HELLO!

On Tuesday, May 19^th at 7 pm we will gather in the Sams Room for the third and final session of our Faith Study on The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. In our previous two sessions we looked at the Younger Son and the Elder Son in the Prodigal Son story found in Luke 15:11-32. This Tuesday we focus on the father in that story.

There are many layers to our sessions; 1) Rembrandt’s life he paints into this Gospel story, 2) The Bible lesson, 3) Nouwen’s life and how it connects with the painting and the Bible story and 4) your life, how it connects with the painting and the Bible story. All these layers are welcome into our discussion. 28-30 participants have joined us weekly.

Here are some insights offered in Nouwen’s last section of this book: This is one of Rembrandt’s last paintings, he had endured much suffering in the midst of this offering (bankruptcy, the death of his children, his wife and his partners). “Every detail of the father’s figure – his facial expression, his posture, the colour of his clothing, most of all, his hands – speaks of the divine love for humanity that existed from the beginning and ever will be.” One major difference between the actual Gospel story and Rembrandt’s painting is the father’s running to the younger son in Luke and his stillness, his blindness, in Rembrandt’s version. Rembrandt’s earlier works focus on those who are blind but see what others cannot see, their wisdom and compassion are intuitive. One manifestation of this “seeing” are the hands of the father. Nouwen spends a lot of time on the father’s hands, he believes the father is actually the mother and father, and speculates the hands are different, one masculine and one feminine.

Nouwen also addresses the question of why the younger son is allowed to be so irresponsible, break so many hearts, including his own. Freedom is the key word, the father wants the younger son to freely chose to be home, not coerced. And Nouwen deals with the question of fairness, he references the parable of the landowner, who gives to the labourers the same wage, regardless of how long they toiled in the fields. God’s mercy, like this father’s love, is not a measuring stick based on fairness, but rather an enduring love that holds out hope the lost will be found. Nouwen also finds new life in reframing the question of how we search for God, reversing it, asking how we allow God to find us.

For me personally, I have no problem with the notion of God’s love and mercy offering homecoming to all, regardless of past missteps. Fairness has never been a preoccupation for me, I think I could join in the party for the younger son and would ask his brother to join me. Resentment kills, love brings life. My only caveat to this story is…boundaries, if I were the father, I would create covenants, not around my love for this son, but around expectation of behaviour. Forgiveness is found in how we love differently, I am skeptical of emotive words. Having been burned badly before, I would not want to be an enabler, someone who permits another to hurt themselves and others. Love is a constant, homecoming always the hope. But I have seen many hurt persons repeat the damage when there are no boundaries set as to what they do, what I provide. As a caregiver to those who have been the younger son and the father, I feel some expectations, moving forward, are appropriate. How about you?

Peace, Kevin