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Eternal sunshine and spotless loveSaturday, March 26, 2011
Luke 15:11-14 After a few days the younger son set off to a distant country and squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. He freely spent everything, and suddenly found himself in dire need. He got a job tending swine and was so hungry he wanted to eat their food. But he got nothing from anyone.
Coming to his senses, he got up and went back to his Father.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. Right on the lips. Big bear hug. Nothing held back. His son spoke. "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you." "Nice to have you back, son. Great to hear you recognize your sin. I hope you've learned your lesson. Tell me what you've learned." No, he didn't say that. The father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the finest robe, put a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet. Slaughter the best calf; let us celebrate because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again. He was lost, and now he's found." And the celebration began. And that's the whole story. The rest of Jesus' parable is about the older son, and that's more than enough for another day. I've seen a few lost-and-founds on my rounds. Whether in a fast food restaurant or a fancy church the pile of stuff looks about the same. Nobody really wants much of anything in that cardboard box, and after a few months all of it gets donated or thrown away. That's the way it usually works with people, too, once they've been lost. Not for this boy in Jesus' story. He was one of the lucky ones. He had a great dad. His dad never gave up on him. His dad put first things first, and waited while his son "came to his senses." I'm one of the lucky ones, Lord. We all are. You're a great dad. You never give up on me. You put first things first, and wait with such wondrous patience, while I come to my senses. Show me how to do that too, every time, when it's up to me to play the dad for awhile. *Great book by Henri Nouwen about each of the characters in this morality play: The Return of the Prodigal Son. |
And what does his father do? First of all, he sees him. He's watching for him, standing out by the mailbox.