February 27: Return of the Prodigal Son
♫ Music:
Day 2 - Thursday, February 27
Lenten Lesson #2: THE PRODIGAL SON
Scripture: Luke 15:11-32
A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” And they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.” But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” And he said to him, “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.
Poetry:
The Turn
by Ann Stanford
Like lying down for winter, all life
drained–mud at the base of a pool–
scum freezing over–the bones bent like ribbons
around the limp center
the saints locked in their chambers
saying I am nothing.
Morning not a clatter of bird notes and wings
but a sour taste and voices
no reasons to go or stay, only to keep the sky
and earth apart. Caught in the knuckled hand
a fistful of clay.
This is when it turns, begins to shoot
up the green brace that breaks open the hand
and suddenly into the white light
of ordinary morning like a reed
or a vine or a tree that will scratch at heaven.
RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON
Shortly after graduating college, while I was living abroad, I read The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen, who was inspired to write the book after seeing Rembrandt’s painting of the same name in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hours of viewing the painting set Nouwen on a journey of deeper and nuanced understanding of this familiar parable which he reflects on in his book.
Like Nouwen, I thought I already knew this parable: A wayward son had finally returned to his Father who welcomed him with forgiveness. But, when I read Nouwen’s book in tandem with the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel of Luke, I realized how much richness of the story I had missed. After all, Jesus intentionally included three main characters in the parable. Could there possibly be anything for us to learn from the oldest son?
Lost in Resentment
The oldest son’s lostness is hard to see. On the outside he was compliant, faithful, and obedient. But, at the end of the parable we see that the oldest son was just as lost as his younger brother. Nouwen termed his condition as “Lost in Resentment.”
The older son’s resentment becomes glaringly evident in his responses to his brother’s homecoming. He became incensed when he heard of his father’s plan to throw a lavish celebration for his brother. He was so mired in resentment that he refused to join in the family celebration. Then he questioned his father’s joy, justifying his response by blaming his father for not noticing him. He even goes as far as to claim his father’s gifts and rightfully his. This is the same appalling request his own brother made when he first left home.
Can you see how the oldest son is not really all that different than his little brother? Are we?
The Oldest Son in Us
I have a hunch that many of us, at times, can relate to the oldest son. Like him, on the outside may be compliant, faithful, and obedient. But then something happens to reveal our inner state. Perhaps somebody received something we thought we deserved. Rather than rejoice, we question God’s goodness, we demand what we think is rightfully ours, and we refuse to join God in celebration.
Like the oldest son, we are lost. We no longer exude forgiveness and reconciliation but instead spew anger and resentment. And, just like the oldest son, we need God’s restorative forgiveness.
There is Always Forgiveness
Click on Jonathan Seal’s “Restoration Song (Hold On). As you listen gaze at Wardini’s striking painting, There is Always Forgiveness. Soak in the emotion of the painting: sorrow and regret held by joy and forgiveness. Do you see yourself in the painting? Have you wandered down the road of resentment? Have you refused celebration in your relationships? With whom do you need to reconcile?
Now, take some moments to reflect on the third person in the parable: the father, who welcomed both his sons, lost in their own way, home.
Prayer:
Lord, we are prone to wander
We turn down the road of self-righteousness
We get lost in resentment
We need a homecoming
We need you to run down the road to meet us
To wrap us in forgiveness
To restore us to you and to others
Amen
Jamie Sanchez, PhD
Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies
Program Director, PhD Intercultural Studies
Biola University
To learn more about the themes of this year's 2020 Lent Project amd for information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
To learn more about the themes of this year’s Lent Project, please go to:
https://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2020/#day-feb-25
The theme of the 2020 Lent Project:
THE LADDER
Welcome to the CCCA’s 2020 Lent Project. Last year we focused on what it means to be fully human and fully engaged with life both here on earth and in the age to come. This season we turn to early Christian texts to guide us in our Lenten journey together. These texts give us an intriguing glimpse into what the early church emphasized for those longing to daily “take up their cross and follow Christ.” The main document we will be using is a text called The Ladder of Divine Ascent, originally written by the head of St. Katherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai, Egypt, one of the oldest monasteries in the world. John Climacus (7th century), the author, was a monk writing to fellow monks regarding the faith. It is not a dogmatic treatise as much as it is a call to action. Divided into 30 steps or “rungs” reminiscent of the 30 years Christ lived on earth prior to His public ministry, it presents a graphic picture of the virtues and vices we struggle with in our daily lives as we traverse the path towards transformation.
