1ST CENTURY CASTES - In first century Palestine, a religious class
was enforced rigorously. It was legally forbidden, for example, for devout Jews to mingle
with persons who were outside the Torah. Inviting outsiders-beggars, tax collectors,
prostitutes-was a religious, social, and cultural taboo. [1]
SEPARATED ONES - Pharisees tended to separate themselves from persons not faithful to
the law and the traditions, in order to form closed communities, the faithful remnant of
Israel. Their name means ‘the separate ones’ i.e., the holy ones, the true
community of Israel. Their morality was legalistic and was a matter of reward and
punishment. God loved and rewarded those who kept the law and hated and punished those who
did not.
IN THE COMPANY OF SINNERS - "Sinners" described a particular type of social
outcast. Anyone who for any reason deviated from the law and the customs of middle class
(the educated and virtuous, the religious ruling class among Jews) was treated as
inferior, as low class. The sinners were thus a well-defined social group.
If you have brothers and/or
sisters, where are you in the birth order? How did your place among siblings impact you?
How might the spirit of the elder brother and the prodigal son still be alive and well
in your life? In your community?
What is the lesson in this parable for you? ___God loves and accepts me; ___I need to
see others as God does; ___God is waiting for me to come home; ___I need to reconcile with
a family member; ___other
Please review the homily on this
week’s DPS based on this passage.
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[1] This information comes from two sources: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan
Manning (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1990), pp. 57 and 66, and an academic paper
entitled, “On the Development of Philantropic Institutions in Ancient Judaism:
Provisions for Poor Travelers,” by Frank M. Loewenberg ZPL (SS): 21.09.92.
