The Story of the Prodigal Son

I am sure that most of us have heard the story of the prodigal son several times. As I re-read this passage in preparation for today, I was overwhelmed with the statements of emotion that the father felt, expressed and stated. It was verse 20 that caught my attention: ‘but while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him, and kissed him.’ On first glance, it seems like a beautiful, welcoming statement of love and acceptance of the father towards his wayward son. But let’s look at what really happened. Isn’t this a story about a foolish parent? The younger son had decided he needed a change of scenery, and had asked Dad for his share of the inheritance (before his father’s death! This is totally out of line. Dad should have said, ‘no way.’ This was considered inappropriate behavior at that time – or even now!). But the parent gave him his inheritance without a negative word. The verses say that he divided his property between his two sons. So, the younger son went to a distant country and wasted his money in desolate living; in other words, he threw the money away. (Thus the meaning of ‘Prodigal’: spendthrift, one who gives lavishly or foolishly. It does not mean immoral or unkind or runaway.) He was irresponsible (we don’t read that he contributed to a temple, or saved his money for a later date). He squandered it! He had a lot of fun without planning for future debts, the camel breaking down, a new roof, retirement, a major illness, or a famine. And then a famine hit, and because of his lack of foresight, he hit the bottom, literally. It sounds as if he was starving. He was feeding pigs and thinking of eating some of their feed. But he ‘came to himself’, realizing he had a dad whose hired hands actually had food. So he rehearsed his speech that would win his dad over. He was going back to plead his case to be a hired hand. This sounds pretty pretentious to me.

Then there is the older brother: the so- called good son, the one we can all be proud of. He stayed with dad and continued to work hard, presumably following all of the rules and planning for the future without a complaint. But wait; yet a little later we hear him say to his parent that he had been working as his slave for years, so apparently there has been some pent-up anger, some discontent. The younger brother came home and dad rushed out to meet him, ‘filled with compassion; he put his arms around him and kissed him’, and brought him back into the family, bringing him a robe, shoes and a ring on his finger. No way would he be a slave or even a hired hand. The family wore shoes, slaves did not. The young son did not get to use his well rehearsed, and possibly untrue, words of repentance because dad was gushing all over him.

What is wrong with this parent? What was he thinking? In ancient Palestine, a grown man did not run. It was considered a loss of dignity to do so; he would be humiliated if his neighbors saw him running out to meet his son, the one who had insulted him by demanding his inheritance before the father had died. What a family! The younger son was self centered and dishonest. The other had been dealing with pent-up anger for years. Something had not been right in this household. Is this a good parent? The kids are a mess! All the money has been given to the kids. He seems like quite the foolish person. We have all known or been a part of dysfunctional families. We know how hard life can be when our kids, young or grown, do things that we believe to be wrong. Do we welcome them home with open arms or do we give them the cold shoulder, or worse yet, disown them? What would we have done if we had been the parent of these 2 children? Or, have we ever been these children?

So back to the story – the younger son came back; he’s now wearing the robe, ring, and sandals, and a party is planned. The older son was still working in the field. A slave told him that his brother had returned and his father had welcomed him home. The older son really believed he had worked like this slave for years, and now dad was using his money for the party (remember, the older son’s inheritance had been given to him and this is what dad was using to fund the party). He even killed the fatted calf for the party, and meat was not a part of the usual diet. Can you imagine what he was thinking; something like ‘I have been doing his share of the work for all these years, and they are using my animal to feed this lazy bum and his no good friends.’ He accused his brother of associating with people of bad reputation, and he refused to go in to the party. He could not deal with the fact that his brother had broken all the family rules while he had worked so hard, and now a party was underway with singing and dancing. There was no sackcloth, ashes, and promises of ‘I’ll pay you back’ or ‘I’m sorry’. Instead there was this enormous celebration!

Don’t we all agree (if only privately) that the older son held the moral high ground? Was this son not completely justified in how he felt and acted? His dad seemed to have lost his ability to think clearly, and must have been duped by his younger brother. I wouldn’t have gone to that party; would you? It seems to me that the older brother knew the rules of life and work… but not of Spirit.

I believe this story is really about the parent, not the son. By societal standards of then and now, this parent appears a bit touched: having given away all that he owned. The children were allowed to make enormous mistakes, and yet they were loved despite their mistakes. The young son was emotionally welcomed home without waiting for explanations or promises. The older son’s hard work had not gone un-noticed. When it was said, ‘you are always with me. All that is mine is yours,’ it truly was. The love had always been available to the older son, but he had been working so hard to earn that love, as a slave to a master, that he never experienced that love. His attempts to follow all the rules and his self-righteousness had blocked him from seeing what had been there all along: true love and acceptance. The parent’s attempt to restore the relationships with both sons was because of love and forgiveness. This was the Prodigal Parent: giving lavishly, welcoming one, pleading with another. As a parent can we ever really stop loving our children? Can anything that our children do cut off our love for them? Wouldn’t we all take a bullet for our kids? Yet, do either of these sons appear truly worthy of this love? So, was this parent foolish, or was this really a loving, extravagant, forgiving person who saw only the good in his children?

This story tells us of God’s unwavering love for us, the children of God. This love is beyond all earthly understanding. God loves us, forgives us, and gives unmerited favor to us as we are welcomed to God. God rejoices when, having been lost, we are found. Repentence happens when we realize we are lost or broken. Then we are welcomed by a loving, forgiving, and accepting God.

God loves us all and wants us to be found, whether we are: irresponsible or serious, playing or working, forgiving or unforgiving, self-righteous or humble, worthy or unworthy, Jew, Gentile, Pharisee, adult, child, politician, business person, educator, student, tax collector, prostitute, leper, or HIV positive. There are no outcasts in this family. The story is not about the rules, but about the love of God. We are all offered this undeserved love, this unmerited favor. (But why do we have a problem with this grace? We really don’t believe in the free lunch, do we? Nothing is free these days, and if it is, it is suspect. Remember, both of the sons believed they needed to earn the father’s love.) But God offers all of us a free, loving relationship that forgives us and accepts us and loves us regardless of who we are and what we’ve done. When the relationship is restored, there is a party in heaven with music and dancing.

The parable does not tell us whether the younger son accepted his father’s forgiveness, or if the older son joined the party. At this time of Lent, may we all know the God who is wanting to put arms around us, give us a big hug and welcome us home. Let us take the time to enjoy the party waiting for all of us, and delight in the music and dance of God’s grace, forgiveness and lavishly given love.

Amen

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