pondering the prodigal

Pastor Kelly preached a sermon on Sunday that kicked! As always. It was on the tried and tired Prodigal Son. Her emphasis was that of how confession and growth go hand in hand. At the end, she asked us who (in the story) needed yet to confess: the father for throwing a party? the stay at home son for being snippy? She always manages to bring a new light to scripture texts darkened with familiarity.

I want to ponder the prodigal a bit. The ending always receives short shrift. We've already had the full story of the son who leaves, debauches, regrets and returns. The father welcomes and throws a party. Any energy thrown the way of the stay-at-home son is usually casual and flippant. Well, why not? The stay at home son is whiny and a complainer. Poor sod. He worked and worked and never got what his brother received. Did he ever ask his father for a party? You have to wonder. I know I always asked my parents for things I wanted, knowing they would simply say "no" if they were not inclined to provide it.

It is the stark ending that pulls me in. Imagine.......a house, lit up, full of people, music, dancing.......and outside its dark. You can see the merriment through the windows, while the noises are muffled by the walls. Outside, only those on errands scurry about in the cool of the evening. The life is inside. The stay-at-home son is sulking, alone for a bit, outside. Refusing to go in.

Out comes the father. A father who is delighted at the return of his prodigal son. A father who is full of joy and emotion. A father who has two sons. The father comes outside of the party, leaving the life, the mirth, the joy, to stand in the darkness with the other son.

This is the point where it all freezes for me. Stilled to perfection. For if, in the parable, the father is to symbolize God, then God has just left perfect joy to stand with humanity in its self created hell of darkness.

And the story ends there. Out there in the darkness. It is not tidy or rosy....it just ends.

That is the power of the parable. Not simply the father's forgiveness for the wayward son, but for the commitment to stand outside of the party, in the pouty darkness, for as long as it takes. And this is the God I know and serve. This is the God who meets the needs of the deserving, and the needs of the entitled.

....this God who stands with me, with humanity, with creation for as long as it takes for us to get it. To get that the party is already on, and all we have to do is go inside. All we have to do is walk through the door.

asgr (with an appreciative nod to Robert Capon's exegetical work)