Wastefully Extravagant

A Reflection on the Gospel for March 27th, 2022:
Fourth Sunday of Lent

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Luke
15.1-3, 11-32

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them a parable: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So the father divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

“When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. The young man would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’

“So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

“Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe — the best one — and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. The slave replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’

“Then the elder son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’

“Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

prodigal
adjective

1. wastefully or recklessly extravagant
2. giving or yielding profusely; very generous; lavish
3. lavishly abundant; profuse

noun
    a person who is wasteful of his or her money, possessions, etc.
(www.dictionary.com/browse/prodigal)

Lord, forgive me. I have squandered so much in my life! So many opportunities taken for granted, blessings wasted. To arrive at the place of feeling unworthy of the love of the Father was an essential stop on my journey. I remember when it happened to me; sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I felt an unbidden desire to get down on the floor, as low to the ground as possible, before the Source of Love, even though I had a hard time believing He loved me as much as I was told He did. 

It’s a place of desolation; a desert place, a barren place, a lonely place; in the fields with the pigs. It's the place where regret lives, and where the temptation exists to believe that we are our mistakes, that we as people are past the point of redemption. It’s the subtlety of our unworthiness before God where it becomes difficult to tell the difference between shame and guilt — but it is essential that we do. 

When we fear the Lord because we see Him as a harsh, punishing disciplinarian who wants to keep us in a place of unhealthy submission, it makes sense that we would find ourselves in a place of shame. This is the place where our sorrow and regret can be tied up in our image of who we are, and who He is. But when we want to get low before Him because we perceive Him as loving and merciful, and want to please Him because we know He loves us and we don’t want to disappoint Him — this is the place where God can really turn things around! 

As much as the wayward son was prodigal in wasting his inheritance, I love that God is even more prodigal with His love. The father in this story ran toward his son on the road, overjoyed at his return, regardless of what he had done. The disposition of the son is what has changed… and this is what we must consider for ourselves.

As I walk down the road like the prodigal son, I realize that my face must turn away from selfishness, an unhealthy fear of God, and seeing myself through a lens of shame. Easier said than done, when at certain times in our lives, we are simply doing what we feel we need to do to survive; but it is essential to the spiritual life. 

God’s wastefully extravagant love for us is real and true. 

Help us to rest, Father, at home in the unfathomable abundance of Your merciful embrace.   




Lindsay Elford
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