Luke 15:11-32
Yesterday, in reading the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin I spoke about Carol and me “finding” my brother, Ron, after his three-year absence from the family. I did not know that we would be reading the parable of the Prodigal Son the next day, another parable that had serious “Ron” overtones. When we read the parable of the Prodigal Son two years ago I also spoke about, Ron. (See my comments in the second link below.) And yesterday I said that Ron had not been heard from for three years; it’s also true that Ron had gone missing many years earlier when he was in his 20s and 30s. Now he’s in his 70s and still has these long lapses of non-communication.
So, as in the parable I am the older brother, but that’s about as far as the parallel goes between me and the parable’s older brother. I do not feel the anger and resentment that the older brother felt in the parable. Ron did not make any demands of us when he went missing – we just lost contact with him. It was mostly Ron’s loss not to be with the rest of us or to watch his nephews and nieces growing up. The one common thread for both younger brothers is the guilt that they felt for their behaviors. That’s the Holy Spirit working in each of their lives! The younger brother in the parable came to repentance and a re-building of his relationship with his father. I pray that the same can happen with Ron – but that will take time. For now, though, we do have a happy ending. I re-established e-mail contact with Ron after we left and he replied. And in his reply he said that our visit was the highlight of his year, thus far. So that’s good! Please pray for Ron to come to the Lord.
See also: July 25 / Luke 15:11-19; July 26 / Luke 15:20-32