Maxim Monday: advance good works until almost finished.

Advance good works until they are almost finished; and then, whenever possible, let them be completed by someone else who will receive the honor. Maxims of the Little Institute, #85

The Sunday Gospel for this week – the fourth Sunday of Lent – is the well-known story of The Prodigal Son. When I read the reflection on this Gospel story in Living with Christ, I was immediately reminded of Maxim 85. Reflecting on this gospel story in the past, sometimes I focus on the son who went away and came back. Most of the time my reflection centers on the father who, with unconditional love, welcomes his wayward son with open arms.

Rarely have I given much thought to the unforgiving brother who gets so angry at the father’s response. But juxtaposed with Maxim 85, I see this brother in a whole new light.

Imagine if this brother and Fr. Jean-Pierre Médaille had a chance to talk! I wonder what a conversation about Maxim 85 would be like! The older brother had done all the good work he could possibly imagine. No one threw a big party for him! And now this brother who had squandered his part of the inheritance was getting all the honor! Could the older brother tolerate this maxim of Médaille? Can we?

In Love’s Design: An Invitation to Reflect on the Maxims of the Little Institute, Marcia Allen, CSJ, writes,

“We have seen how the elegance of God’s Design unfolds in Jesus’ life….He was given to the one thing necessary – a passion for creation and God. The cost to himself was never the criterion for how much or when to give."

Is this what we’re being asked in Maxim 85 – not to consider the cost to ourselves in how much or when we pour our lives out as Jesus did? It’s a tall order – one that calls us to personal and communal prayer of unioning love; prayer that draws us deeper and deeper into God at the heart of the world.

In the story of the Prodigal Son, Luke never really says whether or not the older brother responded to his father's pleading to move beyond his anger and join the party. After all his years of faithful service, did he go in and join in rejoicing for his younger brother? Ask yourself, would I be able to live the message of Maxim 85 in this situation?