Homecoming

Summary

Last week we read from Luke 15, in which the Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling about Jesus welcoming and eating with sinners. And in response Jesus told three parables – the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Today we are going to engage more deeply with the third of these- the parable of the prodigal son. And we will do so in a variety of ways- through artwork, and also through music, and ritual.

Much of the framing and input for this time is from Henri Nouwen’s book entitled The Return of the Prodigal Son.

In this book, popular faith leader and writer Henri Nouwen describes his encounter and ongoing meditations on Rembrandt’s painting of this parable, which became transformative in his life.

Nouwen asserts that all of the gospel can be found in the parable of the prodigal son. That in our brokenness and unworthiness, we are still and always invited back into wholeness in the arms of God through grace. That in God we find our true home. But we are never forced to remain there. We have a choice about leaving and we have a choice about returning.