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Given at Our Lady of Providence, Winooski, Vermont. Readings for Today. Listen to our other homilies.
Rules or Relationship?
At first glance it can be easy to see the older brother’s point in the very familiar parable of the Prodigal Son. It can seem to be the case that he is being punished for following the rules, and the younger brother is being rewarded for not following the rules. But the real lesson in this parable is the power of having a real friendship with God. The older son was obedient but did not seem to have any human connection to his father, even though his father loved him very much.
There is a difference between obeying God and following God. Both are important. But when they become separated, and we obey God without following God, we can become resentful at the very qualities of God that make God, God. It is not that God loves, but rather that God is love. And following God means we can receive His mercy when we do not obey.
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