Scripture: Luke 15:1-32
“When the younger son returns, Christ reports for us the words of the son to his father, but does not give anything about a speech of the father to his son. For in reality, the father substitutes kisses for words and replaces assertion with expression and eyes speak for the tongue.”
Rev. Dr. Ibrahim Sa’id, Quoted in Poet & Peasant by Kenneth Bailey
“For my entire life I had been quite responsible, traditional, and homebound. But, I suddenly saw my jealousy, my anger, my touchiness, doggedness and sullenness, and, most of all, my subtle self-righteousness. I saw how much of a complainer I was and how much of my thinking and feeling was ridden with resentment. I was the elder son for sure, but just as lost as his younger brother, even though I had stayed ‘home’ all my life.”
Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son
“These parables are truly a reassurance to those lost sheep who have strayed. But they are also a warning – and this aspect of their message is generally missed. Men and women everywhere prefer to build communities that affirm their choices, that share their values, that keep out those who might bring unrighteousness to their neighborhoods.”
Gary Burge, Jesus, The Middle Eastern Storyteller
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