The covenantal relationship between Yahweh and the People of Israel was sealed in the blood of the covenant at Sinai. In Christ the new covenant is sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ: “This is the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
In the covenantal relationship, the agreement is mutual: Yahweh said “I will be your God and you shall be my people” and the People of Israel said, “We will be your people and you shall be our God.” As a sign of being faithful to the covenantal relationship, the People of Israel have to be faithful to His commandments, statutes, and laws. Yahweh is always there ever faithfully with tender love and care, giving protection and accompanying His people. It is the people who are unfaithful, who leave Him and His Commandments. The relationship is thus broken! But, God does not abandon His people. God calls them back and waits for their return.
As Christians we are ‘the chosen people of God,’ the New Israel. Our God keeps calling us back when we are alienated from Him, “when we leave the Father’s House” and He waits for our return! That He does not abandon us is the “inviting message of the Lenten Season.” But, Do we see the value and importance of being in the “Father’s House?”When we see the value and blessing of being in the Father’s House we will decide to return to the House!
The Elder Son Refuses to “enter” the Father’s House…
There is also in us “the elder brother of the prodigal son”: In the parable, we are told, the elder son does not accept the welcome given to his brother. He refuses to rejoice over the return of his brother. Instead, he is angry, resentful and sulton. He finds fault with his father rejoicing over the return of his brother. Self-righteous that he was, he is judgmental about the generosity of his father. He is not ready to forgive and forget the wrong done by his brother. On the contrary, he is finding fault with both, his father and brother.
Certainly, this behavior destroys the joy and happiness of the household. Refusal to be generous, to be kind and forgiving, unwillingness to rejoice over the good that happens to others and jealous about good things others are given or getting, and all such negative dispositions and attitudes are damaging and destructive of the joy and happiness of other people We can see here “sin by omission.”.
The elder son is also complaining for not getting his legitimate rewards that he deserves for his stay and work in the “father’s house.” His brother does not deserve this big welcome and royal treatment he is being given! In this Season of Lent each one of us should also see if we have in us “the elder brother’s” attitudes and disposition towards others. These are sinful and can malign our minds and hearts. From such maligned minds and hearts, instead of good, only evil can come out. evil thoughts, words and actions: Out of the abundance of heart the mouth speaks!
Conclusion
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It was not because you were numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you – for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestores, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” (Deu. 7:6-9)