Lk 15:1-32 (or 15:1-10)
1The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to [Jesus], 2but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3So to them he addressed this parable... 11Then he said, “A man had two sons, 12and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.
13After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. 14When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. 16And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 17Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.” ’ 20So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 21His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, 24because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. 25Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. 27The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. 29He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. 30But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ 31He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. 32But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
A Love Without Condition: Luke’s parable of the lost son (vv 11-32) used to perplex me. Where is the mother in this drama? Poor father, I thought, torn alone between extreme forces: the younger son, a restless lot, and the elder son, rigid, repressed in his desires.
Henri Nouwen’s commentary on Rembrandt’s painting of the same episode gave me the answer: “The mother is in the father.” Just look at the hands, says Nouwen: “The longer I look at ‘the patriarch,’ the clearer it becomes to me that Rembrandt has done something quite different from letting God pose as the wise old head of a family. It all began with the hands. The two are quite different. The father’s left hand touching the son’s shoulder is strong and muscular. The fingers are spread out and cover a large part of the prodigal son’s shoulder and back... How different is the father’s right hand! This hand does not hold or grasp. It is refined, soft, and very tender.
The fingers are close to each other and they have an elegant quality. It lies gently upon the son’s shoulder. It wants to caress, to stroke, and to offer consolation and comfort. It is a mother’s hand... The Father is not simply a great patriarch. He is mother as well as father. He touches the son with a masculine hand and a feminine hand. He holds, and she caresses. He confirms, and she consoles.”
Such is our God in this beautiful Lucan parable. In holding us to himself and in seeking us when we draw away from him, he is firm and tenacious like a father. On the other hand, she is tender and comforting like a mother, in welcoming us and assuring us that there is always room for forgiveness, mercy, and love in God’s great family, especially for the lost, the sinner, the least.
Finally, we need to remember that the center of all three parables in Luke 15 is the joy that God experiences in the recovery and return of someone who wanders away from God’s love. All three repeat the line: “Rejoice with me!” (vv 6-7; 9-10; 23-24; 32). In fact, that is how the whole story starts: the Pharisees and scribes begin to murmur because Jesus (God’s Son) “welcomes sinners and eats with them” (v 2). Indeed, the Kingdom which God the Father/Mother reveals to us in Jesus is a festive one. It is a joyous banquet open to all!