Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

Joe Paprocki Spiritual Growth

Rembrandt - "The Return of the Prodigal Son"

The Pharisees taught a very scrupulous observance of Jewish Law. In their interpretation and practice, observant Jews who shared table fellowship with sinners would be made unclean. Like Jesus, the Pharisees hoped to lead sinners back to God. The Pharisees, however, required that sinners first become ritually clean—observant of the Pharisees’ interpretation of Jewish Law—before sharing table fellowship. This appears to be one of the major differences between the Pharisees and Jesus. Jesus reaches out to sinners while they are still sinners, inviting them to conversion through fellowship with him. Jesus is God acting among us; by befriending us, he is inviting us to return to friendship with God.

To challenge the Pharisees, and us, Jesus tells the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Through friendship with Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we, like the prodigal son, experience new life.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

  • When was a time that you experienced fellowship that was unexpected? How does fellowship lead to conversion?
  • What does it mean to have a friendship with Jesus? What strengthens that friendship? What weakens it?

Enjoy an Arts & Faith: Lent reflection on Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Return of the Prodigal Son.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Friendly
About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

Related Articles

Lorenzo Lotto's "Transfiguration of Christ"
Spiritual Growth

Tapestry

Kathy Henry Spiritual Growth

A reflection on Matthew 17:1–9 Light and dark woven together colors blend together to provide an image threads of our lives intertwined to create each unique life Only God and I can see my tapestry Not even my closest companion not even my soul-mate can know the full tapestry that is me. Even I cannot see, at times. The image changes shifts blurs My eyes tune out the colors I do not wish to see […]

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Friendly
Giotto di Bondone - "Entry into Jerusalem"
Spiritual Growth

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Year A: Encountering the Profound and Holy

Joe Paprocki Spiritual Growth

This Sunday we begin Holy Week, the days during which we journey with Jesus on his Way of the Cross and anticipate his Resurrection on Easter. These days are indeed profound and holy. There are many vantage points from which to engage in Jesus’ Passion. In the characters of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 27:11–54), we find reflections of ourselves and the many ways in which we sometimes respond to Jesus. Sometimes we are like Judas, who […]

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Friendly
Ivan Kramskoi - "Christ in the Desert"
Spiritual Growth

First Sunday of Lent, Year A: Confident in God’s Protection and Faithfulness

Joe Paprocki Spiritual Growth

What’s your security blanket? For young children, security blankets and other such comfort objects are healthy things. They are “transitional objects” to ease the trauma of separating from their mothers. However, we all must eventually cut the apron strings and leave our security blankets behind. Unfortunately, we tend to replace our plush toys with more sophisticated security blankets, not to ease the anxiety of our separation from our mothers, but to ease what we sense as […]

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Friendly

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*