New Year’s Day 2016
January 1, 2016
Luke 15:11-32
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| John Macallan Swan |
And he said further: “A certain man had two sons. The
younger of them said to his father, ‘Give me the share of the estate which
falls to me.’ And he divided his wealth
between them. And not many days later the younger son gathered everything
together and went on a journey to a far country and squandered his estate in
the enjoyment of loose living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine
came over the land, and he began to be in need. So he went and attached himself
to a citizen of the country who sent him out into his fields and let him herd
swine. And he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were
eating, but no one gave him anything.
Then he came to himself, and said, ‘How many of my
father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here of hunger.
I will rise up and go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against the higher world and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called
your son. Make me one of your hired men [workers].’
So he rose up and traveled along the road to his father.
When he was still a long way off, his father saw him, felt his misery, ran
toward him, embraced him and kissed him. And yet the son said, ‘Father, I have
sinned against the higher world and against you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me one of your hired men [workers].’
But the father called his servant to him. ‘Quickly! Bring
the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his
feet, and slaughter the fattened calf. Then we shall eat and be merry. For this
my son was dead and is risen to life. He was lost and is found again.’ And they
began to celebrate.
Meanwhile the older son was in the field. When he
returned home and came near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants to him and asked him what it meant. He gave him
the news: ‘Your brother has come home again. So in joy your father has
slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back again safe and sound.’
The son grew dark with anger and didn’t want to go in.
But his father came out and pleaded with him. He however reproached his father
saying, ‘Look! For so many years I have been with you and have never neglected
one of your commands. But you never gave me so much as a goat that I might be
merry with my friends. And now comes this son of yours who has eaten up your wealth
in scandal, and you offer him the fattened calf.’
The father however said to him ‘Child, you are always
with me and all that I have belongs to you too. But now we should be glad and
rejoice, for this your brother was dead and lives; he was lost and has been
found again.’
New Year’s Day 2016
January 1, 2016
Luke 15:11-32
We have come to a nodal point in the flow of time; an end,
and with it, an opportunity to begin again, to start afresh.
The lost son had sallied forth with a high heart, eager to
taste life and experience the world. But eventually he come to the end of his
own resources. And he comes to himself. He realizes that he has lost a right
and proper relationship to his father, and he chooses to be willing to start
over, rebuilding the relationship from a lower, more humble starting point. At
the same time, with an overflowing compassion, his father welcomes him back with
more than open arms.
Humanity too has largely lost the right relationship to
our heavenly Father. We are often too busy enjoying life, immersed in rich
experience, too proudly self-sufficient to notice that we are eating husks. But
we can be graced with moments when we come to ourselves and recognize what we
have lost. As Wendell Berry said,
"It may be when we no
longer know what to do, we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to
go, we have begun our real journey."
So in the words of another poet, David Whyte, *
…Start with
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| Prodigal Son Returns, Kathryn Donegan |
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.
Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don't follow
someone else's
heroics, be humble
and focused,…
Start close in,
don't take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step you don't want to take.
For our heavenly Father, with love and compassion, always
welcomes us back to our new beginnings.
* David Whyte, ” START CLOSE IN” in River Flow
