Otium Sanctum

The Lucan emphasis on forgiveness and God's mercy and compassion emerges most clearly in this chapter made up of materials that are mostly of Luke. The parables within this chapter are all addressed to the pharisees and scribes who complain about Jesus' attitude towards sinners. Beginning 16:1, we find a parable addressed to the disciples. For this reason, the literary unit that begins in 15:1 ends in 15:32.

The Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:12-14 has a parallel to Luke 15:3-7, but there it is used to underline the idea that "it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones be lost (Mt. 18:14; see 18:10). Luke however lays stress on the joy of finding the lost sheep. "Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep" (v. 6b)

The Lost Coin

The woman who loses the drachma (equivalent to a day's wage) and searches for it is entirely Luke's. The parable is constructed on the preceding parable. Again, here, the stress is on the joy of finding what was lost.

In both the above parables, Luke repeats the invitation to rejoice and the declaration that even the angels rejoice at the return of a repentant sinner. The return of a repentant sinner becomes the focus of the following parable.

The Lost Son

Luke 15:11-32 is most popularly known as the "Parable of the Prodigal Son." Others, seeing the contrast in theway the prodigal son was accepted, would say that the story is "The Parable of the Prodigal Father." Many recognize too the fact that this parable is the main response to the complaint that Jesus welcomes sinners. The two previous parables, in this perspective, prepares for this punchline. While the two previous parables have only one characgter who lost something and found it, here, there are two characters whose thoughts are revealed because of a repentant son, the father and the son who stayed behind.

The parable can be outlined thus:

Commentators point out that the bulk of the Father's actions and statements are found in verses 21-32: he welcomes the returning son and pleads with the other son. His actions towards the repentant one is unexpectedly generous; he refuses to treat him as a slave and even gives him the attire of an owner, restoring him to his place as son. He even invites the other son to join him in his joy as father and to see in the returning one a brother "who has died but is now alive, was lost and is now found." With this closing statement, Jesus reply is also finished. "Why was he welcoming sinners?" Because the Father -- He who calls Himself "Merciful and Compassionate" -- does not rejoice in the death of a sinner but wants him to repent and live (cf. Ezekiel 18:23)

There is more, however, to the reply. The parable is also a challenge for the Pharisees and scribes to recognize themselves in the son who stayed behind. He had no fault, he has tried to please the Father with his devotion (v. 29b). He never asked anything for himself (v. 29c). Now he sees his brother feted with the fatted calf. Would he see his brother as the Father sees him?

Finally, the sinners who are welcomed by Jesus have nothing to their credit except that they have repented from their sins. The parable however is so detailed that one can trace the outline of repentance in it. The Hebrew idea of shub, a 180⁰ turn is illustrated in the prodigal son's going away from the Father and his return to him. He wanted to be "at home" so he went away; he later realized that "home" is where the Father is (v.17). Again the physical distancing of the son from the Father is marked by degradation: he is reduced from a moneyed heir to a penniless laborer, a type that -- for the Jew -- is the lowest kind, since he worked with pigs. In the end, the younger son was even fighting for his food among pigs. It was at this pint that "he came into himself".

The Greek phrase eis heauton de elthon, ephe is normally translated "then, coming to his senses, he thought (said to himself)". Augustine of Hippo describes this, however, as " a return to oneself." This is how he preaches about this:

And returning to himself, first (he returns) to himself, so (that he can return) to his father. Perhaps, you see, he had said "My heart has forsaken me" (Ps. 40:12) and so he had first to return to himself, and in this way come to realize that he was a long long way away from his father. This is how scripture admonishes some people: "Return, tragsgressors to the heart" (Is. 48:. "Returning to himself" he found himself in a sorry state: "Trouble and pain", he says, "I found, and I called in the name of the Lord". (Psalm 116:3-4)

Sermon 112A, 4 (Edmund Hill, OP)

"Repentance" is not only a change of direction, it is also a metanoia, a change of mind and heart. The thought of the repentant son illustrates this: first, he remembers his father, second, he resolves to rise from the decadence to which he has fallen, third, he acknowledges his guilt; fourth, he recognizes and accepts his current status (a penniless laborer) as resulting from his irresponsible actions. Even in repentance, something is paid back, but it is so inward that it is not easily seen, except by those who truly see. The Father saw and welcomed him back. The other son did not see, and in his refusal to enter the feast, refuses to see. The problem of the Pharisees and scribes is their refusal to be with Jesus.