The Return of the Prodigal Son

22May
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
-Psalm 103: 11-13


I am in a group book study and our recent read was The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. I’ll give you a brief synopsis, but I supposed many of you know the story.


The parable is about a father and his two sons. The older son stays at home and works for his father on their land while the younger son runs away with his inheritance and spends all his money on a life of indulgence and excess. The younger son eventually returns home and begs his father to accept him as a slave. The father welcomes home his younger son with open arms, while the oldest son is angry and feels rejected. He has worked hard for his father and never abandoned him, like he feels his younger brother did. And the father is overjoyed seeing the younger son return and throws a party and accepts his younger son with open arms. 


The author, Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest, professor, and theologian. While he was traveling in France in 1983, he saw Rembrandt’s famous painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son (photo above). Something connected and drew him in, and Nouwen was mesmerized with the characters, their emotions, their past and identifying with them. It became Nouwen’s own “homecoming.” He dives into the parable and profiles his own life - discovering compassion, love, and forgiveness. Through the eyes of each character, we relate and can feel the rejection or acceptance: the younger son’s return and how his father restores their relationship and the older son feeling resentful toward his younger brother.  


Themes that our group discussed were love, anger, compassion, jealousy, acceptance, and forgiveness. Love was one that we kept discussing and relating to our own lives. We ought to love as God loves us and feel his unconditional love. We ought to forgive and accept, although it may be hard to do. We ought to suppress our feelings of jealousy and anger. We ought to act with compassion.


I have heard that The Return of the Prodigal Son is a book considered to read during Lent because it is about returning to the Lord. But in reality, we need the same mindset during every season of our lives: Lent, Easter, Advent. Our challenging and chaotic times, as you know, are not limited to one season. I’ll end this meditation with a quote from Henri Nouwen: “what makes us human is not our mind, but our heart, not our ability to think, but our ability to love.”


Musical Reflection - Here I Am, Lord - Salford Cathedral Music


Lord, thank you for this day and for all of the blessings that it brings. We ask for your presence and guidance as we go about our daily tasks. Give us strength and resilience to face any challenges that come our way and help us to be a source of love and support for those around us. Amen

PsalmsLoveEaster

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