The Prodigal Son
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
WIKIBLITZ - The Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son is the third and final parable of a cycle on redemption, following the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the Lost Coin. In Revised Common Lectionary and Roman Rite Catholic Lectionary, this parable is read on the fourth Sunday of Lent (in Year C);[3] in the latter it is also included in the long form of the Gospel on the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year C, along with the preceding two parables of the cycle.[4] In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is read on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son.
The opening, "A man had two sons" is a storyteller's trope and would immediately bring to mind Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, and Jacob and Esau. Jesus then confounds the listeners' expectations when the younger son is shown to be foolish.
While a number of commentators see the request of the younger son for his share of the inheritance as "brash, even insolent"[7] and "tantamount to wishing that the father was dead,"[7] Jewish legal scholar Bernard Jackson says "Jewish sources give no support to [the idea] that the prodigal, in seeking the advance, wishes his father dead."[6]
The young man's actions do not lead to success; he squanders his inheritance and he eventually becomes an indentured servant, with the degrading job of looking after pigs, and even envying them for the carob pods they eat.[7] This recalls Proverbs 29:3: "Whoever loves wisdom gives joy to his father, but whoever consorts with harlots squanders his wealth."[v]
Upon his return, his father treats the young man with a generosity far more than he has a right to expect.[7] He is given the best robe, a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet.[vi] Jewish philosopher Philo observes:[6]
Parents often do not lose thought for their wastrel (asoton) children.… In the same way, God too…takes thought also for those who live a misspent life, thereby giving them time for reformation, and also keeping within the bounds His own merciful nature.
The Pesikta Rabbati has a similar story:[6]
A king had a son who had gone astray from his father on a journey of a hundred days. His friends said to him, 'Return to your father.' He said, 'I cannot.' Then his father sent word, 'Return as far as you can, and I will come the rest of the way to you.' So God says, 'Return to me, and I will return to you.'
The older son, in contrast, seems to think in terms of "law, merit, and reward,"[7] rather than "love and graciousness."[7] He may represent the Pharisees who were criticizing Jesus.[7]
The last few verses of the parable summarize the tale in accordance with the Jewish teaching of the two ways of acting: the way of life (obedience) and the way of death (sin).[8] God, according to Judaism, rejoices over and grants more graces to repentant sinners than righteous souls who don't need repentance.[9]
Following the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin, this is the last of three parables about loss and redemption that Jesus tells after the Pharisees and religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners."[10] The father's joy described in the parable reflects divine love:[10] the "boundless mercy of God,"[11] and "God's refusal to limit the measure of his grace."[10]
Is Jonah the earlier telling of the Prodigal Son?
I find it interesting that Jonah an the Prodigal Son follow the same story arc and both are in the same context. In this I have decided to analyze both stories and compare and show the very substantial similarities.
Both stories are told from the context of Jews thinking God only cares for them. — In the Prodigal Son this is shown before the story is told in the beginning of the chapter “2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:” Luke 15. In Jonah this is revealed toward the end of the story in that God tells Jonah “11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left — and much livestock?” Jonah 4. In both stories the theme is God trying to show those who follow them that God loves sinners and those who are not necessarily in the church flock as well.
Both Stories have a trusted son running away from their father. The prodigal son explains this expressly with the son asking for his inheritance immediately and then leaving for a far away land. Jonah a prophet of God buys a ticket, in my opinion a one way ticket, to a far away land in the opposite direction of Nineveh. According to the culture both are leaving the district of their God to be free of His rules, guidance and protection. In both stories the results of these actions are detrimental. Jonah feels the effects immediately in that He cannot run from God and because of this he is left to rely on God when thrown into the sea. The Prodigal son feels the effects after he has no money and is left to fend for himself in the foreign land, where he is left as a slave with no food.
Both protagonists find themselves in situations they cannot get out of without their Father. The Prodigal Son heads home to ask to be a servant so he can have a better life. Jonah prays when he is inside a whale with no hope of life without God hearing his prayer.
Both stories are about forgiveness and redemption with someone missing that wonderful gift. In the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:27 we find the older brother on the outside of the party. He is on the outside not because he is not invited but because he is upset about the reason the party is taking place. Jonah leaves Nineveh hoping to see its destruction that does not take place.
Both stories end with the father talking to the son with the audience not knowing their decision. Does Jonah ask for repentance and enter the city? Does the older brother find joy in his brother’s return and enter the party? We do not know this because this is not what the authors need us to know. It is as if Jesus is asking the questions in the story directly to us for us to decide how we are going to react to the loving and accepting nature of God.
Now is the Prodigal Son a pure retelling of the story of Jonah? I do not think so but the similarities are too obvious to ignore. So what do you think? Am I right?