as much as sin as being fully far off from God with the total absence of goodness and righteousness.

The parable ended with the father kindly assuring his son, "you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found",Luke (15: 31-32). We do not know what the elder son decided to do - whether he ever attended the feast and reconciled with his brother or not. The parable is left open-ended so that the Pharisees and the scribes could write the last paragraph. So also, we must write our own ending to this parable in our own lives. We can either identify ourselves with the younger son, totally lost in the darkness of sin and very far off from God or with the elder son, filled with resentment, envy, self-righteousness and other sinful thoughts despite being openly religious and devout.

Regardless of who and where we are today, our Heavenly Father wants us to return home to Him in trust, prayer, and repentance, so that once we are with Him, we will have no sorrow, worry, doubt, or fear but just an abundance of goodness, love, peace, and joy.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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