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“It’s not fair!” we catch ourselves thinking when we read the parable of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32). The parable could easily be renamed “The Prodigal Father.” The word “prodigal” means to spend money or resources recklessly and extravagantly; something (or someone) that is lavishly abundant or generous. It applies to both the younger son and the father.

Moses was about eighty years old as he quietly led his father-in-law’s flock across the desert to the base of Mt. Horeb. After his escape from Egypt, he had been dwelling in that region with his wife, Zippo’rah, and their son for about forty years. He was probably expecting to slip peacefully into retirement.

The transfiguration of Jesus is told in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and read by the Church on the Second Sunday of Lent. This year we hear Luke’s account which has one very interesting addition. All three tell of Jesus’ appearance being transformed into dazzling white, and all three tell of Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus. But only Luke tells us what they were speaking about. The “spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31).

Sometimes prayer is a battle, a battle to stay focused on what matters most: our relationship with God. Our thoughts and feelings can easily be accosted by distractions and temptations. That’s only human. Even Jesus, who was human and divine, allowed himself to be tempted, as we hear in the gospel reading for this Sunday. Each year on the First Sunday of Lent of Lent we hear the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. The gospels tell us that it was the Holy Spirit that led him into the desert, and Matthew and Luke point out the specific reason Jesus was led there: “to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:2).