Today’s gospel: parable of the Prodigal Son, a beloved account of God’s boundless mercy toward sinners. But the real object of the parable is indicated by its context—a rejoinder to good religious people who are muttering about Jesus’ dining with sinners. Their counterpart:
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The “elder son” in the parable who looks on resentfully and complains about the father’s super-abundant mercy. Thus the parable has a polemical edge—not so much directed at sinners, assuring them of God’s love, but at the spiritual stinginess of the righteous, who believe God’s
love belongs essentially to them. And their counterparts in the church today? Those elder brothers who complain that Pope Francis is overly merciful, that his message is confusing, that he is lowering boundaries separating the righteous from sinners. The Parable of the Elder Son.
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