Parable 18 - Two Sisters

Bella was good with the guys and she had a huge social media following. Her senior year in high school, she was recognized as “The Most Likely to Throw a Party.”

Her dad, Bernie, was a gregarious plumber, well respected for his expertise but opinionated about everything. Bernie often said, “My girl, Bella, is one of the smart ones, and I’m paying for her to go to college—and not community college, but the real deal. She’s headed across the state to go to the university.”

That fall, Bernie didn’t take out a loan or get any financial assistance. He wrote a check for $15,000 to get Bella started for her first semester. Bernie moved Bella into the dorm along with an oversized dorm refrigerator, a brand-new wardrobe, and a hand-made table.

Bella loved college. She quickly found a boyfriend, and she began inviting all kinds of people over to her room for parties. Although she went to class the first week, early in the semester she started attending class sporadically. By the holiday break, she was on probation.

Her father wasn’t aware of this, and Bernie paid the remaining tuition and room and board charge in January—another $15,000.

Bella flunked all of her classes the second semester. She didn’t really have a boyfriend. She had gone through one guy after another.

The only time Bernie ever spoke to his daughter was when he called her, and Bella rarely answered those calls.

At the end of May, Bernie got a call from Bella that she needed her dad to come get her.

She was done with college. The professors sucked.

Now there was an older sister named Simone. She heard that Bella had flunked out of school, blamed it on the professors, and now wanted her dad to come pick her up this weekend—a week before school was scheduled to be over. Simone became incensed because this was the week she and her dad had been planning to go on a fishing trip. Just the two of them.

“Don’t do it, Dad. She doesn’t deserve it. We need to take our trip. We’ve been looking forward to it for so long.”

Bernie said, “Simone, your sister needs me. She’s had a hard go of it. School was more difficult than she thought it would be. I need to get her. She’s in trouble.”

“But you promised we would take this trip together. I’ve been working overtime to help you pay for it. What has Bella ever done for you?”

Meditation

In today’s scripture passage, Jesus is telling us the story of the prodigal son. The older son is upset that there is a party going on for the return of the wayward child who squandered half of the family estate. Most of us relate to the older brother. Who wouldn’t be mad at a sibling who leaves home and squanders the family’s property? Return for a moment to the story of Bella, Bernie, and Simone. It’s a similar story, and one that actually happened.

The fact is that some kids go to college.

Some kids don’t.

Some get good grades.

Some don’t.

Sometimes parents pay for college for their children.

Sometimes kids end up in debt. These kinds of issues can tear a family apart.

The father of the prodigal child knows he can’t replace that child. The older son is wonderful, but the younger son has wonderful aspects as well. He can’t be replaced.

Multiply this by eight billion. Every one of us is unique and loved by God. Our Lord is ever merciful, kind, and forgiving. We can imagine that Jesus tells us the story of the prodigal child to get us to reflect on the ways of God and the ways of our own dispositions.

In our Lenten experience, we are called to become closer to God, to find what is good in our siblings, our spouses, our neighbors, and the world.

Start anew and make sure you show up for class.

Water the seed and ask yourself...

Who or what has gone missing in my life?