The Prodigal Punk
by Jonathan
Last Sunday, the 7th, I had the privilege of attending church at Lake Overholser Church of the Nazarene in OKC. Pastor Doug preached on the parable of the prodigal son. As it was the second Sunday preaching the passage, he switched point of view from the prodigal to the loyal brother. He did a great job and really made me think about the differences and similarities between the two brothers.
In the passage, the prodigal’s logic is I have betrayed my family, if I become like a slave I would be better off than I am now. By being a slave I could show my shame and regret to my father.
The older brother, on the other hand, never left. His frustration presents a thought more like this: I have slaved for my father all these years and have never had this kind of appreciation!
Striking to me in this simple retelling is the common word ‘slave’. Both sons assume to slave for or become a slave to their father. But at this point, where they seem to similar, they couldn’t be more different. The prodigal son confesses to deserving less even than slavery – yet hopes that by presenting himself as a slave to his father that he could be forgiven and reconciled. The older brother on the other hand, he feels that he’s always been a slave, dedicating his whole life to his father’s work. For him this fact entitles him, so he attempts to use his slavery to gain leverage and power against the father.
In Pastor Doug’s sermon, the older brother is like the life-long Christian who has become habituated (at times merely trained) to doing what ‘good Christians’ are supposed to do. The younger brother seems to get easy grace. No matter how we apply these images, we need the grace, the forgiveness, the reconciliation; and this because we deserve nothing more than indebted slavery.
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*image: The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt
