4th
Sunday of Lent Year C - March 30, 2025.
Joshua 5:9a, 10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke
15:1-3, 11-32.
Theme: The Lenten Season is when we Return
to Jesus Through Confession and Become a New Creation
A. A Brief Exegetical Analysis of Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
1. Historical
and Literary Contexts
The
context of our Gospel parable is found in the various divisions among the
people of Israel. The first division is between the descendants of the northern
kingdom, represented by the younger son of the parable, and those of the
southern kingdom, represented by the older son of the parable. The northern
kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC, and the Israelites were
scattered throughout the world. They lost their Jewish tradition and faith in
God since then. The Jews are the descendants of the southern kingdom of Judah. They
considered themselves the only ones who remained faithful to the Lord because,
after their return from the Babylonian exile in 538 BCE, they continued to live
in their land of Judah, specifically in Jerusalem, where the Temple,
representing God’s presence, was located. They did not accept to associate with
the descendants of the northern kingdom as they regarded them as “the lost
sheep of Israel.”[1]
The
second division is between the Jews (the older son) and the Gentiles (the
younger son). The third division is within the Jewish community: The Jewish
religious leaders (the older son) versus the tax collectors, prostitutes, and
all sinners (the younger son). The Jewish religious leaders could not associate
with their compatriots, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, because they
regarded them as the greatest sinners. For instance, the tax collectors were
considered traitors to their nation due to their extortion and cooperation with
Rome. Also, because the profession of tax collectors required their handling of
idolatrous currency, the Jews considered them as pagans themselves.
There
are at least two reasons why the Jews complained about Jesus not acting like
them in rejecting all sinners. First, in their society, holy and righteous
individuals socialize among themselves. Second, the Jews believe that
associating with sinners is akin to becoming a sinner oneself. Therefore, the
fact that Jesus welcomes sinners makes the Jews wonder whether Jesus’ mission
and preaching have any validity according to Jewish tradition and whether Jesus
himself is a sinner.
With
all these backgrounds, Jesus responds to the Jews through three consecutive
parables: the Parable of the Lost Sheep (15:1-7), the Parable of the Lost Coin
(15:8-10), and the Parable of the Lost Son (15:11-32). These three parables
deal with valuable items that are lost and found, teaching a common lesson:
Jesus’ mission is to search for and welcome the “lost sheep” of Israel, reuniting
all people of Israel, and extending salvation to Gentiles and sinners who
repent.
2. Form,
Structure, and Movement
Our
Gospel text is a parable account. Vv. 1-3, which the lectionary added, can be
considered an introduction. The parable itself is structured into three parts.
The first part (vv. 11-20a) focuses on the younger son, the second (vv. 20b-24)
emphasizes the father’s mercy, and the third part (vv. 25-32) concentrates on
the old son.
Vv.
1-3 Jesus tells this parable to the Pharisees and scribes to explain why his
mission consists of welcoming the “lost sheep of Israel” and extending
salvation to Gentiles and sinners.
Vv.
11-20a. The narrator focuses on the younger son, who represents the “lost sheep
of Israel,” Gentiles, tax collectors, prostitutes, and all sinners. From Jewish
tradition regarding inheritance during Jesus’ time, we derive three key points:
(1) An inheritance is viewed as the father’s property. The father divides his
property among his sons (see Gen 27), including his daughters (see Num 27:8-11;
36:7-9), through a will before his death. (2) He bestows his inheritance on
them as gifts since they do not merit them. (3) The share takes effect only
after his death. Thus, by requesting his share while his father is still alive,
this younger son regards his father as already dead. The words he uses, “…that
should come to me,” indicate that this younger son perceives the share not as a
gift he receives due to his father’s grace but as his entitlement. He gathers
his belongings, leaves his father’s house, and begins living alone in “a
distant country” (v. 13a). Life without God is not successful. This young son
begins suffering after he spends all his belongings in a life of dissipation (vv.
13b-16). The only solution to this problem is to return to God through the
sacrament of penance (vv. 17-20a).
Vv.
20b-24. These verses speak of God’s mercy. God has not forgotten the “lost
sheep of Israel” and all sinners. He waits for them to return to him through
the sacrament of confession. When they return and confess their sins, God forgives
them and organizes a solemn feast in heaven with the angels because sinners,
who were spiritually dead and lost, have been found and come to life again (vv.
21-24).
Vv.
