The Parable of the Eldest Son

I would like to share with you a story which I heard from my retreat master written by a Jesuit priest. If you are familiar with the Parable of the Prodigal Son, this story is a midrash of that. The title is The Parable of the Eldest Son.

Once there was a man who have 2 sons. The youngest son went to his father and said, "Dad, can you give me my share of your inheritance? We're old enough to handle our expenses." So the father gave to each son his inheritance. The next day, the youngest son left and squandered everything until he was left with nothing.

Years had passed and his father became worried with him. He came to the point of depression that the oldest son would see him looking out of the window with a bottle of wine in his hand. Being concerned for him, he went up to him and said, "Dad, I would like to find my brother."

"What are you thinking?!?! Can't you see how dangerous it is in the city? No one knows what will happen to you there," his father replied.

"I know, but I am concerned for him as well and I love him very much. I will go and look for him tomorrow, and you will know where I am. I will bring candles in my search and I will light a candle on which place I stopped to look for him. In that way, he will know his way back if ever he sees it." After much discussion, the father gave him permission.

Since he left, he did what he said to his father. He would light a candle to every place he stopped. In the city corner, in the field, in the drainage -- he never forgot his promise to light a candle. Day after day, he never lost hope that one day, he will find his brother.

One night, a group of gangsters saw him and robbed him of everything. Thinking that his brother might be there, he followed them until he was stabbed many times until he died.

His father became very worried because neither of his sons came home. His depression grew more that he lost all hope that one of his sons would come home.

Until he heard a knock at the door.

He opened the door and to his surprise, it was the youngest son who stood there like a beggar in the street.

"Dad," said the youngest son, scared of looking at him, "I'm sorry. I..." His dad gave him a tight hug and kissed him dearly. He shouted to his servants, "You! Get my son the finest robe and dress him well. Give him a very good bath. Kill the fattest calf because tonight we will celebrate his return!!!"

As they were hugging, the youngest son asked him, "Where is my brother?"

At that point, the father realized that his oldest son is out there looking for him. As they went to the window just as the night sky had set, they saw that the city was full of lights.

My friends, Jesus Christ, the first born of all, continues to search for you and is eager to bring you home with Him. He continues to light a candle to every corner He comes so that, if ever you see it, it will bring you back to Him.

The Gnostic Gospels: What it taught me and made me realize

Four or five years ago, when Dan Brown published his book The Da Vinci’s Code, it shocked the entire world, including the Catholic Faith. Many Catholics, upon reading the novel were shocked, confused, and even changed their religion because of the arguments presented in his book, including the issue about the divinity of Jesus. According to some experts and to the author, most of his sources came from the Gnostic gospels which were not included in the present-day bible. In addition, some would argue that these issues had long been dead as they were just brought up to confuse people.

I honestly read the book, but I didn’t finish it. Maybe because I wasn’t ready yet to open myself to the understanding or to their arguments regarding that issue, or that I would end up like those people who were in deep trouble after reading the novel. However, these gospels taught me something which I discovered lately.

Earlier, I had a chat with my former household head Dave who will be joining the missions with Couples for Christ in Peru this March 1. He had been a huge influence in my life as his help was my stepping stone toward my healing. During our household meetings, I learned a lot from him, especially how his life gave hope to me as he too was undergoing the same therapy sessions as I am.

As we talked, I told him the many things which I am thankful. I told him that through his sharing of his life to us, including his suffering and weaknesses, I saw how he shared his gospel in a manner that he sees Christ in him. He continually affirms us that He is always there for both thick and thin.

Friends, our lives are living gospels of faith. According to Dave, there are five gospels: the four gospels in the Bible, and our life. As I saw the emergence of these Gnostic gospels, I found out that the authors Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, St. Thomas and the other Gnostics (although they did not write those), wrote about their lives in a way that they saw Christ in their lives.
Now, let us take away the issue of Christ’s divinity in this topic. What I am driving at here is that we should never take away Christ in our lives and in our sharing of our lives. Why? Because it is through Him that our lives have meaning, that there is hope in it, that we are motivated to share more of ourselves.

I realized that this was the reason why it took me weeks, or even months before I could write another blog (well, maybe because I'm using my girlfriend's laptop). The erason behind this is because I'm too concerned that people will not appreciate that things that I write here because of the following reasons: Too religios, too impractical, too boring. Right now, I'm hearing someone saying, "It will be very impossible for me to apply it."

But I never realized that adding Jesus in the recipe would make things practical and easy. No wonder that Bo Sanchez, the author of the books How to Find Your One True Love and Your Past Does Not Define Your Future found it easy to share his life to others and write his story and history with ease.

It was a painful realization, but it was bound to happen for me to realize the things that I know and the things that I needed to change.

Never be ashamed for telling your story, even though you have a dark past. Because God designed it the way it is and with your story, many will see hope in it.