Prodigal Son
If you were to take no more than an encyclopedia explanation of theparable of the Prodigal Son, you would think that it concerned no more thana nice story about a "young man [who] leaves home and becomes a wastrel;repentant, he returns to be received with joyful welcome." [1] But it is more than that. To begin with, as a parable of Jesus, itis a priori about the hope of heaven. In addition, it is a reflection ofthe social order of the times, because, as Hodges pointed out almost ahundred years ago, "these records of the dealings of Jesus with Samaritansand publicans and poor folk and sinners marks this as the social gospel." That being the case, it makes some sense to investigate therelationships between the father and the prodigal son and between thefather and the dutiful son in terms of modern life, as well, especially interms of dutiful children and profligate ones. The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young
Theimplication, in the passage above, is that the dutiful son could have had afattened calf, or anything else, had he but asked. It is that, of course, because it isGod's abundance. In God's economy, he practically shouts, you cannot throw your own party. As to the nature ofGod, the parable is eloquent without further explication, or at least notmuch. ' [3] Modern commentators note that most of us can identify with theyounger son, the child who strikes out on his own, making costly mistakesinto the bargain. Before going home, he rehearses what he will say to his father: "I amno longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hiredmen. Surprise Party: The Christian Century, 118. Perhaps they went to work so a younger sibling could go to college, ormaybe they lived at home to take care of the parents while the younger onesgot married and started independent lives. NewYork: Columbia University Press. The father in the parable forgives all, thus heunderstands all, and thus he must be God, for only God understands all. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
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