I spent a good part of my evening last night meditating on
the Parable of the Prodigal Son and trying to find a different angle. I kept coming back to the figure of the older
son. There are different ways to approach
the older son and interpret his actions, motives, and relationship to his
father and younger brother. Why was he
so reluctant to accept the return of his brother and his father’s mercy and
generosity? Jealousy and pride are
possible reasons that Henri Nouwen has expanded upon in his writings. Last night, I considered another possibility: his reluctance to change. The return of his younger brother would be a
major change in the life of the older son.
He would now have to share what was left of his father’s wealth with
someone who squandered it. He would have
to accept back into his life someone who had rejected his father’s love. So this return, if you go a little deeper,
would totally alter the life of the older son.
It is a change that he was not willing to embrace because of his angry reaction
to the great feast his father had thrown.
Yet this change in his daily life, which was initiated by his father’s
love and mercy, would liberate him to love and forgive as it did for his
younger brother who initially tried to scheme his way back into their lives but
ended up being totally embraced and transformed by their father.
We can identify with all three characters in this parable,
but today let us ponder the reluctance to change of the older son. We are so much like him. We want things to stay the same. We don’t want our well-ordered lives to be
rocked. We don’t understand that
embracing God’s love and mercy implies a radical transformation of our
lives. The parable ends with the father
explaining to the older son his motives for welcoming back his youngest son
with a great feast. We don’t hear the
older son’s response. It’s as if the
Lord is seeking a response from us as well.
How do we respond to God’s gracious mercy? How do we respond to change?
