The Father who runs

“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”Luke 15:20

Reflection

The son rehearsed his speech on the way home: "father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants". It was a demotion plan: come back as an employee, because as a son, he thought, it no longer worked. But the speech was never finished — because the father saw him FROM FAR OFF, ran, embraced and kissed him before a single word. And when the son began to speak, the father interrupted him, calling for the best robe, the ring, and the feast.

Every detail of that scene dismantles the distorted image many have of God. The father saw from far off — because he watched the road every day; no one sees from far off by chance. He ran — and respected, elderly men of that culture did not run; it was undignified. That father traded his own dignity for the hurry to embrace. And he did not let the son finish the proposal to become a servant: grace interrupts our speeches of self-condemnation. The boy prepared a servant’s contract; he received back the identity of a son.

And the parable has a second son — and he was lost without leaving home. The older brother did everything right, but out of obligation; when grace threw a party, he stayed outside, his heart bitter: "you never gave me a young goat". And the father went out AGAIN — this time to plead with the "correct" son to come in. There are two ways to be lost from the Father: in the rebellion of the younger and in the loveless religiosity of the older. The party of grace bothers those who serve without intimacy. Which of the two sons are you today? The Father’s invitation is the same: come into the party.

Bible text: King James Version (public domain).