The Prodigal
Forgiveness and restoration don’t come easily. Jesus told stories to get his points across to those listening to him speak. The parable of the prodigal son is one such tale. The younger of two sons came to his father and demanded his inheritance up front. The father complied. The young man then went off to find his way in the world and wound up wasting all his money on wild living. Broke and hungry, he took up employment feeding hogs and found himself thinking their food looked appetizing.
Coming to himself at last, he told himself that his father’s servants lived better than this and so he resolved to return home and ask to become a servant in his father’s house, since he no longer deserved to be called his son.
His father saw him coming along the road and ran to meet him. The young man told his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (Luke 15:21)
But the father told his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they started to have a party.
Meanwhile, the older son had been out in his father’s field. When he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing and so asked one of the servants what was going on. Informed that his profligate younger brother had returned home and that the party was for him, he became furious and refused to join the party.
His father went out to talk to him and find out why he was so angry. The older brother told his father, “’Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”
“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Jesus told this story when some of the religious leaders criticized him for being friendly with “sinners” and eating meals with them. He wanted them to understand that God’s attitude towards sinners was just a little different from theirs: rather than wanting to see the wicked punished, God wanted to see them transformed, just as a doctor seeks to cure the sick, not bury them.
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying that the best way to destroy your enemies is to turn them into your friends. Although it may be fun to watch bad guys get “what they deserve” in the movies, in reality, it is much better if the bad guy can be turned into a good guy. Pharisees tend to find that not emotionally satisfying, however.
