No matter how many times I hear the story of the prodigal son, the thing that always catches my attention is the fact that he asks for his inheritance from his father. In doing so, he is essentially saying that his father is dead and that the only thing he needs from him is his share of the inheritance. Given the size of his father\u2019s estate, it may well have been more than money and may have included property, livestock, servants, etc. To us and first-century Israelites, such a request is shocking and repulsive, but we are equally guilty of such a brazen attitude in our relationship with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How often do we seek only the good things that the Lord can give us? And, once we have them, move on and forget that He has called us into a loving relationship? How often do we estrange ourselves from God when we feel that we don\u2019t need Him? After their wanderings in the desert, the Israelites did exactly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first reading, when the Israelites crossed the Jordan river into the Promised Land the manna from heaven ceased to fall since they had the food of Canaan. The manna that God provided in the desert served a two-fold purpose: it was physical food but also spiritual nourishment, a reminder of God\u2019s presence and goodness. God didn\u2019t cease to provide Israel with manna because He no longer cared for them, the manna stopped because He had fulfilled His promise and, with the shame of their slavery completely removed, they were free, they had their home, and they could now \u201ctill and keep the land\u201d they had been given. God did not leave the Israelites once they had settled the land, He was still their King and God, He was still present in the ark, and He still spoke through His prophets. The Israelites, however, rejected Him and felt they no longer needed Him. Throughout their history, they were the Lord\u2019s prodigal children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fruits of the Promised Land were not a replacement for the spiritual nourishment that God provided. The inheritance the prodigal son took was not a replacement for his father. Likewise, the good things the Lord provides for us are not a replacement for His goodness. The Lord is always present to us and invites us into a relationship with Him so that we may know that He is good. St. Paul reminds us that in His invitation, God is \u201cnot holding men\u2019s faults against them,\u201d and He will welcome us back when we treat him like the father in the parable. As the prodigal son realized that it was not the inheritance, but his father, that he needed, let us realize that it is the Lord Himself that we need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Sal\u00e9<\/strong> \u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Zekeriya Sen\/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4th Sunday of Lent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n