I was hoping this lesson would fall on my turn, but sadly it’s my week off this week. I don’t remember when it happened (I think it was sometime on my mission), but this parable had a new insight for me and since that time it has been my favorite (#2 would have to be the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but that’ll be for another time…).
I’m sure everyone is familiar with the story (Luke 15:11-32)... A son tells his father, “I can’t wait long enough for you to die, I want my inheritance now” (paraphrasing). Junior takes his portion of the inheritance, leaves for “a far country”, and blows it all on really good buffets and carnival rides (my idea of riotous living). The economy goes bad, he ends up working on the farm moments away from stealing food from the pigs (anyone who has been around pigs knows that you’d have to be pretty hungry to eat anything fed to a pig).
Junior gets the idea to return home and work for his father because the servants at the house were apparently well fed. He gets home, meets his father, they hug, they kiss, and there’s a party.
Normally, we look at the story and think it is about either of the sons (I skipped over the good son who stayed home and got his nose out of joint). That’s all well & good because there is a lot that can be applied from their two perspectives. The big change for me came when I realized the parable was about the father.
Before I explain, let me add the disclaimer that I do not possess or claim the ability of interpretation (I don’t want that job, Pres. Hinckley is doing just fine). I do, however, offer this as an application of the parable.
Look at the story through the father’s eyes. Your youngest son basically tells you he wishes you were dead so he can get his inheritance right away. Contrary to the custom, and certainly not within any reasonable or legal expectation on the part of your son, you give him his portion of the inheritance which he takes and gets as far away from you as possible as fast as he can get his bags packed.
The story doesn’t mention how long it took Junior to spend his money and come back, and I don’t think that is really important, whether it was days, weeks, months, or years. The touching part is that during that whole time, his father was still watching for him to return.
“…But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion…” (Luke 15:20)
I missed this so many times when reading this parable. When it finally hit me, it was powerful beyond expression. I now picture a father who has been pacing in front of the living room window, waiting for a sign that his son is returning. He wasn't casually walking past the window just as Junior was walking up the driveway. I see him standing at the window, watching and waiting, occasionally getting excited as a figure comes into view only to realize it was someone selling Amway. Day after day, he watches the road hoping the next person to come down would be his son. Then the day came when it was his son, the son who had given possibly the biggest insult possible to his father. How did Dad react? He “…ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
He couldn’t wait for Junior to make it all the way back to the house before going to greet him, and he wasn’t going to let his son make what had to be the most difficult part of the journey on his own.
Likewise, when we do stupid stuff and eventually “come to [ourselves]” (vs. 17) and start our way back, our Heavenly Father runs to meet us and help us walk the road back home. There are always open arms and welcoming embraces. To me, this parable gives us a glimpse of His merciful nature.
It also brings to mind another scripture:
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:12)
This didn’t really stand out much to me until I learned what succor meant. In Latin, currere has the same route as ‘courier’, or ‘to run’. Add suc (Latin for ‘beneath’ or ‘before’) and you get succurrere, ‘to run to help’. And as only can truly be applicable in the case of Christ, One who has gone below all things in order to run to our aid.
I’m sure everyone is familiar with the story (Luke 15:11-32)... A son tells his father, “I can’t wait long enough for you to die, I want my inheritance now” (paraphrasing). Junior takes his portion of the inheritance, leaves for “a far country”, and blows it all on really good buffets and carnival rides (my idea of riotous living). The economy goes bad, he ends up working on the farm moments away from stealing food from the pigs (anyone who has been around pigs knows that you’d have to be pretty hungry to eat anything fed to a pig).
Junior gets the idea to return home and work for his father because the servants at the house were apparently well fed. He gets home, meets his father, they hug, they kiss, and there’s a party.
Normally, we look at the story and think it is about either of the sons (I skipped over the good son who stayed home and got his nose out of joint). That’s all well & good because there is a lot that can be applied from their two perspectives. The big change for me came when I realized the parable was about the father.
Before I explain, let me add the disclaimer that I do not possess or claim the ability of interpretation (I don’t want that job, Pres. Hinckley is doing just fine). I do, however, offer this as an application of the parable.
Look at the story through the father’s eyes. Your youngest son basically tells you he wishes you were dead so he can get his inheritance right away. Contrary to the custom, and certainly not within any reasonable or legal expectation on the part of your son, you give him his portion of the inheritance which he takes and gets as far away from you as possible as fast as he can get his bags packed.
The story doesn’t mention how long it took Junior to spend his money and come back, and I don’t think that is really important, whether it was days, weeks, months, or years. The touching part is that during that whole time, his father was still watching for him to return.
“…But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion…” (Luke 15:20)
I missed this so many times when reading this parable. When it finally hit me, it was powerful beyond expression. I now picture a father who has been pacing in front of the living room window, waiting for a sign that his son is returning. He wasn't casually walking past the window just as Junior was walking up the driveway. I see him standing at the window, watching and waiting, occasionally getting excited as a figure comes into view only to realize it was someone selling Amway. Day after day, he watches the road hoping the next person to come down would be his son. Then the day came when it was his son, the son who had given possibly the biggest insult possible to his father. How did Dad react? He “…ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
He couldn’t wait for Junior to make it all the way back to the house before going to greet him, and he wasn’t going to let his son make what had to be the most difficult part of the journey on his own.
Likewise, when we do stupid stuff and eventually “come to [ourselves]” (vs. 17) and start our way back, our Heavenly Father runs to meet us and help us walk the road back home. There are always open arms and welcoming embraces. To me, this parable gives us a glimpse of His merciful nature.
It also brings to mind another scripture:
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:12)
This didn’t really stand out much to me until I learned what succor meant. In Latin, currere has the same route as ‘courier’, or ‘to run’. Add suc (Latin for ‘beneath’ or ‘before’) and you get succurrere, ‘to run to help’. And as only can truly be applicable in the case of Christ, One who has gone below all things in order to run to our aid.
