Prodigal Jesus
Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32 New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE March 30, 2025 Photo of an orange flag with the words "Every child matters" on it, with two black and white feathers on the left side. https://www.7generations.org/what-is-every-child-matters/ The story of the prodigal son is one of Jesus’ most beloved parables. One way we can tell it is beloved is that we can see ourselves in one or more of the characters. Perhaps we see ourselves in the younger son, as one who has been extravagantly wasteful, which is what prodigal means, with money or substances or relationships, but has been forgiven. Or maybe we’re the older brother, faithful and hardworking but overlooked and taken for granted. Some of us have been in the father’s position, wondering if we are enabling bad behavior. Can we be too forgiving? Some have interpreted this story with the scribes and Pharisees as the elder brother and the tax collectors and sinners as the younger brother. Or Jewish Ch...
