Scripture Reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

“Today, may the voice of the father in the parable remind us of God’s abundant generosity in inviting us to be caregivers of the Earth. May we remember that the gifts of Earth belong equally to all persons, and that all created life is sacred.”

“Not every mother gets to be reconciled with her wayward children in this life, but if she keeps praying for them trusting that God will comfort those who mourn, then it will be a story with a happy ending when they are reunited together in the life to come”

“Sometimes I wonder if our U.S. culture is “prodigal.” When will we see our country’s excesses compared to most of the rest of the world? When will we finally feel the “pinch” and see that we are squandering what has so generously been given to us?”

“Mercy is the means by which the goodness and wisdom of God establish justice and wipe out evil and injustice”

“Putting the focus on God will allow us to discover the truth about ourselves and at the same time not to think that is the whole picture, the end of the story. God makes change possible, more than we sometimes dare to hope for.”

“All of our actions should have an implicit address to God. If not, God calls us to change. If done as a burden, then God calls us to change. If done in superiority to others, he calls us to change.”

“Jesus goes behind the question of deserving to the fact of belonging. It is God who decides that we belong.”

"Friends, our Gospel reading for this Fourth Sunday of Lent is one of the greatest stories ever told: the parable of the prodigal son. In a way, this parable about..."

“as individuals and as a church we need to get in touch within ourselves of a God who is more merciful, more healing and more loving than we can ever understand.”

"One the greatest Protestant theologians of the twentieth century, Paul Tillich, made a distinction between heteronomy (law from another), autonomy (law from oneself), and what he called “theonomy” (law of..."

"Today we hear the greatest of Jesus’ parable, indeed what many people call the greatest story ever told: the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Even after hearing it 1,000 times,..."

"In this week’s Gospel reading we hear the story of the Prodigal Son. Here, Christ provides a reflection on the nature of love and our relationship with God. God gives..."

"The parable of the prodigal son is a portrait of God’s gracious love and two negative responses to that love. Both sons, in their own ways, indicate the disposition of..."

"Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most memorable, carefully crafted, and inspiring stories ever told. In some ways, the whole of the Christian “thing” is summed..."

“Living in the “new creation” of Christ means operating by the Father’s “logic” of love, forgiveness, and familial communion, both in our relationship to God and our relationships with others”

“God truly sees the big picture, and while He cannot make our choices for us, He does bring good in any situation and is there waiting, prompting, loving. He provides the tools and the mercy and the grace for us to come back to Him, no matter our circumstances, no matter what we have done.”

“The good news that this parable brings to us is the invitation to expand our vision of family to that of a global community; being members of the Earth community makes us accountable to this larger reality”

“am I doing things in my life with a full heart and for the simple reason of love towards one another and God? Or do I have selfish desires through it all, expecting something in return?”

“the Gospel message is that with God’s help anyone can change. And the power of the Gospel lies in the power of love.”

“Just as we cannot be made in the image and likeness of God if we withdraw ourselves from God’s creative hands, so neither can God pour out his bounty on us if we refashion God in our own ungenerous image.”