M.J. Thomas, S.J.

Jesus’ best known and the most powerful parable is the parable of the prodigal son. Attention is paid to the character of the father and the prodigal son but the elder son is ignored as faultless. But he has serious problems and is in need of conversion (Lk. 15:25-30).

In his own sight he is fine: ‘I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders.’ In his book, ‘The Return of the Prodigal,’ Henri Nouwen points out that the elder son considered himself a slave, not a son. As a slave he knows that he has no freedom to leave the house. He has only duties, no rights. He is bound to do what he is told to do. In him there is no joy, no free commitment nor a sense of belongingness. He only appears to be virtuous. Nouwen sees no trace of goodness in him. He is a white washed sepulchre, a perfect Pharisee. His inner dissatisfaction comes out in the form of complaints that he was not honoured and rewarded. He is jealous of his younger and wasteful brother.

It is the unconditional forgiveness and the great joy of the father in welcoming back the prodigal and restoring all his privileges as a son that brings out the stored up resentment in the elder son. There is no trace of joy in him at the return of his brother. Not even some curiosity to know how he was. Worse, without any proof, he accuses him of living with prostitutes. To say this, according to Nouwen, he must be morbidly preoccupied with immoral sex even though he was not guilty of sexual immorality, perhaps out of fear or lack of opportunity.

Worse is his attitude to his father. He has no respect nor filial obedience. In the oriental culture of the time the father was the supreme authority and was considered always right. But the elder son feels that the father is absolutely wrong in celebrating the return of the prodigal. He is so angry with the father that he refuses to enter the house and join the celebrations. He refers to his brother as ‘this son of yours,’ disowning him as illegitimate, implying that his father is an adulterer, an unpardonable insinuation which the father very graciously ignores.

Nouwen says that the elder son is a typical Pharisee- completely self-justified and judgemental of others. He is all right, others are wrong. His condition is very bad because he is totally blind to his faults. He sees no need for conversion. The same is, sadly, true of many of us who keep all the rules and traditions and rituals and perform many devotional practices; we who are satisfied with ourselves and blame others who are different from us! We should recognize the pharisee in us. Jesus called the Pharisees of His time, and calls us the Pharisees to conversion. A big challenge! Keen awareness of one’s sinfulness is necessary for conversion and it is the sure sign of holiness.

The main character of the parable is the compassionate father, who loves the prodigal and the pretender, Jesus’ best image for God. The main message is: ‘you (pharisee) be as compassionate as the Father (Lk. 6:36), (as I am).’ Or as Paul would say ‘be imitators of God’ (Eph. 5:1). Each time we do it we find our brothers and sisters and get a glimpse of God. To be compassionate is to be like God, and to experience God (1 Jn. 4:7). This is Christian life, imitation of Jesus.