25-32. These verses switch the attention to the older son, who represents the
Jews, particularly the Pharisees and Scribes. The older son is angry with his
father; he refuses to enter the “house,” which represents the land of Israel
because his father has forgiven his younger brother and even organized a solemn
feast for him. This is to explain how the Jews refuse to associate with the
“lost sheep of Israel” and how they reject Gentiles, tax collectors, and prostitutes,
considering them the great sinners. A typical example is the complaint of the Pharisees
and Scribes on why Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them (see vv. 1-3). The
younger son got lost out of Israel, and the older son got lost inside of
Israel. As he did to his younger son, the father extends his mercy to his old
son as well (vv. 31-32). Jesus’ mission consists of reuniting all people of
Israel and extending eternal salvation to the Gentiles and all sinners who
repent.
4.
Synthesis
Through this parable, Jesus responds to the Pharisees and Scribes, who complain why he welcomes and eats with sinners. He tells them that the way the “lost sheep of Israel,” Gentiles, tax collectors, prostitutes, and all sinners, get lost out of Israel due to their sins is the same way the Jews, particularly Pharisees and Scribes, get lost “inside Israel” because they do not want Jesus to welcome sinners. He lets them understand that his mission consists of reuniting all children of Israel and extending eternal salvation to the Gentiles and all sinners who repent.
1. Liturgical
Context
We
are now in the fourth week of Lent. We began this forty-day journey on Ash
Wednesday with a firm decision to repent and observe the three Lenten
disciplines: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. The liturgy of the first Sunday
reminded us that the Lenten Season is a time to resist the temptations of the
devil. The Scripture readings from the second Sunday taught us that the Lenten
Season is our “Journey of Faith” toward Easter and heaven, just as Jesus
journeyed toward Jerusalem after the Transfiguration, as we heard in the
Gospel, and as Abraham did on his way to the Promised Land (first reading). We
learned that our “Journey of Faith” involves crosses that we should not avoid
but carry with courage, listening to the “Chosen Son of God” to ultimately
enjoy the glory of the Transfiguration in Easter and the glory of heaven at the
end of our earthly lives. The liturgy of the third Sunday reminded us that the
Lenten Season is when God offers us a second chance to repent. We are called to
begin our repentance “today and now” because our earthly life is short, and the
delay of the end of the age will not be permanent.
The
scripture readings for this fourth Sunday of Lent teach us that the Lenten
Season is a time for returning to Jesus through the sacrament of confession,
allowing us to become a new creation. The people of Israel celebrated their
renewed relationship with God upon arriving in the Promised Land (First
Reading). Saint Paul states that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, and
reconciliation with God is essential to experience this transformation (Second
Reading). The parable of the lost son (also known as the parable of the
Merciful Father) that we heard in our Gospel illustrates how we are spiritually
dead and lost when we sin and how we come to life when we return to Jesus
through the sacrament of confession.
2. What
the Church Teaches us Today
While
the younger son in our parable symbolizes the “lost sheep of Israel,” including
Gentiles, tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners, he also represents all
Christians today who leave the Church and choose to live a sinful life without
God or Church guidance. Likewise, the older son, who symbolizes the Jews,
particularly the Pharisees and Scribes, today represents all Christians who
remain members of the Church but lack the intention to repent.
Our
Holy Mother Church reminds us that, like the young son in our parable, we sin
whenever we fail to view God as our Father and protector, choosing to guide our
lives according to our own desires rather than in line with God's will.
Likewise, like the older son in our parable, we sin when we do not rejoice when
sinners repent and join our church communities. Sin separates us from God and
leads us to “squander” all God’s graces and live a “life of dissipation.” We
are spiritually dead and lost when we live in a sinful state. Just as the
younger son did, we should come to our senses, repent of our sins, and confess
them to receive God’s forgiveness and reconciliation. Whenever we do so, God
forgives our sins and organizes a solemn feast in heaven with the angels to
celebrate our return to a relationship with him. In our second reading, Saint
Paul also implores us to be reconciled with God through Christ. He says that
when we are in Christ, we are a new creation. In Easter, we will celebrate our
“new creation” in the same way the people of Israel celebrated their new
relationship with God upon arrival in their promised land, as we heard in our
first reading.
May
the liturgy of this Mass enable us to courageously acknowledge our sins and
confess them, thereby obtaining God’s forgiveness and reconciliation as we
prepare to enter our promised land in Easter when we celebrate our new
relationship with God. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church in Jackson, MS
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
[1]
John Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings
for Year C (Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Roads, 2021), 101-102.
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