I love to read about the parables of Jesus. For Christians, the parables have become trite stories of Jesus the mascot, telling us how to be “nice” in a world of people who don’t get it. Ah, poor Pharisees; they just aren’t in the “in” crowd. The parables make us smug with assurance of our salvation. However, what if they don’t mean what we think? What if Jesus was saying something much more radical? This is why I love reading various authors and their perspectives about the parables, because truth be told, the parables are both thought-provoking and incomprehensible. They are mind-blowing and yet predictable. They, like the Sermons on the Mount and Plain, should be the center of our faith, but we have heard the parables so many times that they have been domesticated for PG audiences. Yet, that is not what Jesus intended. For this reason, I love reading different takes on the parables.
This week, I have been pondering the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 11-32). You know the one, Dr. Everything’s Alright…the son squanders his birthright making it rain in the Near East only to return home to a banquet of love, acceptance, and a fatted calf. “Yes,” we shout, hoping that God, the “father” (no pun was intended in the Greek) in the parable, takes us back and prepares a banquet for us after we have mis-spent our inheritance on vape cigarettes and lotto scratchers. But, to this I say, “What if that isn’t what the story is about?” What if the story is about the older son? What if we are supposed to spend our time identifying less with the Prodigal and more with the older brother?
Think about it. If you know this story without searching for the citation that I listed, then you are likely a Christian. As Christians, we can readily identify with wondering off and over-spending. In fact, we write songs about it. We are “prone to wander.” Then, the Holy Spirit convicts us, we return, beg forgiveness, and fire up the grill for a tasty pig dinner. I note here that we will talk later about dietary issues, because Jesus would not have eaten pig, but I don’t want to lose the point. What if the parable is about the older brother? You know, the guy would did all the right things and then refused to go to the banquet out of bitterness.
What!?!?! Bitterness. Uhh, yeah. You mean righteousness! He was right. He was the one who stayed home and did everything expected of him. He did everything right. And yet, he got it 100% wrong in the end. What if Jesus was burying the lead? What if the parable wasn’t about the parent, God, who always harkens us back and celebrates our return? What if the parable is about the God that wants us to always look in wonder and humility at our lives? What if God wants to draw us into deeper generosity where doing the right things doesn’t make us bitter enough to refuse God’s banquet? Wait. Yeah, that is what I said. Did you hear it?
The older brother REFUSED to go to God’s banquet. Think about the traditional teaching on this story. The Prodigal returns. He is welcomed by his father, who everybody and Elmo has interpreted as God, the “Father.” God declares a jubilee and throws the party of all parties, velvet robes, champagne, the works. But what happens? The older brother refuses God’s invitation. The older brother refuses the call of God to the dinner table. The older brother REJECTS God. In fact, he rejects God to the extent that the text says that God “pleaded with him.” And yet, no.
Can you imagine refusing God’s banquet? I mean all the Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets you can eat with siracha sauce on everything. Prime rib with all the trimmings. Pulled pork and banana pudding. Jesus is in the corner turning water into the best wine Napa has to offer. The older brother says, “I don’t care about the mashed potato martini bar, I feel gypped.” As an aside, a friend had that at their wedding, and it was more elegant than you might think. But I digress. God, I mean the Prodigal’s father, says. “Ummm, really? Your belly has been full for years. You have a roof over your head. You have responsibilities and a calling on this estate. Your inheritance is secure. Why not celebrate your brother’s return?” There it is. The question that should haunt you in this parable.
If God is good all the time, then we shouldn’t be surprised that God accepts the Prodigal back. God created the Prodigal. God LOVES the Prodigal. Most of us, as humans, would welcome the Prodigal back. So, seriously, it isn’t really a jump in any type of logic. Seriously, do we really expect less from God. No. So, while fulfilling like an ending of a Hallmark Christmas movie, the Prodigal’s acceptance cannot be the point of a story that Jesus was born to tell. What if the entire point is for us to see ourselves in the older brother? What if we need to check our permanent records at the door and realize that the feast isn’t about whether we checked all the boxes; it is about loving others so much that we don’t care about keeping score? What if God really wants us to do our chores and do what is expected out of love and not just for merit that gets us a meal with our friends? Now, that is a story that I could ponder again and again. Which is why I ask “what if?” What if we got it wrong and missed the point? I know I want to consider that what if.
