Saturday, March 18, 2006

The Mystery of the Father

I was reading an article that touched on the theme of yesterday's Gospel (then parable of the murderous vineyard tenants), and it raised the question of why on earth the vineyard owner would ever think to send his only Son to a group that had already beaten, stoned and killed earlier messengers. The article went on to consider the intra-Trinitarian activity involved in creation and redemption, suggesting that the "character" of the Eternal Word is such that, in the very notion of creation, when humanity's rebellion against God was clearly foreseen, the Word, as it were, rose up beforehand to repair the wound this would cause in the Father's heart. (The article was much more articulate and theological than that, but you get the idea.) Then I was reflecting on today's Gospel of the Prodigal Son--in a way, you can even interpret this parable in terms of the Eternal Son's "prodigality" in wasting all he had from the Father (emptying himself and taking the form of a slave) to immerse himself in what is ours, and then to bring it all back to the Father--and the Father running to meet him in the Resurrection.
Anyway, that line from St. Paul, "The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me," seemed like something that not only we, but even the Eternal Father can say.

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