My Son Was Dead But Now Alive

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

April 01, 2025

in Life Worth Giving, Spritual Growth

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March 30, 2025:
Readings: Joshua 5:9-12
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Luke 15:11-32
3rd Sunday of Lent 2025 Homily – Abp. Hines

In God’s wisdom and understanding, He shares with us about life, but not in any legalistic way, but speaking in a mannerism that does not offend us. He shares with us through parables which contain so much wisdom.

The Gospel today can be interpreted in many ways. Some would perhaps liken this to the Jews and Gentiles. The older son, being a prototype of the Jews. and the younger son representing the Gentiles. There is one God, one Father, one who created us all. But we treat each other with treachery and not like brothers. When a child is born, he comes from God. Everything comes from God. He gave us life abundantly. We claim to be with Him and yet we are not if we go our own way.

Here was a wealthy man, well respected in society, who had two sons. The older one obeys his father and follows instructions. The younger one is restless and thinks only of himself. The younger one wanted to do things on his own and so he asked for his share of his inheritance from the father. Then he packs up and leaves and goes to a foreign country. He spends his money in pleasure, enjoying life and squandering his wealth. Soon his wealth was gone so he decides to work. But there came a famine in the land and he finds himself working as a servant and was assigned to take care of the swine. It came to a point that he got so hungry, and he had nothing to eat but the food for the swine. And he came to a realization that even his servants at home ate better food. He was so remorseful that he decided he should return home to his father and confess that he had sin against God and against the father.

When he returned, the father was already waiting for him. The father then ran to him, embraced him and kissed him. The son said to him: “Father I have sinned before God and I have sinned before you. I’m not worthy to be your son. Please make me your servant. The father did not condemn him at all, instead he calls out to his servant to get the best robe, to bring a ring to put around his finger, and to prepare a fatted calf in celebration of his homecoming. He wanted the whole community to rejoice in a feast. For his son was dead, he declared, but now he is alive.

As the older son, comes home from the fields and hears the music, he immediately asked his servants what was happening. He got angry and wanted his younger brother punished. When the father came out, he said to his father, “your son has squandered everything with the harlots and yet you welcomed him with open arms and even gave him a party. I have obeyed you always and yet you’ve never given me anything.” The father responded, “you have been with me all this time. Everything I have is yours. Your brother was dead and now he’s alive. It’s only fitting to celebrate.”

This is like the Jews who have been with God all the time and yet they were not grateful and were missing the one thing that was important. When Adam and Eve sinned, they gave the power to the enemy, who brought to earth poverty, sickness, death in order to distort God’s creation which was good and perfect.

Christ came to destroy the works of the enemy and gave us the power to destroy the enemy. It’s now our task to conquer whatever evil the enemy puts in our path. Things on earth may pass away, but God will never pass away. Lent is a time of learning so that we are prepared for Easter.