Winter 2023 MiaMia out soon but you can read this article early,
written by Rt Rev’d Dr. Greg Anderson, Bishop of The Northern Territory
God the Father: faithful, patient and kind
written by Rt Rev’d Dr. Greg Anderson, Bishop of The Northern Territory
God the Father: faithful, patient and kind
The parable of the Prodigal (spendthrift) Son, found in Luke 15:11-32, must be one of the most famous in the Bible, and for good reason. The story of a son who makes a mockery of his father’s honour and then reaches rock bottom as a consequence of his reckless behaviour, and of a father who can not only accept and forgive the returning son, but actually celebrate his crestfallen homecoming, touches our hearts. People have suggested that a better title might be The Two Sons, because the reason Jesus tells the story is expressed in the contrast between the welcoming response of the father, and the older son’s bitter resentment of the father’s graciousness. Jesus tells the story because he has been getting complaints that he is welcoming the wrong kind of people – his point in telling the story is that the complainants are like the older son. Jesus’ own ministry is like the waiting father, and of course there should be rejoicing, not complaints, when people repent and receive restoration.
The parable dramatises Jesus’ own ministry, but of course it paints a picture also of God our own heavenly Father. It was the Father, after all, who sent Jesus into the world for the exact purpose of providing a way back for the wanderers and worse – which we all were! Jesus embodies and brings about the plan of God that is rooted in God’s kindness and patience. And the story implies a call to us to follow our Father’s example in welcoming back those who have had their own rock-bottom experience, who have sold the family silver, who have treated with contempt what they should have held dear.
A quick read-over of a familiar parable, however, can hide some important parts of the story, that highlight further the generosity of God in Christ that the story depicts. Three come to my mind:
For further reflection or sharing with others:
Rt Rev’d Dr. Greg Anderson
Bishop of The Northern Territory
The parable dramatises Jesus’ own ministry, but of course it paints a picture also of God our own heavenly Father. It was the Father, after all, who sent Jesus into the world for the exact purpose of providing a way back for the wanderers and worse – which we all were! Jesus embodies and brings about the plan of God that is rooted in God’s kindness and patience. And the story implies a call to us to follow our Father’s example in welcoming back those who have had their own rock-bottom experience, who have sold the family silver, who have treated with contempt what they should have held dear.
A quick read-over of a familiar parable, however, can hide some important parts of the story, that highlight further the generosity of God in Christ that the story depicts. Three come to my mind:
- When the father divides the property between his sons, and the prodigal squanders it, it is gone for good. When the son is restored, the property isn’t. The cost of losing that share of the property remains. When God acts in Jesus to provide forgiveness for us, there is genuine cost – God does not just ‘magic away’ our sin, it is carried by the saviour. It would not be just for God to treat good and evil, respect and dishonouring, as though they were equal. But God bears that cost personally.
- When the father first sees the returning son, he is still just a speck in the distance – perhaps you would hardly notice if you weren’t already searching the horizon. And at that point the father leaves the homestead himself and runs to meet his son – perhaps he has no honour left to lose after what has happened, but to run is not what a respected man of his community would do. The joy of receiving back his son surpasses society’s sneers. Reconciliation trumps respectability. A different god might not want to compromise his position, but our God knows all about humility and hostile opinions.
- When the returning son practises his homecoming speech, he plans his own kind of restitution – ‘I’m no longer worthy to be called your son, treat me like a hired servant’. This would at least have left him with a better deal than starving at the pig farm and given him some degree of place and position. But his father’s welcome takes the words out of his mouth – the son recognises that there is no deal to be made, but only forgiveness and reconciliation to be accepted. The father’s kindness is absolute.
For further reflection or sharing with others:
- Do you have a story to share that resonates with the experience of either the younger brother or the older brother? How did that story end (if it has)?
- Where do you see God’s honour being threatened as the Good News is spread out?
- In what ways can our interaction with God slip into the ‘deal-making’ of ‘make me like one of your hired servants’?
- Is there a cost that you feel you have borne by being an ambassador of the welcoming work of God in Christ?
- Spend some time with God revelling in the joy of his forgiveness and acceptance!
Rt Rev’d Dr. Greg Anderson
Bishop of The Northern Territory