The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother

In Luke’s gospel, chapter 15 is called passage of the parables. It begins with the parable of Lost Sheep and ends with the Prodigal Son. The first two parables, ie. The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin informs us that owners of the sheep and coin kept on searching for their lost belong. Their rigorous searching and efforts brought them success. As soon as they found their lost belonging, they were filled with joy and shared their joy with their neighbours. In the 3rd parable ie. the Prodigal Son, the lost son returns back to his fathers house and his father celebrates the occasion with a great feast and invites everyone to join him in his happiness. Lets reflects on this 3rd parable, what made the younger son to return to his home and how he returned back to his home.

Like any young person, the prodigal son also thought happiness is in wealth and living a lavish life in the world. He disputed with his family and separated from his family taking  with him his share in the property. He moved as far as possible from his family and lived a colourful and lavish life, squandering everything he had received from his father. In foreign country, as not being a son of the soil, he was treated as an outsider, an alien and thus he lost his identity. He was living in very miserable conditions and was unable to even meet his basic needs. All of a sudden he realised that he was a royalty in his father house, and there were many servants there, but they were not treated as he was at present. They had dignity and self-respect in his father house. Knowing by custom, y taking his share in the inheritance from his father, he had no right to the family of his father. This action was also a proclamation of him declaring his father dead to him. Thus he could not and did not find it right to claim his previous position of being his fathers son. But all the same he decided to go back to his own country and ask his father for mercy and be given the role of a servant. The father being father always yearned for his son, in spite of all his failings, and welcomed his son back with open arms, and called him his son, thus restoring to him his dignity and self-respect.

All these 3 parables teach us the love of our Heavenly Father, he like the Prodigal Father, waits for us with deep yearning, that he may be able to embrace us, and call us His Child once more. And thus rejoice over us, as once who were lost, are now restored to Him, and can now rejoice with us, bestowing on us the fulness of life. Yes, friends whenever we run behind worldly things like money, praise, pride, and fame. like the young prodigal son, unknowingly we too separate ourselves from the relationship God our Father. Like father in the parable, God waits for our conversion and reunion with him. Are we prepared to make a good confession and celebrate the joy of genuine conversion?