I’m sure it’s happened to you ... while reading a parable in the Bible, one you’ve read perhaps hundreds of times, it’s revealed from an entirely new perspective, one that provokes deliberation and introspective investigation. The parable of the Prodigal Son birthed exactly that in me today.
For the first time I noticed that mention of the second brother was incongruously absent from the beginning of this parable other than a reference to his existence. I began to ask myself, what kind of relationship did he have with his younger brother? Did he have anything of significance to add to his brother’s life? Was he caught in the ‘older brother’ situation of jealousy of the ‘baby’ of the family?
Luke 15 tells us that the younger sibling had insisted on receiving his inheritance and squandered it leaving him eating the pods fed to the pigs. Verse 17 indicates he began to question his life, concluding that “I perish here with hunger.” In Matt 5:6, Jesus said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” The young man knew he would be fed in his father’s ‘kingdom,’ so he sought it out, looking only to be fed as any other of his father’s servants. He expected nothing more and was even worried about his father’s reaction because he had once rejected his father, and everything he stood for.
To his surprise, his father welcomed him with open arms, running towards him to greet him with the love that had never stopped burning in his heart. He prepared a celebration to welcome him home. In Luke 15:3-7, Jesus spoke of a shepherd leaving his 99 sheep to go and seek the one who was lost. He ended the parable by saying, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
When the eldest brother returned from working in the fields he notices a great celebration underway. He was offended, resentful and jealous of his brother. His father tried to make him understand the significance of his brother’s return but his son would hear nothing of it. “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him?”
He was unable to rejoice. His works, deeds and obedience were clearly righteous; his heart wasn’t others-centred but rather self-centred. He viewed his brother as his father’s other son.
During my time of reflection I had to ask myself, what kind of sister am I to the children of God, those who are lost? Am I more of a sister to the 99? What condition is my heart in? Do people recognize Jesus in me? Can they tell by my actions and reactions that I am one of His? Have I forgotten that I was once His prodigal daughter? As a disciple of Christ, I am a shepherd. Waiting for the prodigals to return is unacceptable. Clearly, we are called to go and find them. If they are not with the flock, they are lost. Are you seeking?
