My reflection today is from Living Faith:
My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. Luke 15:31
“An open letter to the elder son in the parable of the Prodigal Son:
Dear Elder Son, I hear you! I understand why you were so upset and refused to go to the party. After all, you are the dutiful son, the responsible one. You didn’t run off and squander your inheritance like your ingrate of a brother. No, you stayed on the farm and worked your tail off. And yet, when your younger brother comes crawling home, your dad throws a party for him! A huge party! It isn’t fair! It just isn’t fair!
And there, dear Elder Brother is ‘the rub.’ Yes, the party isn’t fair – precisely because LOVE isn’t fair! Fair is what is deserved, what is earned, what is merited. But love goes way beyond fairness. It morphs into ecstatic welcoming, into unfathomable mercy, into unconditional forgiveness. So, Elder Brother go to the party and enjoy yourself. why? Because the love being poured out on your brother is the same love that is being poured out on you! Rejoice! Rejoice!” Sr. Melannie Svoboda, S.N. D.
I have also heard this reading called the prodigal father because he just was so generous with his love. God is that generous with us.
