TO RUN OR SHUN?
(Biblical reflection on the 24th Ordinary Sunday, [Year C] – September 15, 2013
First Reading: Exodus 32:7-11,13-14; Psalms: Psalm 51:3-4,12-13,17,19; Second Reading: 1Timothy 1:12-17; Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-32
This parable, traditionally known as The Prodigal Son, is also called The Forgiving Father. It exemplifies compassion in action. Some of the following thoughts are credited to Dr. Kenneth Bailey of the School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. He notes that in Middle Eastern society, like our own, the father may or may not make a will, but in any case he would always retain the rights to and the interest of the money until he died. If the children were to request their share of the estate prematurely, it would be like telling their dad to “drop dead”.
In this parable, the younger son insults his father in two ways. First, he asks for the money now, showing that he can’t wait for him to die; secondly, in his demand for the share of the estate and his right to dispose of it, he has completely ignored his father’s future needs. Yet the father complies with his son’s request, and although deeply hurt, he is not angry.
Once the son had spent the money, we might wonder why he would not have come home earlier. One reason would have been that he was ashamed to return; another was that he would be subjected to the “shun” – no one would speak to or associate with him in any way. A man was subjected to the shun if he married an immoral woman or lost his money to the gentiles. In these cases the guilty one was to confess his sin, compensate for the loss and remain outside the community until proven worthy to reenter.
In this parable, the father initiates a new way of forgiveness. Rather than applying the shun, he runs (something old men normally did not do) to meet his son, who had openly and deliberately insulted him. The father does not wait for apologies but forgives him immediately and totally. The young man is delighted by this unexpected and overflowing love.
Jesus uses the story as an example of God’s forgiveness to us and as a model of our forgiveness to each other. The father’s love had healed the past; the son’s repentance and conversion would correct the future.
Note that the elder son did apply the shun; he refused to welcome home his brother. We can either imitate the compassionate father or the merciless elder brother when it comes to pardoning another person. We can hurry to meet them with open arms, or turn our back and refuse to speak to them. Which way do you choose – to run or shun?
Each time we remit and forget past hurts and offenses, we grow a little bigger and better. If we are living in the midst of bitterness and hatred, we are slowly starving ourselves. It is high time to “break away and return to the Father”.
Note: Taken from Fr. James McKarns, GO TELL EVERYONE, Makati, Philippines: St. Paul Publications, 1985, pages 265-266.