<P> The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or Lovesick Father) is one of the parables of Jesus and appears in Luke 15: 11--32 . Jesus Christ shares it with his disciples, the Pharisees and others . </P> <P> In the story, a father has two sons, a younger and an older . The younger son asks the father for his inheritance, and the father grants his son's request . However, the younger son is prodigal (i.e., wasteful and extravagant) and squanders his fortune, eventually becoming destitute . The younger son is forced to return home empty - handed and intends to beg his father to accept him back as a servant . To the son's surprise, he is not scorned by his father but is welcomed back with celebration and fanfare . Envious, the older son refuses to participate in the festivities . The father reminds the older son that one day he will inherit everything, and that they should still celebrate the return of the younger son because he was lost and is now found . </P> <P> It is the third and final part of a cycle on redemption, following the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin . In Revised Common Lectionary and Latin Rite Catholic Lectionary, this parable is read on the fourth Sunday of Lent (in Year C); in the latter it is also included in the long form of the Gospel on the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year C, along with the preceding two parables of the cycle . In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is read on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son . </P>

What does the word prodigal mean in the bible