Journal of Sacred Work

…this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.   
– Luke 15:32

   In the course of revisiting the parable of the Prodigal Son (painting by Rembrandt) on this fourth Sunday in Lent, it’s interesting to recall why Jesus told this story. He was speaking to a group that included "tax collectors and sinners." Nearby, Pharisees and scribes were critical. "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:2)
   Part of the question Jesus sought to address in his story was the question of how to treat sinners. It’s a story that troubles many people today. Shouldn’t we treat a responsible son better than his wastrel brother? Again, Jesus helps us understand the inclusiveness of love…

   The Prodigal had left home and squandered his inheritance. When he returned, he came not only in shame but in humility. But when his father sees him "while he was still far off" he rejoices simply at the sight of him without knowing whether he is apologetic or not.
   What are Love’s practices? Two of them are forgiveness and grace. We all know how to forgive. But so often, forgiveness seems to come with conditions. "I forgive you, but I won’t forget." Or, "I forgive you, but don’t do it again."
   When grace is added to forgiveness, conditions fall away. The father welcomes back his son who "was lost and has been found." Simultaneously, he tells his other son, "…you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours." (Luke 15:31)

   Jesus hands us a great parable of both forgiveness and grace. Consider the power of welcoming arms (as in the Murillo, left) and how we feel when we have received the gift of this kind of grace.
   But what about our risk of being taken advantage of? Would the father have treated his son differently if he hadn’t been remorseful? The parable ends without offering a specific answer.
   Yet, Love gives us all the guidelines we need. Love challenges all of us to celebrate compassion while simultaneously calling us to live responsible lives. If all of us were perfectly good, we would never need the practice of forgiveness.  When we have been wronged, we have the opportunity to punish, to ignore, or to respond with Love. And Love calls us to learn to forgive with grace.

Spiritual Practice:   What we do to others, we do to ourselves. Welcome a "prodigal" into your life with graceful forgiveness.

-Erie Chapman