Prodigal son lost and found

PRODIGAL SON LOST AND FOUND 

Good evening/ morning everyone, two weeks ago as I was driving through Minden where I was at Our Lady of Fatima church many years ago, stopped at Timhortons and saw one of the parishioners and she said, “I was thinking about you 2.0 clock in the morning and wanted to text you to ask something”. I was so happy that I inspired some people and they wanted to know about God and His love, and I said, “Please, ask me now”. She said, “How come you don’t have any wrinkles yet?” Then she bought me a coffee, so I explained to her everything. If anyone wants to know, all you have to do is buy me a coffee. 

After reading this parable, our theology teacher looked at us and said, “Before explaining this parable, if you have anything, ask me now”. We all said, ‘What happened to the Mother?’ He began to laugh and said, “The one who is telling the parable is our Mother, Father, Brother, sister and friend. He is our everything”.  

Once Christ said, “Which one of you as your child asks for a fish, will give him a snake or asks for bread and will give him a stone?” “If you who are evil know how to give good things to your children, imagine how much more the divine God will shower upon those who ask Him, the Holy Spirit”. Our God is God of love, compassion and kind. He is slow to anger and ready to forgive all our sins. 

In the Parable today, we meet with three people with different stages of life namely in the morning of life, in the afternoon of life and in the evening of life. These stages do not depend on the age of a person but on the experience of a person. A person can be 14 and be in the evening of life and a person can be in their 40s and they can still be in the morning of life. It's all depends on the experience of a person. 

THE MORNING OF LIFE 

Once a king had a severe headache and he spent so much money on doctors, native medicines, magic and so on and nothing helped him. Then, there came a spiritual master and looked at the king and said, “your headache is the problem with your eyes. If you see only blue color, your headache will be gone”. So, the king began to see only blue colored things and his headache was gone. The king then ordered to paint the whole city blue and one day as the spiritual master was coming to the city, soldiers stopped him and painted him blue saying, “we want our king not having headache”. Then the master visited the king and asked why he was doing stupid thing painting everything blue. All he has to do is just put a blue- glasses on. 

Stupidity and unreasonable actions can easily fill the morning of life. The younger son decided to go away from his dad saying, “Give me my inheritance”. Thus, he went away from his life-line and squandered his property in dissolute living. The one amazing thing was, the forced starvation that enlightened him. 

After wasting his life, he was enlightened saying, “I will get up and go to the Father and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you”. The forced starvation or fasting is a good thing to come to know the reality. It’s an amazing Lenten discipline.  

THE AFTERNOON OF LIFE 

Once there was a holy man who did miracles and wonders and across from his holy abode lived a woman who let a loose life. Every time he saw that woman, he said to himself, “This woman would definitely go to everlasting punishment”. Thus, time went by and one day the woman died and a few months later the holy man also passed away. And before entering to heaven, he heard the angels playing trumpets to welcome him into heaven but then he saw that loose woman was in heaven. He then refused to enter in. Then God Himself came out and invited him to heaven but he said, ‘How come that woman is in heaven?” God looked at him and said, “Son, she is also my child and she went away from me and then she came back to me. She was dead but now she is alive, and she was lost and is found now”.  “Do not be mad, please come and celebrate life”. 

The elder son who spent all his life with his dad and was so dedicated to do great things but when jealousy and anger entered him, he refused to get into the house accusing his brother for living a dissolute living. Coming to Church is not a reassurance to go to heaven. Coming to Church, receiving church's sacraments and other spiritual practices only create a longing to know more about God and extend that love towards others.  

THE EVENING OF LIFE 

This is an old story, but I still like it. Once what happened was a man went to his parish priest and said, “Oh Jesus talked to me...”  “Jesus does talk to everyone every day. Please just leave me alone”. But the man was insisting upon. The priest finally said, “The next time as Jesus appears to you, just ask him about my private sins”. The man agreed and the next time as he came, the priest laughed at him and said, “Did you ask Jesus about my private sins”. The man said, “Of course I did, and He said, “He not only forgave your sins but also forget them”. 

Everything changes in the evening of life. Nothing is that important and nothing is that big. We enjoy life loving, accepting and forgiving others. As the son was coming far away, the dad runs to him and hugs and kisses saying to the servants, “Quickly, bring a robe the best one and put it on him. Put new sandals on his feet and a gold ring on his finger. This son of mine was dead and now he is alive, and he was lost and now he is found”  

We see only celebration from now on. That is our God as we go to Him, He will not worry about our sins but only focus on our return. So, let us go to Him as we are. 

Once a man prayed to God saying, 

“Almighty God, 

If I worship you because of fear of hell, 

Then burn me in hell. 

If I worship you for, I desire heaven, 

Then exclude me from heaven. 

If I worship you for yourself alone, 

Then deny me not from your eternal beauty”. Amen.