Luke
15:1-3, 11b-32
This familiar parable in our gospel text is
usually called “The Prodigal Son” because one meaning of ‘prodigal’ is
wasteful. The son took his money and wasted it. Another interpretation of the
word ‘prodigal’ is lavish. The father lavished his money and his love on his
sons.
Let’s start with the wasteful use of the
word.
Do
you know a prodigal child? Many of us have one in our families, sometimes more
than one. Milk cartons, newspapers, flyers on lamp poles, all remind us that
our youth sometimes choose to run away from home. Even if they don’t run away,
they can make life miserable while they stay at home.
Sally ran away several times the year she
was seven. She would pack her little suitcase and slam her way out the door,
and walk across the street to the neighbor’s house, where Irene let her in.
Mary would let her stay for a while, sometimes overnight, until Sally was ready
to go back home. Sally’s mother always welcomed her home with tears and an
effort to work things out between them. But, Sally always thought her mother
was being abusive, and she left home for good as soon as she could after high
school.
Do
you know a resentful sibling? They are just as abundant as prodigal children. Don
struggled in school, and although his parents tried to support him, he never
felt he was as good as his older sister, who was a straight-A student. He was
content getting C’s and D’s. It was as if he was trying to get attention by
doing poorly in school, to be very different from his sister. When he grew up,
he found it difficult to keep a job, and time and time again he left home, and
returned when he was out of money. He was still seeking his father’s attention
by failing.
Do you know a prodigal, generous, forgiving
father or mother? Sally’s mother and Don’s father always welcomed their
children home and forgave them for their rebellious behavior. These parents
never stopped praying for their children, never stopped loving them. While we
might criticize their parenting skills, we also note that they never stopped
loving their children and welcoming them home.
The younger brother in our gospel story
probably wanted something different from what he knew at home. Perhaps he had
met a traveling stranger and heard stories about faraway lands and wanted to
experience them for himself. Knowing that his share of the inheritance when his
father died would be a third of the land, he wanted to something more.
Unfortunately, his big dreams and schemes fell
apart and he was homeless, a young Jewish man feeding slops to the pigs. He
remembered home, and realized that as bad as he remembered it, it was better
than what he had now. So, he made up a plan to go home and apologize; he would
humble himself and work as a servant in his old home. In doing so, he would
live better than he was living now; he would never have to care for pigs, at
least.
What do you think … was his plan sincere,
or was he just pretending? … Does it matter why he went home? … Would the
father’s response have been any different? The father never gave up on his son,
never stopped looking up and down the road to see if the young man was coming
home. Once he spotted him, he ran to meet him half-way, and shushed his
story-telling. The father never even gave the son a chance to tell his story,
to say how sorry he was for running away and wasting all the money.
Naturally, the older son was resentful,
upset that he has never had such a party in his honor. That’s often the way it
is in families. The older child gets taken for granted, doesn’t feel
appreciated, because they always do what is expected of them. It didn’t matter
to him that he would receive everything that remained of the father’s estate.
It only mattered that he felt left out.
As the mother of two sons, I find myself
wondering how these two sons will repair the hurt to their relationship. It
would be easy for the older brother to hold onto his anger and resentment, and make
sure the younger brother knew he had messed up. It would be easy for the
younger brother to remember his guilt and shame, and live the rest of his life
as a servant to the older brother. We don’t know the outcome, though. We are left
to wonder what the father does next.
But, this is a parable, and it’s a parable
told by Jesus, which means we know to look for the God-figure in the story. It’s
pretty clear that the God-figure is the father. This father welcomes home the
wandering younger son. He runs to greet him and wrap him in his arms and loves
him. The father also reassures the older son that nothing has changed between
them. The father loves both sons, no matter what they have done or how they
have treated the father. The love is unconditional, so is the forgiveness. The
father’s love is lavish, merciful, prodigal.
If the younger son had stayed away, the
father would never have stopped loving him, would never have stopped looking
for him, was always ready to forgive. The younger son did return to his senses and
did return to the father, and did repent.
The older son had always been there, had
always obeyed, and yet still needed to repent of his resentment. He did not
apologize for the way he spoke to his father – at least he didn’t in the story
we have – and yet the father forgave him, too.
We love this story because it is so human.
We are always one or more person in this story. We may be the prodigal,
wasteful younger brother, looking for greener grass, and then needing to
repent. We may be the older brother, the faithful one, resentful of those who
have not been so steady in their faith. And, we may be the prodigal father –
and mother – who readily, lavishly, welcomes home those who have run away.
Human logic wants punishment for misdeeds,
and a lack of easy forgiveness. We want the guilty person to grovel, we want
the guilty person to pay for their errors.
But, that’s not God’s way. It’s God’s way
to welcome home all who stray and return to God’s love. It’s God’s way to
continue to lavishly love and bless and forgive those who remain faithful. It’s
God’s way to never give up on us, none of us.
This week, as we continue our journey
through Lent, read and reread this gospel story. Who are you in the story? Does
it changes from reading to reading? Does the reading lead you to confess? Does
it lead you to forgive? What does ‘prodigal’ mean to you when you read it?
Please pray with me. Merciful God, we are
so grateful for this story which reveals your heart to us. Help us to see our
need for your love and forgiveness, as we strive to love and forgive those in
our lives. Amen
