Re the story of the Prodigal Soon, here's a short chapter from my book, "The Ladder of the Beatitudes"

Re the story of the Prodigal Soon, here's a short chapter from my book, "The Ladder of the Beatitudes":

. . . for they shall be comforted.

The key word in Greek, panakalein, means not only to be comforted or consoled but finding an ally or helper. It also signifies being invited to a banquet. Panakalein has still another meaning in classical Greek: to exhort or encourage. In the plays of Aeschylus, it was used to describe troops cheering each other on as they went into battle. For Aristotle, the verb meant exciting and energizing the mind. In this beatitude, the word suggests the very opposite of a grudging pardon or conditional forgiveness.

This is forgiveness such as the father of the Prodigal Son showered on the son whom he feared he had lost forever. Having demanded and been given his share of the inheritance, the boy had left home and lived a wasteful life until he was reduced to attending pigs, as low a calling as a pork-abhorring Jew could imagine. Finally, finding himself living with hogs and sharing their food, he decided to go home, not expecting pardon — he realized he had forfeited all filial rights — but hoping his father might allow him to live among the servants. The father saw his repentant son in the distance, ran out to meet him, embraced him, kissed him, welcomed him home, replaced his rags with fine clothing, gave him a golden ring, and had a feast prepared, “for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:24)

It’s a complex drama. The boy had squandered a large part of the family fortune and, in a society in which the family unit was far stronger than it tends to be in our own, brought shame not only on himself but on his household. He had left behind a desolate father and, if she was still alive, a grieving mother, as well as a brother who may well be glad the other has left. One can hear the boy muttering “to hell with them all” as he slams the door on his way to “freedom.” There was nothing the parents could do but pray for him.

Jesus gives few details about the son who fled from his home except the say he had lived a dissolute life, wasting his inheritance. One can take the words literally and think of people we know who have done more or less the same thing. Better yet, we can find ourselves in the Prodigal Son even if we haven’t yet landed in the gutter. In fact so much that we do is wasteful — time wasted, talents wasted, opportunities wasted.

We can also glimpse ourselves in the “good” brother who never left home and has lived by the rules. Far from sharing in his father’s joy, he is furious, wishing his father would punish rather than welcome and forgive.

“Home” in the parable is a metaphor for the kingdom of God, which we are meant to receive but have fled from in every possible way, while the parable’s father represents God the Father, who gives each of us various gifts — our “inheritance” — aware that he will lose us from time to time but is ready to welcome us the moment we turn back toward our home, the kingdom of God. “Repentance” translates the Greek word metanoia, literally turning around, doing an about-face. God’s welcome is the consolation we receive by embracing repentance. The consolation given is like a banquet of joy: the discovery that the smallest repentant gesture on my part can open a flood of divine mercy.