The 3rd Brother

So, if you ask Catholics to turn to Luke 15:11-32, most would probably know exactly what story you would be talking about.  Just kidding.  We're Catholic.  We don't know Scripture.  It's the story of the Prodigal Son (oh yeah, NOW I know what you're talking about!).  This particular passage is the perfect measuring stick to see where you are in your own relationship with the Heavenly Father.

I can remember praying over this passage when I first came back to the church.  At this time, I had never even heard of the concept of praying with the Gospels so you can imagine that I was blown away by this new revelation.  As I read through it, I could easily see that yep, I'm the first son.  I was lost but now found, blind but now I can see.  And just as the Father threw a party for his son, I was in the middle of my own party.

I also remember praying with this passage this summer.  It's probably good to know that this was at my summer training when I had already accepted a job with FOCUS, and things (for the most part) were going well.  I read through and could not really place myself with either brother.  I had already come back to the Church.  I was trying my best to obedient to the Father and His will, but unlike the second son, I was doing it all out of love.  I realized that my party was over, and now it was time to go to work.  It kind of took the wind out of my sails, but it was certainly what I needed to hear 2 months before I hit campus.

Then I prayed with the Gospel story one more time, not more than 3 weeks ago.  I was skeptical to pray over it again, since I had looked at it so many times over the last year and a half, but I figured, there has got to be a reason it's on the list of passages for my WRAP schedule, so I better give it a shot and listen.  And man, what I heard from God was certainly was not expected.  Again, much like the summer, I did not place myself in the proverbial sandals of either brother.  I was not the Father.  And I certainly was not the servant who spoke to the older brother.  So where do I fit?  How is God speaking to me through this?  After racking my brain for a couple minutes, I finally got it.  I am the 3rd brother!

Hold on a second...there are only 2 brothers...right?  Yeah there are.  I'm not trying to pull a fast one over you here.  But when you really think about it, should there not be a 3rd brother?  We have one son who has continually sinned and distrusted the Father in that way, and we have another son that does the work but distrusts the Father in the fact that he doesn't do any of it out of love.  He is just playing the role of the "the good son."  So where is the son that is following the rules, but doing it out of love and trust in the Father?  And that was when I realized that that son is me...and at times I can be hidden from view as well (based on the few posts of this new blog, you can really tell that God has been extremely generous to me in prayer).  I need to be the guy that is giving a swift kick in the tail to both brothers, telling them to wake up.  But I don't.  It is so easy to sit on the sideline and just be comfortable.  I say to myself, "I can't say anything to him because he might get mad at me," or "I should probably keep all this to myself for fear hurting someone's feelings." NEWSFLASH!  We aren't here to make someone's feelings okay.  We are not in the business of keeping people happy.  We are in the business of turning boys into men!  That's the job I signed up for!

So I guess what I'm saying is that maybe you're the first son and maybe you're the second son.  And when you find yourself there, you know that you need to work hard to make sure that everything you do, you do it out of love and trust in the Father so He can get you out of that hole.  But eventually, you will find yourself in the position of the 3rd brother.  God will call you to lend a helping hand to your brothers and sisters in need, and when that time comes...will you step up to the plate and answer that call?  Will you be the one that God can count on to save the soul of another just as He saved yours?

In Christ,
Josh