Homecoming


Luke’s three parables of finding and losing, each a metaphor for the recovery of our relationship with God, provide us with excellent models for the kind of counter-cultural living to which the Gospel calls us.

In Luke 15:3-7 we hear about the sheep which has strayed. In verses 8-10 the subject is the missing coin, and in 11-32 it is the prodigal son. In every instance we rejoice over the recovery of that which was lost.

The theme launched in the sheep parable, in which Jesus stresses that “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance,” is amplified in the third parable. The eldest son seethes with resentment over the festivities for his wayward younger brother because he, always faithful to his father, never left. “Son, you are always with me,” his father reminds him. “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”

Faced with a similar situation, most of us would probably behave like the eldest son. We work long and hard, we live responsibly, we are faithful stewards of our possessions and of all that God has given us. We never become lost. For all our labors, where is OUR party?

This is not how faith works. God does not owe us anything for being faithful. Instead, we are faithful as an expression of gratitude for all that God has given us—“our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love,” in the beautiful words of the liturgy. Most of all, we are faithful as an expression of love.

Is it not the same in our earthly relationships? We are faithful to our spouse because we love and honor them. We seek no reward because we have not strayed. Yet because of God’s great love for us, when one of us does stray, heaven weeps—and then rejoices upon our recovery.

With sheep and coins this is straightforward, but people are more complicated. How do we know for sure whether someone has really been found? What if our thieving sibling returns after a long jail term, claims rehabilitation, and then promptly proceeds to steal again?

If we believe in the power of forgiveness, we have few options. We can try to be discerning. What truth, we may ask, is articulated by this person’s actions? The prodigal son, filled with remorse, clearly brought to his father a contrite heart: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But only God knows the real truth. So it is therefore our duty and delight to entrust the work of recovery to God, and to give thanks, in faith, for each sign of homecoming.

Come, Lord Jesus!

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