Over the years The Ladder of Divine Ascent has become a popular devotional “how to” book on living the Christian life. Some consider it a text second only to the Bible, a fundamental book on what it means to be a follower of Christ. This spiritual classic has brought edification to every generation since the time it was first written. Read every year during Great Lent in monastic refectories, this book has been treasured by both monastics and laymen alike for 1500 years.
The ladder is a powerful Christian symbol. We immediately think of Jacob’s dream in Genesis, where Jacob sees a stairway to heaven with a host of angels ascending and descending it. We also think of Christ as the divine ladder bridging the gap between God and man. However, the idea of the Christian life as a ladder with every rung taking us ever upward on a straight path to heaven is only one way of visualizing the spiritual journey. Life can also be viewed as a series of spirals or concentric circles in which we return to earlier experiences, as we endeavor to circle upward and onward. Or we can look at the Christian journey as going deeper and deeper into the vast mysteries of Christ. We come to understand that along with images of height there are also images of depth. Whatever way we choose to think about the pilgrim life, we realize (according to Theologian Kallistos Ware) that “even in Heaven, God will continue to be full of surprises with ever new things to teach us. Salvation is an unending journey with always more to come.”
Subject matter for this year’s Lent project has been taken from The Ladder of Divine Ascent and adapted by our contributors for lay readers. Each weekday during Lent we will consider one of the virtues or vices (rungs) on Climacus’ ladder. On Sundays and during Holy Week through Bright Week we will meditate on early Christian hymn texts related to the salvific work of Christ. These texts are taken from the vast liturgical literature that has survived. Some of the texts are still used in particular Christian communities around the world today. Often reflecting psalmody in form and content, many of these hymns are poetic prayers describing the biblical texts for a particular liturgical sequence or cycle.
Jesus came to defeat the Devil and Death, but He also came to apply His victory to our daily lives--to lift us up to the heavenly realm here and now. Some Christians celebrate Christ’s victory on Easter Sunday, but fail to grab Christ’s hand and allow Him to lift them up into glory in their daily lives the rest of the year. How does one make progress in the Christian life? It is the intent of this project to help participants examine their lives by symbolically stepping on the rungs of the ladder of divine ascent, a ladder of Christian growth and maturity, of truth and virtue. As we carefully examine ourselves we become keenly aware of our short-comings and sins but at the same time we are filled with overwhelming joy as we meditate on Jesus’ life and how He endured the cross for our salvation as we are lifted up from glory to glory.
----- Barry Krammes, 2020 Lent Scripture Curator
About the Art:
There is Always Forgiveness
Ni Ketut Ayu Sri Wardani
2008
Oil on canvas
39” x 27.5”
From the Charis: Boundary Crossings Exhibition
Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity
Balinese artist Ni Ketut Ayu Sri Wardani explains, “There is Always Forgiveness was inspired by the story of the prodigal son. I relate to that story because I have two daughters. In this painting I am depicting how I must always extend God’s forgiveness to my daughters following his example.” The serene smile on Jesus’ face as he wraps this woman wracked with sorrow in his embrace emphasizes the safe haven He offers, no matter what the cause or circumstance. The thick impasto, common to contemporary Indonesian painting, gives the encounter a tangibility even as the woman’s tears turn into drips of paint as she seems to melt into Christ’s arms. The golden warmth behind Christ and the green around the weeping woman dressed in black signal the healing and new life possible when we accept His forgiveness and love.
