One of the best known parables of Jesus' teaching is undoubtedly the
parable of the prodigal son. In Jewish society it was a terribly
callous thing to ask for one’s inheritance before the death of one’s father and
yet this is precisely what the younger son does. It would be hard to overstate
the offensive nature of the son's request. In seeking his inheritance
early the son was in fact saying to his father, ‘You are as good as dead to
me’. Despite this, the father acquiesces to his son’s request; and
the son quickly takes what belongs to him, packs his things, and (with hardly
so much as a goodbye) leaves for a distant country.
And this is where the prodigal part comes in (from the Latin prodigus meaning
to drive away, to squander) – the younger son spends it all in dissolute
living. ‘Dissolute living’ is a rather sanitized expression for what was
really going on here – indulgence in all worldly pleasures and excess.
Think of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas mixed with Hangover III topped
off with Supersize Me. He was quite literally devoured by the
world and consumed with consuming. The son was living it up…but it did
not last. Soon the son finds himself in that perpetual state many
college students and young families …he was broke. And not only was he
broke – but there was a severe famine in the land. The mere basics needed
for survival were now scarce.
The son, finding himself in need, hires himself out to the local pig
farmer – and this piles on new humiliation. For an observant Jew pigs are
an unclean animal...and now the younger son lives among them and lives like
them. In fact, he doesn't even live as well as them, as the
parable indicates, "No one gave him anything." The
scene is what Alcoholics Anonymous refers to as rock bottom. From
playboy to pigpen, the younger son’s prospects have grown dim. And it is
at this crucial juncture that the younger son begins to consider his
options. “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to
spare…and here I am dying of hunger.” He makes up his mind: “I
will return to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned, take me back no
longer as a son but as a servant.’ In one last, desperate
attempt to save his life, he begins the pilgrimage back home, rehearsing his
speech.
After a long journey, he finally catches a glimpse of his father’s land
and of his home; and a strange sight greets him, a figure off in the distance.
The person in the distance appears to be running. This is a strange
sight in Jewish society because running was considered undignified. Soon
the son realizes, to his own amazement, that it is indeed his own father who is
rushing towards him…along with some breathless servants. The son is
caught off guard as the father throws his arms around him, kisses him and –
just as the son begins his rehearsed apology – the father joyfully interrupts
him and commands his servants to bring a robe and a ring and sandals, and for a
banquet to be prepared, “...for this son of mine was lost and is found.”
Gone are the robes of the pigs and their unsavory smell. Gone are the
younger son’s apprehensions. And yet all is not well, there remains the
elder son, who is not at all pleased at the goings-on.
When the elder son learns that his father has welcomed home the prodigal
son he is so scandalized that he refuses to enter the father's banquet -
thereby publicly castigating his father. Ironically, he does this while brashly
asserting how obedient he has been all through the years. Thus, he betrays the
limits of his respect and devotion. And yet the father, publicly rebuffed
by his elder son, nonetheless comes out and pleads with him to come and
celebrate the prodigal’s banquet, “We had to celebrate, for this brother of
yours was dead and has come back to life”.
Jesus told this parable because experts in the law and of religion
scoffed at his choice to fraternize with sinners. They couldn't
understand why a teacher and preacher would prefer the company of those whose
moral lives left so much in need for correction. And so Jesus shared with
them this parable to reveal in so many words a point he would make elsewhere,
"the healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do."
The centrality of the father who forgives the younger son's indiscretion
and overlooks the insult of the elder son has led to some calling this the
parable of the prodigal father. Since prodigal means extravagant
and luxurious we can readily see that the father was extravagant...extravagant
in mercy and luxurious...luxurious
in love.
A great reflection to start the day as I drink my tea and scroll my screen. Depending upon the time or place I find that all three characters find refuge in me. I have forgiven without thought, I have squandered my resources and talents for the pleasure of the moment while showing no concern for those around me, and I have sat back jealous and disrespectful with hurt feeling when I didn't feel I was getting the credit, respect or attention that I deserved. This is a good reminder to work on being the father but to forgive myself for being the sons. When I start the day seeking God's will for me, I tend to walk in peace and trust through out the day, and when I start the day stoking my own ambitions, I tend to put my will on others and the result is usually a restlessness as I try to control, what is not for me to control. This was indeed a gift, thank you!
ReplyDeleteA very refreshing reflection - glad you shared it!
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