Today we hear a very familiar Gospel, “The Parable of the Lost Son”.  This is a beautiful story of a Loving Father that of course we relate to our Father in Heaven.  The overwhelming love he shows for his son in celebration of his return is an example shared throughout the teachings of Jesus, two of which are within this same chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel; the parables of the “Lost Sheep” and the “Lost Coin”.  None of us would argue that our Father in Heaven is a Loving and Forgiving God though in our own sinfulness, we must be reminded of this often.

    The more difficult message to draw from this parable is that of the two sons as they are representations of each of us.  Who do we most identify with?  Most likely, we would say the son who stayed dedicated to his father.  Of course most of us do not identify with the Lost Son in the sense that we cannot relate to having a large inheritance to spend on selfish pleasures and sinful desires.  This is where we are wrong…the truth is that in fact we do.  God offers us the most magnificent of inheritances in the form of Eternal Life.  All while at the same time, he blesses us with many gifts and talents that give us the opportunity of a life of pleasure here on earth.  These blessings, coupled with our free will place us in a precarious situation.  Do we use these talents and the treasure gained from their works to live a life of selfish pleasure or do we put our efforts into tilling the soil of God’s Kingdom?  Sure, we look at this story and tell ourselves yet again, ‘I am not as bad as the Lost Son’ or ‘OK, I see the point but at least I don’t…”  Let us not be fooled again by the devil who puts these thoughts into our heads.  Instead, let us heed the words of Our Lord so that we may too one day hear him say, “My son, you were here with me always; everything I have is yours”. LK 15:31