Word to the Wise
Saturday, March 22, 2025 - 2nd Week of Lent - Sat
[Mic 7:14-15, 18-20 and Luke 15:1-3, 11-32]"'My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'" [Luke]
Among the many parables that Jesus spoke, it would be hard to find one more powerful than that of the Prodigal Son. It appears as the third of a series of three parables in which Jesus speaks of the desire of his heavenly Father to find anyone who has been "lost' and extend a merciful "welcome back!" There is first the lost sheep, then the lost coin and, finally, the lost son. The great Dutch artist, Rembrandt, rendered the moment of the return of the son in a painting that continues to inspire many, I highly recommend Henri Nouwen's THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON for Lenten reading. It is a meditation on that painting. The well-known hymn, AMAZING GRACE, celebrates the moment: I once was lost but now I'm found. Was blind but now I see!
The parable itself invites us to consider what role we play in the story. Are we the "lost" son, the judgmental older brother, the merciful loving father, a rejoicing member of the village? We are left to wonder if we could "come to our senses" and return from our "lost life." We are left to wonder if we would join the party if we are the older brother. We are left to wonder if we can be as welcoming and merciful as the Father. Indeed, we may wonder if the older brother has become "lost" and is in need of being "found" because of his unwelcoming and censorious attitude. We can note that the Father goes "out" to BOTH sons, the younger prodigal and the older "good boy." Are not BOTH in need of being "found?" Perhaps at different times in our lives we have played all of the possible roles in the story. Which one are we playing now? Lent invites us to enter into a parable that becomes our own story! AMEN