Just a word before we go...Fourth Sunday of Lent...March 27, 2022
We all know why the younger son in today’s parable is referred to as prodigal. After all, he presumptuously asked his father for his inheritance while his father was very much alive. He squandered his new found wealth, living sumptuously and with abandon, until he was forced to live and work with the pigs that were so scorned by his Jewish faith.
As Jesus relates the story, we become aware of some striking truths about God, such that the Father might be considered to be prodigal as well. For the word prodigal not only connotes wasteful extravagance or spendthrift behavior, but also denotes unstinting, unsparing and lavish generosity. And what better words can describe the conduct and attitude of the Father. In Him, we do not see a God of vengeance; instead, we see a father who exemplifies to the Nth degree what we would expect from a parent. The father never stopped loving the son, even when he was off to the Big Apple kicking up his heels. This father not only forgives, but takes the initiative, not waiting on the front porch thinking … “well, well, well...I knew my son would come crawling back,” but running to meet him on the way, kissing him, dressing him in finery and throwing a party in his honor. What was it that made it possible for the son to return home? And what makes it possible for you and me to crawl out of whatever pigpen we might find ourselves in? That would be God’s love, God taking the initiative, planting the seed if you will, that stirs in us, moves in us, and draws us home.
Planting seeds is an activity that involves us, as well. On this coming Monday evening at 5 pm, we have the opportunity to sow the seeds of compassion, cooperation and collaboration, by gathering with other Fairfield faith communities at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the Old Post Road. The Fairfield Clergy Association, of which we are a member, is sponsoring an Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace in Ukraine. Representatives of the various congregations will offer prayers and reflections as we show solidarity with the Ukrainian people. I know Monday promises to be cold, but please bundle up and come to represent our parish, to show support for this effort.
When the members of the SAVE group wrote to seed companies asking for donations for the Resurrection Vineyard Garden, they never anticipated the plethora of packets they would receive. These are available to anyone who would like to take some, on the deck outside our side entrance. There is a catch, of course...in our effort to reflect the prodigal love of God, we would like to provide the Merton Center with a prodigious amount of produce this summer. If you take seeds, please return some of your abundant harvest to the parish, to be joined with what we are able to produce in our garden.
In these ways, as in so many others, the parishioners of St. Anthony’s...that would be you...will continue to reflect the loving kindness of our God to the world.