We’ve heard many reflections on the Prodigal Son, the humility of the returning son, the generosity of the Father. But we must not forget, the Gospel tells us that “a father had two sons.” We need to also reflect on the actions and words of the elder.
The Elder son is a model child. He has stayed with his father, obeyed all the commands, shown his faithfulness. But the Elder son had one fault: he was unconscious. His unconscious state is obvious in his lack of “need”. He did not seek out the Father because he felt he had no need of him.
Many of us can identify with the Elder son, finding it hard to read of the prodigal son returning after behaving in such a ghastly manner and being treated like a prince. Such treatment seems to trivialize faithfulness, making it seem less noble.
But Jesus tells us, God doesn’t seek faithfulness so much as He seeks reciprocity. Love yearns for a return. But before we can give back, we must realize where we stand; we must realize that no amount of faithfulness will make us righteousness before God. God seeks only a “humble and contrite heart”. The elder son is guilty of the blindness many of us live with, blindness that is debilitating because it insists that we need nothing.
Paul speaks of the “new creation”. Like metanoia, the new creation is not something we can do once and for all. Conversion only sets us on a path; along that path there are many choices. As humans, we do fail, we do need, we do seek. Perhaps the words of the Elder, “and you have not so much as given me a calf to celebrate with my friends” tells us the true problem. The elder son wasn’t looking to be with the father. He looked to celebrate with his friends. He felt no need of his father, because he had obeyed all the commands. Had he sought to be with the father, seeking to know him better, he too could have joined in the celebration, he too could have come “back to life.”