This week, until 22 November, Kevin Mayhew Ltd are offering 10 per cent off No Ordinary Stories: Meditations and Worship Material on the Parables. With the book normally retailing at £19.99, that means a saving of £2.00 using the code STORIES10 when ordering the book from the company’s website. Just type the code into the relevant box at the online checkout between the dates given.
Meanwhile, here’s the sixth of the sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion.
THE PRODIGAL SON
Reading
Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe – the best one – and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’ Luke 15:11-32
Meditation of a lapsed Christian returned to faith
Lost and found!
It wasn’t the first parable he’d told on that theme,
but to me it was the best;
those words of his, when I heard them read,
falling like music on my ears,
for though the message was much the same as before,
the implications were so very different.
I was just like that young man, you see,
the second of the two sons,
not simply lost but having wilfully gone astray.
I’d known and understood the Father’s love,
what it was to be part of his family,
and I’d gone and frittered it all away,
preferring my way to his,
squandering the riches he’d given me,
living with no thought of his will or guidance.
It was my own doing, no one else’s.
I’d plumbed the depths of despair,
sunk until I could sink no lower,
and it was all down to me;
a self-made humiliation.
That’s what frightened me the most:
to be lost is one thing –
anyone can make a mistake –
but to be the knowing instrument of your own destruction,
to recognise the error of your ways
and carry on regardless,
can God forgive that?
I thought he’d washed his hands of me,
that if I dared approach him he’d shake his head
and tell me, ‘I told you so’,
so I kept my distance
and lived with my shame as best I could.
Only, suddenly, here was Jesus speaking not just of forgiveness
but joyful acceptance,
a love reaching out to meet me,
celebrating my return,
welcoming me home,
and it dawned on me that the mercy of God
is greater than I’d ever begun to contemplate.
I’d walked away,
thrown his gifts back into his face,
and I’d assumed there could be no return.
But I was wrong,
for he was there waiting,
longing to receive me back,
arms outstretched to hold me close.
I was lost,
and now I’m found!
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
we find it hard enough to forgive mistakes
made unintentionally against us,
even then our patience short and our tempers quickly aroused.
But when it comes to wilful disobedience,
deliberate hurt
and a stubborn refusal to consider the consequences,
we find it almost impossible to control our feelings,
resentment and bitterness building up within us.
Yet day after day we are guilty of just such disobedience to God,
ignoring his guidance,
flouting his will
and breaking his commandments.
We know we do wrong
and yet still we do it,
our faith too weak
and the power of temptation too strong.
By our own standards we deserve no mercy,
yet you tell us that God is always waiting to welcome us back,
ready to forgive our failure and help us start again.
Lord Jesus Christ,
we marvel at such love,
we praise you for it,
and we thank you for making it possible
through your willingness to bear the punishment
that should have been ours,
so that we may share the life that is yours.
Receive our worship
and by your grace help us to live more faithfully
as your people and God’s children,
for your name’s sake.
Amen.