10 April | Youth
«A certain man had two sons.» Luke 15:11
The parable of the prodigal son presents some inverted elements. Perhaps the most evident is the youngest son's request for his father’s inheritance. By requesting his share of the property, he was wishing for his father's death, something extremely offensive and subject to immediate punishment. In fact, the boy treated his father as if he were already dead.
Equally incredible is the father's attitude in satisfying this strange request and granting the inheritance to both sons (Luke 15:12). The fact that the firstborn also receives the amount, but remains silent, indicates the rejection of his responsibility to reconcile the family. Furthermore, his passivity shows that something was also wrong in his relationship with his father.
After breaking ties with family and community, the youngest son went to a distant country. Away from his father's eyes, he squandered his inheritance irresponsibly. Hungry, without money and without friends, the boy started looking after pigs, something unacceptable for a Jew. The scene represents total failure. Craving the pigs' food, he came to his senses and decided to return home with a self-pitying speech.
Then, the Bible highlights a sequence of “inverted” actions by the father: “But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). In a normal situation, that boy would be humiliated by the community upon returning, because he had shamed his family. However, the father anticipated this and ran out to hug his son. An oriental nobleman in flowing clothes would never run anywhere. Doing it was undignified. However, the father decided to run out of love for his son who was “dead.” The intention was to promote public reconciliation.
Instead of experiencing the anticipated hostility, the son found grace. The father's actions made no use of words. After confessing his sin, the boy received gifts of love and reconciliation: clothes, ring, shoes and a fatted calf. The fact that it was a calf, not a sheep, indicates that the celebration was for the entire community. Full restoration. This is how God works with us too. He is able to reverse common sense to welcome lost children. This is the irrational grace of a God who never gets tired of loving us.