"Its better if my son dies," said a parent. He thinks that his wayward son is a burden to the family and society.
Even brothers and sisters also talk among themselves: "it's better if he/she dies. Why should he/she live in this manner?" Why do they say this? He or she is living in the same way as the prodigal son (Bible parable) lived in the pigsty. They don't want to see him or her living in such miserable and sinful environment.
Yes, we human beings talk in this manner, but our God doesn't say anything like this about a person. God doesn't want a person to be destroyed or trapped by Devil. God waits. He has lot of patience. He's waiting for the lost son to come back. He led a sinful life, but God waits patiently to see the return of the prodigal son. True, he left my house, but God is waiting for his return.
People who keep away from God are the ones who lost their wisdom. God is eager that people should get the wisdom back. These thoughts are from Rev Fr Mathew Peruvelil.
God loves everyone. When we come to the parable of the prodigal son, we know that the prodigal son did a stupid thing. He took his share of wealth from the father and left for a distant place. He secured his entire share from the father and there was nothing left out. When we read the Bible we know that what he did was a folly. The prodigal son thought he can live a good life without any control. There was no one to caution or warn him against doing anything wrong or sinful. He destroyed his wealth slowly and steadily. When he was losing wealth, he didn't care to think how he would survive when he becomes totally bankrupt.
This prodigal son left a prosperous house -- a house which did not face shortage. He slowly slipped into a troubled state of living once he stepped out of his father's prosperous house. He didn't know what was happening to him. Actually this prodigal son was throwing away all the good things that God had given him. He faced only failures, unhappiness and losses when he left his father's house. Finally he lost everything that his father had given as his share. Then there was a big famine in the region and he found it tough to survive the famine. He approached another man for a job and he was given the task of looking after pigs. The prodigal son wasn't told or given any assurance about the food. Hungry without any food, he desired to have the food which was given to pigs. His impecunious state then reached its peak.
Then he told himself: I will go back to may father's house. His father's servants were living a good life with good food. The waste in his father's house is thrown into the pigsty. There's no shortage in his father's house.
The wisdom about going back to his father's dawned on him quite late. When he fell into bad times, the Holy Spirit gave him the idea of going back to his father's house. When we sin and turn away from God, we leave all the blessings and grace showered by God in our lives like the way the prodigal son left his father's prosperous house and eventually lost everything. "When we wallow in sin, we plunge to new depths of sorrows, unhappiness and a miserable life. This is the state of a man who sins. When he sins, he loses all blessings, grace and all the fruits of Holy Spirit and become like the prodigal son. When he sins again and again, his sinful life leads him to new lows of misery and spiritual poverty," Rev Fr Peruvelil said in a television talk.
When we sin again and again, the Spirit of God may give us a thought: like the prodigal son got the late wisdom, in our father's house everyone is prosperous and happy. There's no shortage there. God is calling out to come back to His house and regain the blessings that we lost by sinning repeatedly. "The house that I left, in my father's house, there's blessing and grace. That's a life of happiness and without any complaints. A life of prosperity. I had left that prosperous house once. I got stuck like a lamb in the thorns. The thorn of sins gives me wounds. Many of these wounds become bigger and bigger and it becomes more painful," he said.
"We must go back to our father's house. This return to the father's house is very important. After leading a sinful life, we must think about our father's good house... that I was born in a good house... I want to return to my father's house. It was a bad decision to leave my father's house. I lost all the blessings and grace," he said. When we return, we might think that we are not eligible to live in that house and we should ask our father to allow us as one of the servants. I have no right to go back and live in the house as I had left that home once with my share. I managed to lose everything once and I have no right to ask for more. My father never abuses or mistreats any servant in his house. I request my father to admit me as one of the servants.
Read Sirach 6:2-4: "Do not let your passions carry you away; this can tear your soul to pieces like a bull. You will be left like a dead tree without any leaves or fruit. Evil desire will destroy you and make you a joke to your enemies." Yes, passions can leave you like a dead tree without any fruit or leaves. This is what happened to the prodigal son. This will happen to us when we get into a sinful life. Passions can tear your soul to pieces like a bull. When we violate the commandments of our Lord and sin against Him, our soul is being torn to pieces like a bull. So we should remain in the father's house. Once you go out of the father's house, the bull will tear your soul to pieces.
Look at Sirach 17:24-26: "Yet to those who repent he grants a return, and he encourages those whose endurance is failing. Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offenses. Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate abominations intensely." We must return to our father's house. We can lead a prosperous and happy life in our father's house. When we confess our sins and reconcile with the father, he will welcome us with open arms. In fact, God is calling us back. He loves us. "He's waiting for us to return. As we read in the parable of prodigal son, the father will run to us and embrace us. He will ask his servants to give us food, ring, clothes and a good bath. He will bring us to the original position -- the position before we left him, abandoned him. Actually we go back to the father seeking a servant's job, but the father gives more. He will reinstate us to the original position. He will raise us back to the position of his son," Rev Fr Peruvelil said.
This happened because the father is a loving person. It's not because the prodigal son deserved or wanted it.
Isaiah 1:18 says: "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
Our life was very bad. We led a sinful life. Come back to Lord. Then Lord will make you as white as snow though your sins are like scarlet. Are you in a mess created by sins? Don't worry. We will settle the matter, says the Lord.
Get rid of your old lifestyle, a life covered by sins. Get out of pigsty. When Israelites went wayward, God still loved them. God doesn't want to lose a single person. He doesn't forsake any sinner. God never wants anyone to go away from Him. There will be big happiness in heaven when a sinner repents.
