From the Gospel: Souls lost and found

Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle C. Today’s readings: Joshua 5:9a, 10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Mgr Bienvenu Myriel, the bishop of Digne in Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables (1862), must surely rank as one of the most luminous religious figures to ever feature in a work of fiction. When the man he had welcomed with kindness and hospitality steals his silverware and gets caught, the bishop claims he gave it to him as a gift, and even adds the valuable silver candlesticks.

Bishop Myriel’s parting words to the man make it clear that he views the silver not as a loss, but an investment: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”

This unexpected act of kindness and forgiveness shocks Valjean and becomes the turning point in his life. The bishop’s mercy inspires him to change his ways and live a life of goodness, making bishop Myriel the moral spark that sets Valjean’s redemption in motion.

Yet if this episode stands out as a shining example of mercy and forgiveness, how much greater is the parable that inspired it? Surely we are all familiar with that masterpiece of storytelling commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son. The son of a wealthy family turns his back on his father, insolently requesting his share of the inheritance which he promptly squanders on dissolute living in a distant country. His wake-up call comes when his destitution coincides with a famine, leading him to end up with an empty belly and working as a swineherd. The consequences of his selfishness could hardly be starker.

It is the boy’s journey home – and his father’s remarkable welcome – that we are called to contemplate

I must admit that I was tempted to entitle today’s commentary “Serving swine”, referring to this detail that Jesus includes in the parable to underscore the magnitude of his protagonist’s fall from his original dignity. Yet however relevant the details of the young man’s downfall may be, they do not constitute the central message of the Lord’s teaching today. Rather, it is the boy’s journey home – and his father’s remarkable welcome – that we are called to contemplate.

As a priest, I am especially touched by the confession that our protagonist rehearses on his way home: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”

And yet when the time comes, the son’s little speech is cut short. So overwhelmed with joy is the father that he interrupts the boy midway through his confession, ordering his servants to clothe him in the unmistakable signs of his restored dignity: fine robe, ring and sandals. He also orders a feast, to celebrate the fact that “this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found”. Needless to say, the young man is not relegated to the status of a hired worker!

This Jubilee year, let us allow this gospel to remind us of the joy and beauty of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Pope Francis reminds us that confessors must be authentic signs of the Father’s mercy since they “participate in the very mission of Jesus to be a concrete sign of the constancy of divine love that pardons and saves”.

Clearly, this places a grave obligation on priests: “to accept the faithful as the father in the parable of the prodigal son: a father who runs out to meet his son despite the fact that he has squandered away his inheritance.” (Misericordiae Vultus, 2015)

May our Church ever be blessed with many real-life monseigneur Myriels!

bgatt@maltachurchtribunals.org