Today is the Fourth Sunday in Lent, the Laetare Sunday. It is the middle Sunday in Lent. There is reason to rejoice because we have travelled thus far, half way to the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. After all, the Church is not too conservative and always sets her face like a flint (Isaiah 50:7).
The gospel reading today is the famous Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. In his homily, Fr. Milanese focussed on the three stages of life of the younger son who symbolizes explicit sinners. I call him explicit because the elder son represents the self-righteous, thus implicit, sinners. Alas! Most people want to appear good in front of the others. Some even go so far as to finger the deficiency of the others in order to show off their righteousness. The Pharisees portrayed in the gospels are prime examples. They are represented by the elder son in parable.
and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them (Luke 15:12).
When people want to take control over their own life, they play God. This is the first stage of their downfall. They soon mess up their life. Recognizing their difficulties, they come to their senses, Still, they rely on their own efforts to regain their ground. This is the second stage.
But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."' (Luke 15:17-19)
Treat me as one of your hired servants. They still believe that they can still rely on their own efforts to regain heaven.
In fact, had the father not gone out to protect him, to escort him, the younger son would never have reached the house. He would have been driven off by the villagers.
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him(Luke 15:20).
Had Jesus not come down from heaven to die for us, we would not have had any chance of returning to God. This is the final stage explained by Fr. Milanese.
and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them (Luke 15:12).
When people want to take control over their own life, they play God. This is the first stage of their downfall. They soon mess up their life. Recognizing their difficulties, they come to their senses, Still, they rely on their own efforts to regain their ground. This is the second stage.
But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."' (Luke 15:17-19)
Treat me as one of your hired servants. They still believe that they can still rely on their own efforts to regain heaven.
In fact, had the father not gone out to protect him, to escort him, the younger son would never have reached the house. He would have been driven off by the villagers.
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him(Luke 15:20).
Had Jesus not come down from heaven to die for us, we would not have had any chance of returning to God. This is the final stage explained by Fr. Milanese.
Actually, there are two 'minor' parables preceding this famous parable. Today, in the rehearsal time, the choir members studied them.
The first one is the Parable of the Lost Sheep. In reading Jesus' parable, we should keep in mind to look for unexpected elements in the parable. Jesus made use of these elements to stimulate our thoughts.
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? (Luke 15:4)
How could the shepherd leave 99 sheep in the wilderness to seek for the lost one? It just doesn't make sense at all. We usually iron out this illogical element by hypothesizing the existence of other shepherds. But Jesus did not say that the man left the 99 sheep to the care of other shepherds. Jesus wanted to make a point.
In fact, which one of the one hundred sheep is lost? Anyone among them. Which one of us is a sinner? All of us. Most of us want to appear good and remain implicit sinners. Jesus did not care. As long as someone goes astray, Jesus would go out to bring him back. The focus is the joy and satisfaction God finds when a sinner repents.
The second minor parable is the Parable of the Lost Coin. If the first one is masculine, the second one is feminine. If the first one is outdoor, the second one is indoor. It takes place inside the house, perhaps the Church.
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? (Luke 15:8)
Silver coin is not a good translation. In Greek, it is a drachma δραχμὴν, the second lowest in denomination, weighing 4.25 gram of silver.
This second parable highlights the troubles it takes the woman to find the lost coin. Wulstan remarked that the cost of lighting a lamp and sweeping the house might outweigh the value of a drachma! God takes all the troubles to save a sinner. He saves us at all costs! Love does not count costs.
The first one is the Parable of the Lost Sheep. In reading Jesus' parable, we should keep in mind to look for unexpected elements in the parable. Jesus made use of these elements to stimulate our thoughts.
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? (Luke 15:4)
How could the shepherd leave 99 sheep in the wilderness to seek for the lost one? It just doesn't make sense at all. We usually iron out this illogical element by hypothesizing the existence of other shepherds. But Jesus did not say that the man left the 99 sheep to the care of other shepherds. Jesus wanted to make a point.
In fact, which one of the one hundred sheep is lost? Anyone among them. Which one of us is a sinner? All of us. Most of us want to appear good and remain implicit sinners. Jesus did not care. As long as someone goes astray, Jesus would go out to bring him back. The focus is the joy and satisfaction God finds when a sinner repents.
The second minor parable is the Parable of the Lost Coin. If the first one is masculine, the second one is feminine. If the first one is outdoor, the second one is indoor. It takes place inside the house, perhaps the Church.
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? (Luke 15:8)
Silver coin is not a good translation. In Greek, it is a drachma δραχμὴν, the second lowest in denomination, weighing 4.25 gram of silver.
This second parable highlights the troubles it takes the woman to find the lost coin. Wulstan remarked that the cost of lighting a lamp and sweeping the house might outweigh the value of a drachma! God takes all the troubles to save a sinner. He saves us at all costs! Love does not count costs.
As for the question of translation, the Chinese one is problematic for it introduces an extra element not warranted in the Greek original.
συγχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὸ πρόβατόν μου τὸ ἀπολωλός.
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost (Luke 15:6b)
你們與我同樂罷！因為我那隻遺失了的羊，又找到了。
συγχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὴν δραχμὴν ἣν ἀπώλεσα.
Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost (Luke 15:9b)
你們與我同樂罷！因為我失去的那個『達瑪』又找到了。
The Chinese word in red means "again". What spirituality does the Chinese translation want to inspire?
συγχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὸ πρόβατόν μου τὸ ἀπολωλός.
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost (Luke 15:6b)
你們與我同樂罷！因為我那隻遺失了的羊，又找到了。
συγχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὴν δραχμὴν ἣν ἀπώλεσα.
Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost (Luke 15:9b)
你們與我同樂罷！因為我失去的那個『達瑪』又找到了。
The Chinese word in red means "again". What spirituality does the Chinese translation want to inspire?
Dear Lord, we are too overconfident in ourselves so much so that we are not able to see the reality. When shall we come to our senses? We cry to You. Without Your loving care, we are lost, forever. Come to our aid and carry us home. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment