The Return of the Prodigal Son

I have just finished reading The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen. This book is based on Nouwen's interaction with Rembrandt's painting of the same name, pactured here to the left. The painting is a depiction of the parable found in the Gospel According to Luke and tells the story of a son who rebels and returns, an older brother wracked by resentment and a father who pursues embraces his son in forgiveness and joy and unconditional love.

I was struck by the description of Nouwen's own journey as he meditates how he has seen himself as both sons and is learning to be more like the father. And I began to see myself also in the two sons, especially the younger. The love shown by the father as he embraces his son is something I have experienced at the darkest time, much as in the painting the father embraces his son, who is shown wearing rags, at his lowest. It is the tender love of the father, reassuring, comforting restoring.

What was particularly moving for me was the realization that we must move from being the son to the father. As Nouwen says, that sonship is preparation for taking on the role of the father. As we represent God to the world, we, I, must become like the father in the parable, grieving for and with the lost, unconditionally loving, pursuing and embracing, restoring the broken and then celebrating with joy the lost who is now found. Can I? I pray I can.

Reflections on David, Hypocrisy and Grace

I have been immersing myself this week in the Psalms. I am amazed not only with the diversity and beauty of the art, the theology and passion, the cry from the heart and the adoration of God, praise and plea. The psalms are something to be experienced.

As I read through them, I paid special attention to the many psalms of David. I realize how important it is to remember the stories of David's life as you experience his psalms. They are the backdrop, filling in the holes as David pours out his heart. Is there any more conflicted, complex figure in all of scripture as David. Peasant, king, musician, poet, warrior, polygamist, adulterer, murderer, Man after God's own heart.

Sometimes, knowing what I know about, my first reaction to David's psalms is "What!!! You have got to be kidding me!!! DAVID wrote this??? Where does he get off on writing this?" Its seems to be some of the most hypocritical statements found in scripture. Now remember David's story: Multiple marriages, adultery, fathering a child out of wedlock, trying to deceive the woman's husband and then having him killed, disobedience to God, rebellious children. David was certainly not perfect!

But he writes things like this:
"The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight." Psalm 18:20-24

There are many other passages like this in the Psalms. I wonder how David can stand like this as righteous. Because that is the same question we need to ask about ourselves. We may not be adulterers or murderers, but we all stand condemned because of our sin. By what right to we claim the salvation of God. The answer is simple: we have no right.

I then remember a tiny verse tucked into the middle of Psalm 103. In verse 10 David tells us "he (God) does not treat us as our sins deserve..." In this simple statement we find the Gospel. It is God and God only that deals with our sins, the sins that deserve punishment. Yet God removes our sin from us (verse 12). What is left but His righteousness. This is Grace at its simplest. God gives us the gift of righteousness when all re really deserve is the just punishment for our sins.

Oh, what a humbling, joyous little verse. The many things I have done that separate me from God, yet He has brought me too Him. By what right do I stand before God and say "I am clean" as David does? It is only because God has made me so. Oh wonderful Grace!! Of wonderful Love!!

I can't spell

So, ok. I know it, and I'm ok with it. Should you feel the need to berate me for my errors, go ahead, I can take it. At least make it clever so I can get a laugh out of it.

Learning to Trust God in the Darkest of TImes

I have been struggling with the issue of pain and suffering and where is God in it all. How do we as Christians trust God when God doesn't seem to be there. Probably the most famous instance of suffering in the Bible is the story of Job. Job underwent tremendous suffering of no fault of his own. Godly and upright, if anyone should not have suffered it was Job. Yet suffer he did. As we read through the book we see Job trying to make sense of it all. He finally ask God a simple question, Why? God's response is swift, terrifying, humbling and not at all what Job wanted. In a four chapter monologue, God basically tells Job that it is not his place to know for I am God and you are not. I always found this hard to take. I realize that God not requires from us our complete trust, to rely in no way on ourselves.

The second person is Joseph. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, begins to excel with his owner and is unjustly accused by his master's wife. he finds himself in prison for fourteen years. In all that time, we never get any indication that God reveals to Joseph His purpose in Joseph's life or a reason for Joseph's suffering. It is not until many years later, when Joseph's brothers, whom he had saved from starvation, now fear that Joseph will finally take his revenge, that we find that Joseph has received his answer from God. He tells them, "What you meant for evil, God used for good."

Here we learn what it means to trust God. We must release our situation to an all-powerful God, the creator of the universe. We may not, and often do not, see God at work. We often lose faith but God never fails. When we see only evil, God is working the evil for good. This is the hardest aspect of our faith, to endure suffering without seeing the end.

For those in the midst of trials, take heart. God is with you. The God of creation is the God who cares for you. Trust Him, for He will never fail. Trust Him in your darkest time. God can do all things. He can heal all wounds and broken hearts, bring families together make His love known to you. Trust the God who loves unconditionally. It will be ok.

Life outside the door

My wife was slightly annoyed this summer to find that something was building a nest in the hanging planter one foot outside our front door. The plants she had meticulously planted and nurtured all spring had been matted down and replaced by a small igloo shaped nest. Yet we have been fascinated to see these two little Carolina wrens together build up, strengthen and fortify their nest. For the last few days the male has been continually bringing small bugs and worms to the nest, feeding the female and flying off, only to return with another in a few minutes. It has been a wonderful lesson in teamwork and caring for each other. I fill you all in when we have screaming little wrens in a few days.

Thoughts on the Book of Judges

My reading through the Bible recently took me to the book of Judges. What a wold ride that is. It has to be the most diverse, odd, inspiring, vulgar collections of stories. Its hard to tell who are the heroes and who aren't. Samson, the great man of God visiting a prostitute. A levite sends his concubine out to be gang raped. The execution of a whole community, man, women and child. The list goes on. Its hard to get a grip on what the whole point is. I think the key may be somewhere in the repeated phrase "and each man did what was right in his own mind." Here we see the results of man's desire for autonomy and rejection of any kind of collective, communal, revealed truth, ethics or morality. The situations in this book are the direct result of the sin of wanting freedom from God. How relevant is that to our own postmodern times!

Still more on the Prodigal Son

Have really been turning this one over in my head this month. I was thinking about the time between the Prodigal Son's decision to return home and that moment of embrace from the father. He sets off hoping only for survival, to stay alive and the most basic level. That whole way home, he expected nothing because he deserved nothing. The extent of his faith was very small. How surprised, then, to see his father running out to him, embracing him and honoring him. I think sometimes our faith is too small, we know that we deserve nothing from God and hope only for something small. Yet grace knows no limits. Oh the unreachable depths of God's grace. He gives us so much more than we can ever hope or imagine.

Vacation

Ah, three days away from everything. It was good to get away, just the wife and me. We celebrated 15 years of marriage. I definitively married up!! Love you , Robin.