(By Rembrandt van Rijn c. 1668–1669)
The Fall into
Grace
March 10th 2013, 4th
Sunday of Lent
Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
II Corinthians 5:17-21 Luke
15:1-3, 11-32
A reading
from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
Glory
to you, Lord.
The younger son
A man had
two sons, and the younger son said to his father, “Father, give me the share of
your estate that should come to me.” So the father divided the property between
them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and took
off for a distant land, where he squandered his inheritance on parties and
prostitutes. When he had run out of money, a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local
citizens who sent him out to his farm to slop the
pigs. He longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the pigs fed, but nobody
gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought about his father’s many hired
hands who had more than enough to eat while he was starving. He said to
himself, “I shall arise and return to the house of my father. And I shall say
to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and thee. I no longer deserve to
be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.’” So
he got up and started home to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father spied his son on the horizon. Filled with joy the father ran out to greet his son whom he embraced and kissed. The son remorsefully said to the father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father ordered his servants, “Quickly bring our finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast because this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.” Then the celebration began.
The older son
Now the older son had been out
in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound
of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might
mean. The servant said to him, “Your brother has returned and your father has
slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.” The older son began to pout and refused to
enter the house. His father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his
father in reply, “Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey
your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my
friends. But when your son who has wasted all your money on parties and prostitutes
returns, you go and slaughter the fattened calf for him.” The father said to
him, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now
we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to
life again; he was lost and has been found.”
The
Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord
Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
Cum clave 2013
115
Cardinals, `Princes of the Church,’ will elect the 266th pope. Political
interference in papal elections in times past
caused long vacancies between popes. That prompted Pope Gregory X to decree during
the Second Council of Lyons
in 1274 that the cardinal electors should be locked in seclusion cum clave
(Latin for "with a
key") and not be permitted to leave until a new Bishop of Rome had been
elected. That’s the etymology of `conclave.’The conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel. There above the altar is Michelangelo’s great painting of the Last Judgment, which took six years to complete. Conclave 2013 will soon open. Black smoke emanating from a very unremarkable chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel will tell the city of Rome and the world that no pope as yet has been elected. White smoke will tell us that the conclave has accomplished its task – that the 266th pope has indeed been elected.
Rembrandt's painting
In the parable of the Prodigal Son (the longest parable in the New
Testament) the younger son takes
off for a far-off land, squanders his money on parties and prostitutes, is
reduced to feeding the pigs to make a living, and finally decides to return to
the house of his father. In Rembrandt’s painting the father is an old half-
blind man dressed in a deep red cloak, and he is receiving his wayward son with
open arms. The elder son, however, has played it safe: he stayed at home, never got lost, and therefore never really found himself. In Rembrandt’s painting he is the tall figure on the right of the picture who observes the scene from the sidelines. He doesn’t show any joy; he doesn’t step up onto the platform to join the celebration over the return of his wayward brother. The story itself, as well as Rembrandt's painting, say that it is very difficult to convert someone who has played it safe and has done everything right. Outwardly he is an obedient son who has observed all his father’s wishes, but inwardly he is filled with resentment and pride
Judaism and Islam delight in
observance.
Both Judaism and Islam delight in
observance of religious laws. The Orthodox Jew delights in observing `the yoke of the
Law’ which is a huge corpus of 613 major laws, plus a whole constellation of
minor rules and regulations. The orthodox Jew is
matched by the orthodox Muslim who delights in ` the yoke of Shari’ah’ which
for Muslims is a hefty
corpus of religious laws and prohibitions. dealing with crime, politics, economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer and fasting. Both Judaism and Islam, therefore, are
closer to each other than they are to Christianity. Both are dismayed by
transgressors of their respective religious laws.
Christianity
delights in repentance.
Christianity, however, delights in the
repentance. It delights in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son: after a wild
fling in a foreign land where he squanders all his money on parties and
prostitutes, and is reduced to slopping the pigs, he decides to return to the
house of his father, who daily has been looking off into the horizon, hoping
his wayward son would return.
A diamond with many facets
That parable is a diamond with many facets.
It’s traditionally called the Parable of
the Prodigal Son. It’s also called the Parable of the Prodigal Father who upon his wayward son’s return is
prodigal with forgiveness and love. He bedecks him with a fine robe for his
skeletal body, a costly ring for his boney fingers, and soft sandals for his
calloused feet.
Conclusion
The fall into Grace
Anglican theologian
William Coats writes: “There is a strain in Roman Catholic theology which sees
us human beings as naturally good, but who `fall from Grace’ when we commit
certain sins. It’s all so much nonsense!” The Prodigal Son, Coats writes, didn’t
fall from Grace; rather he fell into Grace. He fell into the arms of an
incredibly Prodigal Father who wrapped his son’s skeletal body in a rich robe,
soothed his calloused feet with soft sandals and adorned his boney finger with
a ruby ring. Then he prepared a great feast with a fatted calf, because “he who
was dead has come back to life, and he who was lost has now been found.”
