Friends, welcome to Word on Fire, Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an

apostolate dedicated to the mission of evangelization, using media both old and

new to share the faith on every continent and to facilitate an encounter with

Christ and His Church. The efforts of Word on Fire engage the culture and bring

the transformative power of God's Word where it is most needed. Today we invite

you to join Bishop Robert Barron as he preaches the gospel and shares the

warmth and light of Christ with each one of us. Peace be with you. Friends, we come

now to the fourth Sunday of land. We're moving through this holy season and we

have the privilege this weekend. Once more to consider what is arguably the most

magnificent and spiritually rich of Jesus' parables. I'm talking about the

story of the prodigal son or what's maybe better characterized as the story of

the two sons. Now I want to begin in a perhaps surprising way by referencing one

of the greatest Protestant thinkers of the last century, namely Paul Tillich.

Tillich made a distinction between heteronomy, autonomy, and what he called

theonomy. Now what's he talking about? Well, he says most of us in our own

individual development and a grand historical sense tend to oscillate back and

forth between heteronomy and autonomy. Now two English words derive from Greek

The first one heteronomy means literally law from another, right?

heteros means other. Autonomy, autonomos means law from oneself. So am I obeying

somebody outside of me that's heteronomy? Am I making a law for myself? That's

autonomy. Until like things most of us, again both as individuals and as

societies tend to oscillate back and forth between these two extremes. So on

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