SCRIPTURE FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
                                   4th Sunday of Lent

FIRST READING: JOSHUA 5:9a,1-12
     After forty years of wandering in the desert, God's chosen people are finally led into the promised land.  Joshua, their leader, who has taken over after Moses died, erects an altar of stone.  It is at this place near the town of Jericho that they celebrate the festival of Passover.  God speaks to Joshua and tells him that their days of slavery are over.  They have been set free.  For forty years, God has provided manna as nourishment during their exodus, but now they were at home on their own land.  From this day forth, they would produce their own food, from the land that was given to them.
     As in today's Gospel, this is a story of a homecoming.  While the people were in slavery in Egypt, they felt separated from Yahweh.  Now, safely in their own land, they feel reconciled with their God.  After many years of journeying, the Israelites have now reached the promised land.  The promised land toward which we have been journeying is, of course, heaven.  Lent is a good time for us to look around and see how our journey as Christians is progressing.  Are we currently 'going through the desert,' feeling discouraged or burdened by what life hands us on this journey of faith?  Take courage.  Winston Churchill once said, "If you're going through hell, keep on going..."  God promises to stay with us until we, too, are safely home.  So let us rejoice as we approach the coming Feast of the Resurrection!

SECOND READING: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21
     In this reading from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, we are given the iamge of Jesus Christ as the one who has reconciled us, who has brought us God's message of forgiveness and redemption.  God continues to care and forgive.  For Paul, the death and resurrection of Jesus brought about a new relationship with God for those who accept Christ's redemptive act.  If you believe that Christ is the Son of God and our Redeemer, then you become one with Christ; you are in Christ.  He has saved us from our sins and we await our eternal destiny in heaven.
     While we await our destiny, we have to share this gift of reconciliation with others.  Just as we have been set free from the burden of sin, we must tell others of this marvelous gift, so that they, too, can experience conversion and healing.  "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  So we are ambassadors for Christ...(v. 19,20)"  in the Gospels, we often hear Christ proclaim: "Love one another; forgive one another."  To be true ambassadors for Christ, we must live that proclamation by not holding grudges, by being more patient, by trusting that the Holy Spirit will assist us in this difficult task of loving others.  Heaven is our home, and we cannot let any negative attitudes deprive us, or others, of our everlasting reward.

GOSPEL: LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32
     The wonderful story we hear in today's Gospel is often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  To call it by the title is misleading.  It is the story of the loving and compassionate father.  The father is a symbol for God. In all of Scripture, one would be hard-pressed to find a more striking account of God's compassion, forgiveness and love.  The father is the centerpiece of the story. 
     According to th Parable, a man had two sons.  The younger son wants his share of his father's estate right away.  His father gives him everything that he asks.  This son then goes off to a distant country and squanders his money in illicit affairs.  He ends up a pauper.  He decides to return home, hoping that his father will take him in as a servant, as he realizes that he has lost all rights to sonship.  But upon seeing his son, the father welcomes him back with love and forgiveness, rejoices that his lost son has returned home and plans a celebration.  The elder son reacts with anger and jealousy.  He saw himself as righteous, hard-working and obedient.  He refuses to take part in any celebration.
     Jesus told this story because the Pharisees objected to Jesus' ministry to the sinners and tax collectors.  This story brings out the infinite mercy of God our Father.  He is the father of saint and sinner alike.  The young man in the parable left his father on his own accord; at no time did the father ever abandon his son.  The father's love for his son was always big enough to 'forgive and forget.'  The Pharisees refused to see theselves as the unforgiving older brother, and they failed to see GOd as the loving father, and the tax collectors and sinners as the repentant son.
     God is like the father who opens his heart to forgive his reckless son, and he asks us to open our hearts to forgive and ask forgiveness of one another.  As we continue on our Lenten journey, let us pray for the strength to let go of resentments and jealousies that prevent us from loving our brothers and sisters, whether they be blood relatives, acquaintances, or the needy who come into our lives, such as the homeless, the immigrants, the imprisoned.  There is no room for the self-righteous at the banquet of the Lord.