About the Artist:
Ni Ketut Ayu Sri Wardani is one of a number of Indonesian Christian women artists living in Bali. Her artworks have appeared in the book Christ for All People, Image Magazine—Christ and Art in Asia, published by Asian Christian Art Association (ACAA) and in the book Many Faces of Christian Art in Indonesia published by the Communion of Churches in Indonesia. Many of her artworks speak about the deepest suffering of Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Sri Wardani completed her study in art in the Fine Art Department in Bandung Institute of Technology in 1993. With senior Christian artists in Bali including Ketut Lasia and Nyoman Darsane, she and her husband Erland Sibuea (also an artist but now deceased) established the Bali Christian Art Association (BCAA) in 2003, at which time she was appointed chair. The BCAA was established to manifest the Christian faith through works of art, to deepen biblical understanding by interpreting scripture through artistic means, to develop a contextual expression of the Gospel and to empower artists to share the Gospel with the world.
About the Music:
“Restoration Song (Hold On)” from the album Son of Cloud
The Lyrics:
Welcome home, little one
You are safe in our arms
Feel the warmth of the sun
Hear the tune of our song
You are part of a tale
Written long before time
Of a land without fear
In a kingdom of light
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold
But the garden was lost
And the well has run dry
For the children have wandered
There is fear in their eyes
We are part of a plan
That is greater than us
A perpetual dance
An elaborate design
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
But the people in darkness
Have seen a great light
Where the winter has lingered
Again, there is life
The young have seen visions
Of a life without struggle
And the old men lay dreaming
In the arms of their lovers
The hungry will eat
From the meat of our table
The thirsty will drink
From the fruits of our labor
The cycle was broken
In heaven and earth
And the sting of the grave
Has been traded for birth
Welcome home, little one
You are safe in our arms
About the Composer/Performer/Lyricist:
Son of Cloud (Jonathan Seale) is a successful producer and is the front-man for the Brooklyn-based band, Flearoy. Ten years in the making, his debut LP Son of Cloud explores questions related to his interpersonal relationships. He explains his songwriting process, “When I started making records professionally at age 20, I decided that I wanted to focus on supporting the writing of other artists because I felt that I hadn't lived enough life to make a meaningful contribution to the world as a songwriter. The songs that meant the most to me growing up were the ones that contained a kind of raw humanity powerful enough to communicate to the listener that they are not alone. I decided I didn't want to release a record until I felt I would be able to give that feeling to someone else. These songs have been my journal entries for the past ten years, marking family milestones of birth and death, marriage and separation. Now I’m sending them out into the world to find new homes in the hearts and ears of other people who need songs in the way that I do.”
https://www.gratefulweb.com/articles/out-now-son-cloud-solo-debut-jonathan-seale
https://masonjarmusic.com/
About the Poet:
Ann Stanford (1916–1987) was an American poet, anthologist, translator, and scholar. She earned her BA from Stanford University, studied at Radcliffe College, and earned her PhD at UCLA. Stanford published eight poetry collections during her lifetime and her poetry appeared in the most prestigious journals and magazines including: The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Poetry, The New Republic, and The Southern Review. Her lyric, meditative poetry touches on ecology, urbanity, and solitude, layering real and imagined landscapes. Her honors include the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Memorial Award, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award, the National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Literature, and two silver medals for poetry from the Commonwealth Club of California. She was a professor at California State University, Northridge, and USC honors her legacy with the annual Ann Stanford Poetry Prize.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ann-stanford
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Jamie Sanchez
Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies
Program Director, PhD Intercultural Studies
Biola University
Dr. Jamie Sanchez is an Associate Professor and the Program Director of the PhD in Intercultural Studies program at Biola University. Her research interests include refugee studies. Prior to her career in academia, Jamie lived in Asia for ten years. Inspired by the spiritual writer Henri Nouwen, she made her own pilgrimage to The Hermitage to sit with Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son.