March 30, 2025
Revised Common Lectionary
Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (9a)
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Grumbling is a favorite pastime for many of us—about the weather, prices, work, politicians, relatives, other drivers, and more, often in the company of like-minded complainers.
Grumbling sets the stage for the story we hear in today’s Gospel reading. The Pharisees and scribes complain about Jesus: “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk 15:2). Shouldn’t a good religious leader be promoting proper observance of ritual and moral norms instead of hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes?
In response to their grumbling, Jesus tells three parables about things lost—a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Today’s reading includes only the third story, by far the longest and most poignant. Often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it might more appropriately be named the Parable of the Compassionate Father, who is actually the central character of the story.
Throughout the parable, this wealthy landowner acts in ways that defy the norms of first-century Jewish society. First, he grants his younger son’s audacious request for an early inheritance—an act that not only jeopardized the family’s financial future but also violated the deeply held belief that land was God’s gift to be treasured and preserved.
The younger son brings shame on his father by leaving the family home and squandering his inheritance in a distant land. Surely, the neighbors shake their heads in disbelief, wondering why the father does nothing to disown him. Yet Jesus portrays the father as indifferent to gossip, steadfastly keeping vigil—waiting, hoping, longing for his son’s return.
When the son finally comes to himself (see Lk 15:17) and heads home with a well-rehearsed speech, the father sees him from a distance and is “filled with compassion” (Lk 15:20). Before the son can finish his confession, the father interrupts—not with recriminations but with a robe and a ring, restoring him fully as a son. And the hastily organized feast, far from a private moment, is an invitation to those gossipy neighbors to come and share his joy.
When the older son hears what has happened while he was working in the fields, he refuses to enter the house, sulking outside while the celebration unfolds. Again, the father acts counter to patriarchal expectations—going out to plead with his son. Even in the face of his elder son’s self-righteous outburst and disrespectful behavior, the father speaks with tenderness: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Lk 15:31). Nothing has been taken from him; rather, something precious has been restored: “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” (Lk 15:32).
Jesus leaves the parable open-ended, offering a challenge not only to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes but to all who see themselves as faithful followers of God’s way. Does welcoming the sinner, the outcast, or the stranger threaten our place in God’s family? Will resentment and narrow-mindedness keep us from sharing in the joy?
Paul’s words in today’s passage from Second Corinthians take the Gospel’s challenge even further. We are not only called to share God’s joy in reclaiming the lost and forgotten but to take an active role in it: ‘In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us’ (2 Cor 5:19-20).
There’s no time for grumbling. The work of reconciliation is urgent. Like the compassionate father, we are called to seek out the lost and welcome them home.
A Hymn for Today: “O Come unto the Lord / 어서 돌아오오”
This Korean poem by Pastor Young-taek Chun originally appeared in 1935 in the magazine The New Man and was set to music in 1943 by Pastor Chai-hoon Park, a prolific composer of hymn tunes. This tune is one of Pastor Park’s best known and loved musical settings. Since the text was translated into English by Steve S. Shim in 1976, it has appeared in many English-language hymnals. The hymn expresses the overflowing love of a God who desires nothing more than the return of those who may have wandered and who extends a heartfelt invitation to come home. You may hear this hymn sung in Korean here.
Refrain:
O come unto the Lord;
O come back to the Lord.
No matter how heavy
and how great your sins may be,
there are no sins that Christ our Savior
cannot bear, cannot accept.
The great depth of Jesus’ loving heart
is far deeper than the seas. Refrain
Our Savior is waiting
your return both night and day.
Jesus anxiously awaits you,
with door kept open wide,
as one who waits throughout the night
for a lost child to come back home. Refrain
No matter how burdened
and how beaten you may be,
the Lord will comfort you greatly
with hands that touch and heal.
Come unto Christ, who loves you so.
Please come home; please come back home. Refrain
Text: Young-taek Chun, 1943; English trans. Steve S. Shim, 1976, alt. © 1976, The Hymnal Society of Korea
Music: Chai-hoon Park, 1943
Image: The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1668-1669, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
“Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection” is written by the Executive Director of The Hymn Society, Rev. Dr. Mike McMahon. For his full bio, click here and scroll down to the “staff” section.
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