A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 5, n. 16)
4th Sunday of Lent, Year C – March 18, 2007
“The Feast of Homecoming”
BIBLE READINGS
Jos 5:9a, 10-12 // II Cor 5:17-21 // Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
N.B. Series 5 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 2.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The hard-working Carmelite priest Fr. Bing was my classmate at Maryhill School of Theology in the Philippines. He was sent to Kuwait as a missionary. When Sadam Hussein’s Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, there was a frantic report from Filipino foreign workers that Fr. Bing was one of those rounded up and killed. The Carmelite community and his family deeply mourned the death and loss of Fr. Bing. On the 30th day of his purported death, a memorial celebration was made for him. What a shocking but pleasant surprise when Fr. Bing appeared in the flesh – breathing and alive – safe and sound! The unfortunate report on his death in Kuwait was rash and unfounded – to their great joy and relief. I could just imagine the great celebration and feasting they prepared at his “homecoming”. The words of this Sunday’s Gospel could be applied to him: “He was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found” (Lk 15:32).
The feast at the homecoming of the prodigal son was a celebration of new life. After an unfortunate sojourn in a “distant” land symbolizing sin and depravation, the repentant son was returning to his ultimate home and was eventually reconciled with his father. A spirit of paschal joy pervaded the prodigal son’s homecoming and it overflowed into a celebration and a banquet. The feasting was meant for all. The banquet of life in the Father’s house was for everyone – for those who wish to share in his inmost sentiments and loving compassion.
The central character of the Gospel parable is the father. The early Church Father Tertullian remarks: “Whom must we recognize in this father? God, of course: no one is father as he is, no one is benevolent as he is. This is why he will welcome you – you who are his child, even if you have wasted what you have received from him, even if you arrive naked – because you have come back, and he will rejoice over your return more than the wisdom of his other children.”
The joyous feast organized by the benevolent Father to celebrate the homecoming of his repentant prodigal son can be understood better in the light of the Old Testament reading (Jos 5:9a, 10-12). The celebration of the Passover banquet by Joshua and the Israelites while encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho marked the “homecoming” of God's people to the Promised Land. God had removed the “reproach of Egypt” from them, liberating Israel and his descendants from a situation of slavery and bondage in Egypt. Their paschal banquet at Jericho marked the beginning of new life as God’s liberated and covenant people. The ritual celebration highlighted a time of dramatic change, i.e. of “coming home” into the land of promise – in a newly established relationship of intimacy with the Lord Yahweh, their Father and God.
The biblical scholar John Grindel comments: “With the crossing of the Jordan, one period in the life of Israel is about to end and another to begin … With the entrance into the land, Israel achieved the goal for which she was delivered from Egypt (see Exod 3:8). The purpose of the Lord’s actions is explicit: that all the people of the earth might learn of the might of God, and that the Israelites might fear the Lord. This is an important message for the exiles: in the midst of their pain they must put hope in the power of their God, and give their full allegiance to the Lord who can deliver … As the Exodus began with the celebration of the Passover, so the entrance into the land, which brings this period of deliverance to an end, concludes with the same celebration. The next day the people eat of the produce of the land, and with this event the manna (see Exod 16 and Deut 8:3) ceases, since there is no longer a need for it. It is truly the end of an era.”
The feast of “homecoming” depicted in the story of the Prodigal Son and the feast of “homecoming” of God’s chosen people delineated in the Book of Joshua may be viewed in the eyes of Christian faith as an allusion to the Eucharistic banquet, which is a celebration of our own “homecoming” to God, by the power of the paschal sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. In the Eucharistic feasting is the sign of our entry to the “promised land” of grace and salvation, led by the ultimate Moses and ultimate Joshua – our Savior and Liberator Jesus Christ. The saving event of our liberation from sin and of entrance into a filial covenantal relationship with God by the sacrifice and glorification of Jesus Christ is actualized, through time and space, in the sacramental celebration of the Eucharist, sign of the definitive banquet at the end time.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 2, assert: “The pasch celebrated in each Eucharist is a memorial of the infinite love God manifests to sinners. In Jesus Christ, the Father transforms believers into new creatures and leads them into the promised land of a new world. We cannot celebrate this memorial without being filled with a total confidence in this God who, for us, has identified his Son with sin. Nothing, therefore, can take us away from God’s love or his fatherly care, not even our sin and the consciousness we have of it. Nothing can ever weaken our hope of salvation, whether for ourselves or for our brothers and sisters who are sinners. But this confidence entails demands assumed with joy. We are – or we shall become – truly children of this Father only by sharing his love for all his children even – and especially – those who have gone far away and live in sin. With how much greater reason shall we eagerly share God’s joy when one of his children, our brother or sister, comes back home.”
