For the last three weeks we
have let the Parable of Loving Kindness/Good Samaritan guide us as we entered
the season of Lent. We have pondered how
to adapt/adopt the gaze of God (rather than the glare, glance, gnawing way of
the seeing). We have pondered how God’s
gaze sings and settles into our soul. We
turn now to Luke’s other famous parable, The Prodigal Family. Remember since Jesus didn’t title his
parable, translators and scholarly committees did later, we can feel free to
find ways that describe and define the story we are hearing. In fact, each time we hear a parable we could
try to re-title it to name and claim where the parable is meeting us,
challenging us, stretching us ~ because if we think we have a parable “figured
out” we need to go back and re-read!
That is certainly true of the
Prodigal Family (Luke 15:11-24). Wait,
you may think, my Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Lord (by the way, my third grade
teacher was actually named Mrs. Lord!), always called it the Prodigal Son to
describe and define that ingrateful brat of the younger son who wanders away
selfishly, while the dutiful and diligent older son works his fingers to the
bone “slaving” away on the farm whilst singing, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve
seen, nobody knows my sorrow”. Insert
breath here after reading that sentence.
The word prodigal means, “lavish, outlandish, and even wasteful.” Given that definition, I would say the whole
family ~ both sons and the mothering father ~ all fit somewhere in that
definition. The younger son goes out and
spends his share of the inheritance in ways that are lavish and wasteful. And then, when he comes to his senses, he
heads home with a prepared speech. Note whether
you think the speech is genuine or sincere or authentic, can be a mirror a
truth to your own soul. Ask yourself why
you see it that way? Chances are there
is someone, a family member or friend who tricked or deceived you with false
humility or humble mumble that you felt duped and vowed to always keep your
shields up and engaged.
The mothering father is lavish
and outlandish and wasteful because he runs to his wayward son. Men in Jesus day did not run! He hugs and embraces his son. Men in Jesus day did not show public displays
of affection. He puts a robe and ring
and sandals on his son ~ who just lost a portion of the family money ~ some
scholars suggest that than likely what the younger son received was the
father’s own robe and ring and sandals!
Then, if that wasn’t outlandish and wasteful enough…he goes and kills
the fatted calf, hires a DJ, and throws the best party ever!! And if I still haven’t convinced of the
prodigal-ness of the mothering-father, he goes out to his other older son who
is fuming and flushed faced with anger outside the back porch door ~ the older
son who is mumbling and muttering to himself and you can see the steam rising
off his head. The mothering-father goes
out to him too and says, “All that I have is yours!” The mothering-father has given away his life
to his sons in lavish and outlandish ~ and given the ways both sons treat him
is wasteful of such a relationship!
And the older son is prodigal
in that he wastes the goodness of the mothering-father’s love. He is so stuck in scarcity that
he cannot see his own blessedness. He is
too busy glaring and gnawing on what others (particularly his brother) have, he
doesn’t gaze on his own life. This was
before there was social media to compare and compete our lives with thousands
of other people! I invite you today to
hold the word, “prodigal” as an invitation, a doorway, into God’s unconditional
and unceasing grace. We don’t “earn”
God’s love, as the older son believes. God’s grace is not some prize for our busyness
and necessary-ness. We can’t speechify
our way into God’s heart with pious petitions that we’ve prepared. Grace is given freely…or with a prodigal-ness
that we may never comprehend or control but can accept. May this truth rummage and roam around your
life this week. Amen.
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