“Totally outrageous”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, November 14, 2024
Luke 15: 1-2, 11-32 (Forward, p. 16) CEV p. 1082
Sadly, today’s parable, usually nicknamed the Parable of the Prodigal Son, is so very familiar that we often miss out on how revolutionary it is, how outrageous to Middle Eastern sensibilities. (By the way, I think that it is misnamed and should be called the Parable of the Prodigal Father, given that ‘prodigal’ means wasteful.)
Anyway, the several ways that this parable is objectionable to those from that part of the world, begins, predictably, with its opening. Here the younger son comes and asks his father for his share of the family estate. There are two difficulties here. Firstly, this request probably meant selling or liquidating certain of the family assets, which would be no small feat. And secondly, this dividing up of the property would have happened only on the father’s death. In other words, the son was wishing that the father was dead, or, at very least, acting as if he was. No, he wanted his share, and he wanted it now! How very disgraceful, and how very insulting to the father. With most of Jesus’ original audience, they, had they been in the father’s shoes, would have simply sent the younger son packing—with nothing in hand! Good riddance, they would have thought.
So, the younger son, newly minted capital in hand, takes off for ‘a foreign country’, proceeds to ‘blow it all’ and ends up with the lowdown and thoroughly disgraceful job of feeding pigs—such that he is even reduced to wanting to grub into the pig trough for his own food. Yes, the Middle Eastern critics would gleefully chime in, “It serves him right. He’d getting what he deserves. He had it coming.”
At this point, our story tells us, the younger son ‘comes to his senses’. (Yes, when you’re at ‘rock bottom’, this certainly can happen.). Finally, he begins to understand what he’s done—well, partially, at least. He decides to return home, repent (of sorts), and ask to be hired on as one of his father’s hired servants. But even here, his primary motive still seems to be his own welfare, his continued survival.
But then the story takes a most unexpected twist, one that is even more upsetting and disturbing as far as Jesus’ initial hearers were concerned.
The father has been pining after him, even to the point of watching and waiting for his return, and upon spotting him coming up the driveway, runs out to greet him and welcome him home. “Imagine”, Jesus’ Middle Eastern audience would be saying, “how totally unbecoming, how totally inappropriate, for such a father as this one to shed his dignity and act in such a thoroughly indecorous fashion! Why, he’s an old fool.”
However, in their eyes and opinion it gets even worse. Rather than putting the younger son on probation, as might be expected, the father immediately reinstates the son to all the rights and privileges of a rightful heir, and furthermore, throws a party to celebrate his safe return. Yes, in spite of all that this son had done!
The elder son, the dutiful and conscientious one, is rather taken back by all this and is understandably quite miffed and upset. (Here Jesus’ critics would have been thoroughly on his side. After all, this son had stayed home, ‘kept the shop running; as it were, and done his level best, done all that was required of him—just as Jesus’ critics figured that they had done in terms of the Law.)
Once again, the father sheds—or shreds—his proper dignity and goes out to plead with the elder son to come in and join them. Again, Jesus’ audience would have thought, “How totally insulting and revolting for the father to have to do this!” And here the elder brother shows his true colours: he may have been physically at home, busily working for and with his father, but his heart wasn’t in it. He resented it. And, rather than
relishing or enjoying this partnership, this time with his father, he counted it as slavery. He was ‘just as much’ away from home and away from the father as his sibling. But, even so, the father wants him back, wants him home.
To Jesus’ original audience this entire parable would have been a terrible affront, for they would have definitely grasped the idea that the father in the parable was meant to stand in for God. To them, that God would humble Himself in this way, and reach out to sinners—of whatever sort, the younger son sort, or the older son type—and invite them home, was unbelievable. It was something that they simply could not, or would not, accept. But that was exactly how the grace of God worked, and still worked. God totally humbled Himself in Jesus Christ, in becoming flesh and taking on all that we humans put Him through. And furthermore, welcoming us home whether we were the thoroughly disreputable sort of sinner or the seemingly respectable, righteous, toeing the line sort. That is what God has done for us. It may be ‘prodigal’, wasteful, but that is exactly what He has done for us. It may seem outrageous, but that is what it took. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “Then he became angry and refused to go in” (verse 28b).
“Of all the moments in the Prodigal Son story, this is the one I identify with most readily. It might be wrong of me, but truth be told, I have always seen myself as the older brother. In my mind, I have been faithfully working in the field while my younger siblings are squandering what they have been given.
“Perhaps I recognize myself in the oldest child, but I think the connection might go deeper, too. For many of us who come to church each week, we might feel like the eldest brother. We might feel as if we are invisible in our efforts.
“Because of his resentment, the eldest brother became angry and refused to join the celebration. He missed the chance to experience the feast and the music and dancing that was there for him, too.
“In his self-righteousness, the eldest brother denies himself joy. I hope I don’t fall into the same trap.”
Moving Forward: “Are you angry and refusing to participate in some space in your life? Is an invitation waiting for you, too, if you can set aside your resentment and anger?”