Reconciliation

This time of year, my thoughts turn to baseball, and I have fond memories not only of playing catch in the backyard with my dad but also doing the same with my kids. When they were very young, I made sure to toss a light ball very softly to them so they could easily catch it and learn not to be afraid of it, just like I was taught. As they progressed, I could make things a bit more challenging. For me, I remember getting to the point where I would ask my dad to make it difficult and make me run to catch the ball. I still enjoy playing catch with my college baseball player son when he is home. I don’t want him to make me run. I simply enjoy gentle tosses back and forth, almost like the end of the movie Field of Dreams. 

The Scripture readings for the 4th Sunday in Lent focus on reconciliation between us and God, as well as between us and others. What we hear about our Lord is that He delights in being in a loving, living personal relationship with us. Sometimes He must reprimand us to get us to see our waywardness when we take that relationship for granted or want something else. Sometimes that reprimand involves letting us go our own way so we can learn from the mistakes associated with walking away from our Lord. Always the reconciliation coming from repentance and forgiveness results in great joy for our heavenly Father and for us as seen in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. 

But you may recall in that parable the older brother did not celebrate with his father when the younger son returned home. He harbored a grudge. When we do that, it leads to increased anger which leads us not only down a path away from the person we’re mad at, but also away from God. We act like someone playing catch who has a scowl on his or her face and is whipping the ball at a person as hard as he or she can, hoping it hits him or her instead of giving him or her the opportunity to catch it and enjoy the time together. 

It is true that even if we wish to be reconciled with someone who is upset with us the person may not want to be reconciled with us. That’s how it is for our Lord Jesus too. So what do we do? Give up? What we see throughout the Scriptures is a God who is remarkably patient, wanting us to be in that loving relationship with Him, like the father of the Prodigal waiting for him to come home. And so He sent our Older Brother who in love sought us out so we could be brought home. 

Which older sibling would you rather be like? The one in the parable of the Prodigal Son or Jesus?