Even brothers and sisters also talk among themselves: "it's better if he/she dies. Why should he/she live in this manner?" Why do they say this? He or she is living in the same way as the prodigal son (Bible parable) lived in the pigsty. They don't want to see him or her living in such miserable and sinful environment.
Yes, we human beings talk in this manner, but our God doesn't say anything like this about a person. God doesn't want a person to be destroyed or trapped by Devil. God waits. He has lot of patience. He's waiting for the lost son to come back. He led a sinful life, but God waits patiently to see the return of the prodigal son. True, he left my house, but God is waiting for his return.
People who keep away from God are the ones who lost their wisdom. God is eager that people should get the wisdom back. These thoughts are from Rev Fr Mathew Peruvelil.
God loves everyone. When we come to the parable of the prodigal son, we know that the prodigal son did a stupid thing. He took his share of wealth from the father and left for a distant place. He secured his entire share from the father and there was nothing left out. When we read the Bible we know that what he did was a folly. The prodigal son thought he can live a good life without any control. There was no one to caution or warn him against doing anything wrong or sinful. He destroyed his wealth slowly and steadily. When he was losing wealth, he didn't care to think how he would survive when he becomes totally bankrupt.
This prodigal son left a prosperous house -- a house which did not face shortage. He slowly slipped into a troubled state of living once he stepped out of his father's prosperous house. He didn't know what was happening to him. Actually this prodigal son was throwing away all the good things that God had given him. He faced only failures, unhappiness and losses when he left his father's house. Finally he lost everything that his father had given as his share. Then there was a big famine in the region and he found it tough to survive the famine. He approached another man for a job and he was given the task of looking after pigs. The prodigal son wasn't told or given any assurance about the food. Hungry without any food, he desired to have the food which was given to pigs. His impecunious state then reached its peak.
Then he told himself: I will go back to may father's house. His father's servants were living a good life with good food. The waste in his father's house is thrown into the pigsty. There's no shortage in his father's house.
The wisdom about going back to his father's dawned on him quite late. When he fell into bad times, the Holy Spirit gave him the idea of going back to his father's house. When we sin and turn away from God, we leave all the blessings and grace showered by God in our lives like the way the prodigal son left his father's prosperous house and eventually lost everything. "When we wallow in sin, we plunge to new depths of sorrows, unhappiness and a miserable life. This is the state of a man who sins. When he sins, he loses all blessings, grace and all the fruits of Holy Spirit and become like the prodigal son. When he sins again and again, his sinful life leads him to new lows of misery and spiritual poverty," Rev Fr Peruvelil said in a television talk.
When we sin again and again, the Spirit of God may give us a thought: like the prodigal son got the late wisdom, in our father's house everyone is prosperous and happy. There's no shortage there. God is calling out to come back to His house and regain the blessings that we lost by sinning repeatedly. "The house that I left, in my father's house, there's blessing and grace. That's a life of happiness and without any complaints. A life of prosperity. I had left that prosperous house once. I got stuck like a lamb in the thorns. The thorn of sins gives me wounds. Many of these wounds become bigger and bigger and it becomes more painful," he said.
"We must go back to our father's house. This return to the father's house is very important. After leading a sinful life, we must think about our father's good house... that I was born in a good house... I want to return to my father's house. It was a bad decision to leave my father's house. I lost all the blessings and grace," he said. When we return, we might think that we are not eligible to live in that house and we should ask our father to allow us as one of the servants. I have no right to go back and live in the house as I had left that home once with my share. I managed to lose everything once and I have no right to ask for more. My father never abuses or mistreats any servant in his house. I request my father to admit me as one of the servants.
Read Sirach 6:2-4: "Do not let your passions carry you away; this can tear your soul to pieces like a bull. You will be left like a dead tree without any leaves or fruit. Evil desire will destroy you and make you a joke to your enemies." Yes, passions can leave you like a dead tree without any fruit or leaves. This is what happened to the prodigal son. This will happen to us when we get into a sinful life. Passions can tear your soul to pieces like a bull. When we violate the commandments of our Lord and sin against Him, our soul is being torn to pieces like a bull. So we should remain in the father's house. Once you go out of the father's house, the bull will tear your soul to pieces.
Look at Sirach 17:24-26: "Yet to those who repent he grants a return, and he encourages those whose endurance is failing. Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offenses. Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate abominations intensely." We must return to our father's house. We can lead a prosperous and happy life in our father's house. When we confess our sins and reconcile with the father, he will welcome us with open arms. In fact, God is calling us back. He loves us. "He's waiting for us to return. As we read in the parable of prodigal son, the father will run to us and embrace us. He will ask his servants to give us food, ring, clothes and a good bath. He will bring us to the original position -- the position before we left him, abandoned him. Actually we go back to the father seeking a servant's job, but the father gives more. He will reinstate us to the original position. He will raise us back to the position of his son," Rev Fr Peruvelil said.
This happened because the father is a loving person. It's not because the prodigal son deserved or wanted it.
Isaiah 1:18 says: "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
Our life was very bad. We led a sinful life. Come back to Lord. Then Lord will make you as white as snow though your sins are like scarlet. Are you in a mess created by sins? Don't worry. We will settle the matter, says the Lord.
Get rid of your old lifestyle, a life covered by sins. Get out of pigsty. When Israelites went wayward, God still loved them. God doesn't want to lose a single person. He doesn't forsake any sinner. God never wants anyone to go away from Him. There will be big happiness in heaven when a sinner repents.
