In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees are characteristically critical of Jesus’ eating with sinners; it is seen as a scandal. Why? Because for the Pharisees “sinner” is an identity. In their eyes, Jesus is keeping company with the lowest of the low. Jesus responds to this judgment with the famous Prodigal Son Parable to show that while he does not ignore their sinfulness, for him it is not the end of the story. The Father in the story was undoubtedly hurt by his Son’s cruelty and abandonment, and there must have been many questions to be asked and things to be worked out. But we see that the Father is only concerned with bringing his Son back into his house when he returns. We are meant to see that for Jesus, the present moment of conversion is the most important moment. The Pharisees, like the elder brother in the story, cannot see beyond the sin; they are stuck in the past with no look into the present.
We are called to reflect on our own journey of conversion this Lent as we hear this Parable. Perhaps we are struggling with sins that we are too scared to bring to the Lord in confession, or maybe we are still bearing guilt for past sins that we cannot let go of. We cannot change the past, but in accepting this we can learn an important lesson about God: He lives in the present. As Meister Eckhart says, “God is a God of the present. He takes and receives you as He finds you – not what you have been, but what you are now.” Therefore, let us accept our identity not in sinfulness but in Christ, in “a new creation.” (2 Cor 5:17) May we turn to Christ in repentance so that we may be reconciled and accept His mercy which is greater than our worst sin. May we remember that each moment is the moment of conversion, and that God waits patiently to run out and meet us on the road.