Lent 4 - Year C

The Prodigal Son


Here we are in the 21st century. In all sorts of ways we are being told these days that we have to embrace this fact and start to live in a 21st Century way.  But I work with a bit of a problem in this. - I am not sure I belong! The more I think about it, I am very much a 20th Century person.

For example - we are told that our thinking should be in a "Post Modern" way. But I am a ‘Modern' person. From childhood I was brought up to be ‘modern'.  I was raised taking the theory of evolution for granted. At the same time, in a Christian household, to believe that evolution was the way that the Creator God worked - that evolution described the process of God's gradual and painstaking way of shaping things, and especially shaping the human species - and, the most awe inspiring, incredible, fact of all - shaping us ‘in his image'.  I was taught, moreover ,that the concept of evolution was accurate in describing the way that each one of us grew, oh so gradually, into a self awareness, - an understanding of our God given life as a kind of school room in which I would slowly, slowly, discover "myself".

And where was I taught all this and so much more ? On my every Sunday walk with my mother as we journeyed some five miles from home to the next village so that she could play the organ at the Church there [it was 1943 - so no petrol for the car]. A sort of Pilgrimage of growing up.  Part of our conversation was about an appropriate name to describe our species. I remember that "the tool making animal" had pride of place for a while. Then, after exploring the habits and skills of bees, nest building birds and especially the cleverness of the tree cutting dam building Beaver - we ‘decided' [i.e. I was led quietly to understand] that we humans are best distinguished as story telling creatures.

Just ponder that - from the earliest times known to us - we have told stories. We have spun yarns around the camp fire, we have drawn pictures on the wall, we have carved statues and sung songs - all to tell "our story".  It is in the story that we remember and we teach others. It is remembering that we celebrate the past and are enabled to move on to the future. It is in story that we dream dreams and create visions of what may be. We are, indeed, the people of Story.

As Christians we are especially conscious and aware of the importance of our stories. We even give them a special name - we call them Parables. As soon as we say that we will recognise at once that in our Gospel reading for to-day we have one of our very favourite Parables.

Is it just one story? Or is it three stories which together make the one Parable?  There are certainly three characters.

  1.   The patient and loving Father
  2.   The son who wants to cut loose and explore new fields and experiences
  3.   And the son who stays home and does all the right things - but who is also a bit resentful.


One of the 20th Century biblical scholars called Jerimias taught that each parable has one basic teaching. He warns about a Jewish tendency to weigh a story down with to much detail and too many ‘teachings.' In this case he says the one thing is all about God's unfailing Love. And that is what he really says about all the Parables. 

Now, I think that in this case whilst each of the parable's three characters each play a part in setting the scene (the Loving Father waiting for his boy to come home, the rather uptight and perhaps self righteous brother being cranky about the fuss and party, and - most importantly - that lovable but completely irresponsible youngest son who has been off doing we dare not think what, it is this one who carries the chief ‘story line.'

You already know how it goes...he cashes in his inheritance, goes off to spend it in a "wow" sort of way [the attractive bit], then, after a while finds himself BROKE, has to get a job, and ends up doing WHAT [shock horror] feeding swine (pigs - but swine sounds worse).  But then, at long last "comes to himself." Oh how we know what that means. Oh how we can relate to this...this coming to our senses after a terrifying close shave with total disaster.

Now, you can all tell the rest of the ‘story' in your own way from your own lived experience, but - so that you can get your story right - you have to face up to this next vital question.  READY?  Here it is, what did he do with the pigs?

And the all important answer to this vital question ?

HE LEFT THE PIGS BEHIND.

So, if you are doing this properly, then you have to face YOUR pigs.  The stuff you will not let go even when you really believe that God has forgiven you.  Just think of those secret things of guilt...anger...resentment [oh boy!].  You know - all the usual suspects.

Jesus said - 'I came to set the Prisoner free,' not ‘set them free with pigs.'  These sort of pigs are not found in The Kingdom of Heaven.