PERSONAL REFLECTION (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32)
By Dr. Rachel Quinto
Member: Holy Family Institute
Fresno, CA – U.S.A.
The Pharisees and scribes concede that Jesus of Nazareth is a man of God, but they do not understand why he devotes so much time with persons who are not aligned with God, in other words, sinners. And so, they find fault with him. Jesus does not defend his behavior. The perfect teacher that he is, the divine Teacher responds by telling this parable of an incredible father with two sons who conduct themselves quite differently.
When I first heard this story and for quite some time, I was hung up on the seemingly unfair treatment of the older son who remained in the Father’s house. His wayward sibling left the father’s house, prematurely dissipated his share of the inheritance and now is poised to enjoy some more of it by simply coming back. I felt the older son was justified in complaining to the father who has not rewarded him for his loyalty. But it is clear that the father is a figure of God. Surely, the Lord does not teach us that there is some justification to complain to God! This is obviously not what the parable meant to impart.
Over time and with more prayerful reflections, I have learned to break open the bread of the Word and nourish my soul with its rich Wisdom. I have since gleaned many lessons from this story, perhaps as the Lord wanted the Pharisees, the scribes and the sinners to understand. Mainly, that God does not operate under the law of human rights or wrongs, but under the supreme law of Divine Love whose prerogative it is to give of itself without bounds. In this light, I am able to see myself as the self-righteous older son and Pharisee who need to let go of my foolish self-importance in matters that belong to God alone, which includes my every breath. I also see myself in the selfish younger son when I reject God’s love and think only of my own human desires. Above all, I see that God is a loving Father who has given me everything and whose mercy for my human failings is beyond understanding. There is no reason for me to want for anything while with the Father. And should I go astray, there is never a reason to despair. The Father’s love is unchanging and eternal. All I have to do is return and allow myself to be engulfed by His all-embracing love.
With its divine example of immeasurable love and forgiveness, this parable challenges me to share the same be-attitude in my relationships with my brothers and sisters in Christ. It also reminds me to keep in mind that whatever good I do or I possess rightfully belong to God who is the beginning and end of all good. To remain in the Father’s house, all I will ever need is a grateful heart.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
A. What are the marvelous acts of liberation and benevolence accomplished by God on behalf of his people Israel? What is the meaning of the Passover celebration on the plains of Jericho? How does this paschal banquet mould the life, faith and identity of God’s people? What is the relevance of these events and realities to our life as God’s covenant people in Jesus Christ? How does the joyful “homecoming” to the Promised Land inspire us?
B. What are the insights we can derive from the “homecoming” of the Prodigal Son? Why is this celebration of life important? Are we grateful to the Father who lavishly initiated and organized the joyous feasting of his son’s “homecoming”? How do we regard the negative reaction of the son who never left home and what do we think about his resistance to that feasting? What are the various “homecomings” we have experienced in our own personal life? How does the merciful and forgiving response of the “prodigal” father – so lavish in his love – impact us?
C. Do we try to delve into the deep meaning of the Eucharist as a sacrament of our “homecoming” in Jesus Christ? How do we contribute to the joy of the Church’s Eucharistic celebration and feasting? How do we endeavor to translate into our daily life the paschal spirit of feasting for one “who was dead, and has come to life again” and for one “who was lost, and has been found”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
(Cf. Commission Francophone Cistercienne, La nuit, le jour, 40 (Fiche de chant G 184) in Days of the Lord, vol. 3, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1993, p. 178)
Leader: No lost child unforgiven who seeks him,
no one has strayed too far for God;
let tears come, bringing a new birth,
joy of returning to the Father.
Assembly: “I shall get up and go to my father.”
Leader: No wound too deep for his healing hand,
nothing is lost for God;
let grace come, bringing a new life,
flame surging from the embers.
Assembly: “I shall get up and go to my father.”
Leader: No darkness devoid of hope for light,
nothing is finished for God;
let dawn come, in which love rises,
song of Easter morning.
Assembly: “I shall get up and go to my father.”
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and he has been found.” (Lk 15:24)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
A. ACTION PLAN: Pray that in this Lenten season the community of believers may seriously and efficaciously avail themselves of the sacrament of reconciliation and participate more meaningfully in the Eucharistic feasting. Pray for those who, like the prodigal son, are alienated from the grandiose love of God so that they may respond fully to the grace of conversion. By your fasting, enable the poor, the marginalized and the underprivileged to share in God’s bounty and have their own fill of “daily bread”.
B. ACTION PLAN: To help us to be more open to the grace of conversion and to enable us to participate in the Eucharistic banquet and celebrate fully “the feast of homecoming” in our Savior Jesus, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 3, n. 16): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
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