Two or three weeks ago, the sermon was on the parable of the prodigal son. The pastor is preaching a series on the parables that takes a fresh look at some of the stories Jesus told His followers and what we can learn from them today.
Pastor Desi started the series Oct. 11 with three parables about counting. Surprisingly, the third one was the parable of the prodigal son. Seeing it from the perspective of a father who forgot to count both of his sons when the prodigal one returned resonated with some lingering hurt in my soul as I identified with the son who had not left home and who had not squandered his inheritance.
And yet, something didn't sit right with the interpretation that focused on the father's failure to consider this son's feelings. Which was OK, because both Pastor Desi and author Amy-Jill Levine, on whose book "Short Stories by Jesus" the sermon series is based, noted that the Scriptures don't say whether the son goes to the party for his brother. The hearer is left to contemplate the possibilities.
Last Thursday, as I was driving to a friend's house, a phrase in a Casting Crowns' song grabbed my attention. I'd heard "Start Right Here" many times without really hearing these lines:
“I'm like the brother of the prodigal
“Who turned his nose and puffed his chest
“He didn't run off like his brother
“But his soul was just as dead“
The message I needed to hear came through loud and clear. Even if or even though all of those other things were true (about both sons and the father), nothing short of puffed up pride and a soul dead to Christ's love would keep a sibling from rejoicing with his father over the one who returns.
So I'm going to believe that's what the brother did. And I'm going to believe that's what I'm called to do as well.
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