Skip to main content

The tax collectors and sinners in the Bible

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them Jesus addressed this parable. "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.' So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.

...Coming to his senses he thought, 'How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."' So he got up and went back to his father.

While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.' But his father ordered his servants, 'Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' Then the celebration began.

Now the older son... became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, 'Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.' He said to him, 'My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Panglao Island Environmental Problems

By Romy Teruel One environmental and tourism issue that will keep on cropping up unless decisive actions are done is the issue of easement along beaches as prescribed by the Water Code of the Philippines.  This has cropped up before and now it is here again.    The conference that Gov. Erico B. Aumentado held with the hotel and resort owners of Panglao and Dauis last Friday is an example of laws wanting in implementation. While the laws are clear and guidelines are prescribed, willing compliance has remained a problem.  The Water Code of the Philippines prescribes a 20-meter easement from the high water mark on the beach towards inland where no permanent structure can be constructed whatsoever.  We need not send experts however to know that compliance is more in the breach than observance.  This prompts observers to ask "What happened to Bohol's thrust on eco-tourism and environmental conservation and protection?"  And this is usually followed by "They are killing...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Maintain Good Posture

SOME people walk gracefully while others slump.      You know something is wrong.When you  see a frumpy figure gazing  back at you in the mirror.     Good posture can change all   that. A woman striding confidently into a room with her shoulders  straight  and head held high has the ability to break hearts. A man standing straight-backed, with just the right tilt to his square chin, will stand out from the rest of the slumped party-goers.     Good posture is easy to attain.   The steps to proper posture are simple, and they begin with the stomach. The belly button should be pulled back into the spine,  sucked up into the lungs. The ribs, in turn, should be held lightly under a buoyant chest and shoulders that are back and relaxed. The collarbones should be down, while the chin is slightly lifted, creating long, swan-like neck.     The  feeling is of being pulled upward from a string attached to the top of your head, with the entire spine stretched and extended. And on top of this b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walk-out staged by members of the minority bloc in the Sangguniang Panlungsod

Sunday Post Editorial: The walk-out staged by members of the minority bloc in the Sangguniang Panlungsod Friday brings the city council to a point of no return. It now hangs in the balance that may not hold long enough for both ends of the political spectrum.   This is not about the legitimacy or lack of it of the walk-out. There is an overdose on the pros and cons of the act. It was a shameful act or an honorable thing to do depending on one's political orientation. Of course, the minority bloc should drop all pretensions that it was a walk-out. There is no doubt that it was and only those who stand to benefit from it would fail to see it for what it is. It is not so much because one of those from the minority was signaling their leader to bang the gavel when the deliberations started to heat up. It was their refusal to return to the session hall when the majority stood pat that gave their script away. So much for that then. Which lead...
Post a Comment
Read more