The Prodigal Son… Reflections…

It was supposed to be a hike to three lakes and an Igloo yesterday. Some friends from church had purchased the chance to build an Igloo with “Igloo Ed” up in the park (Rocky Mountain National Park, our back yard) a couple of weekends ago. We started out at the Bear Lake Trailhead and took an immediate left turn, bypassing Bear Lake. The first stop on our trek was Nymph Lake.

It was a gorgeous stop on our trek and in addition to enjoying the view of the lake, we also saw some incredible birds (we are guessing that the blue one is some sort of jay, not sure about the white one, but they are both beautiful).

After enjoying the stop at Nymph Lake, we were off on our trek to the next lake which was Dream Lake. Again, a beautiful backdrop which expressed the wonder and awe of God’s creation!

In addition to this picture, the picture at the top of the blog is from Dream Lake. I can see why it is called Dream Lake… the sight is inspiring (but then isn’t the entire Rocky Mountain National Park inspiring) and it makes me dream of a place where love and grace and peace and mercy reign instead of hatred, bigotry, and fear!

So we continued our trek from Dream Lake to Emerald Lake and were again wowed by the beauty we were surrounded by.

Finally, after some slips and slides and sinking up to my knees in snow, we made it to Emerald Lake! What a wonder to behold! Yes, we were not disappointed and despite aching knees and backs, we had made it! But wait a minute, Padre… you said something about an Igloo… Well… that is a story in itself! We had missed the “turn” between Nymph and Dream Lakes… but we figured we would find the turn on the way back down… did we? In a word, No!

Instead, we found ourselves going from Dream Lake to Bear Lake and completely bypassing Nymph Lake where the “turn” was! The final phase of our adventure included some mighty steep descents… Uff Dah!

Believe me, this picture doesn’t do justice to the angle of descent at the end of a long hike! Needless to say, this was the first of many steep descents through the woods and along the trail back to what we hoped was our car! Finally, after a perilous descent, we broke through the trees and found ourselves at the far end of a familiar sight… Bear Lake!

Okay Padre, while this has been a nice travelogue, we know you are preparing for a sermon tomorrow… what does this have to do with your sermon or the Scripture readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent? Believe it or not, this does tie in to the lessons for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.

The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year C in the Revised Common Lectionary) is Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. This is the rather well-known parable of the Prodigal Son.  As a preacher who has been in the pulpit for 28-and-a-half years, I have preached from this passage more times than I can remember. So how does one look at such a familiar passage with new and fresh eyes?

On our hike, I allowed what I thought was my familiarity with the trails and map to lull me into comfort. When we took a “wrong turn” on the way back from Emerald Lake I found myself in unfamiliar territory. That last bit of the hike was a bit of a challenge for both of us as we were tired and the sun was setting. I knew that we would reach a point that was familiar… we had to! When I recognized the features of Bear Lake, trust me, I breathed a sigh of relief. What had been familiar, all of a sudden wasn’t familiar. Yet, as we continued on in faith, we ended up in a familiar place.

Isn’t that how the prodigal son must have felt? You see, he had taken his inheritance from his father (and from his older brother who by rights was the inheritor of the father’s estate) and went off on what may have been a familiar journey. He knew exactly where he was going. The road was familiar and the way was clear. The way was clear right up until the point where he found himself slopping the hogs and wondering why the hogs were better fed than he was!

It was at that point that the younger son felt absolutely lost.  Shortly after this revelation, he wondered aloud whether it would be more advantageous to him if he went home to his father on hands and knees, begging to be allowed to be one of his father’s slaves. Note that I said slave and not servant. Some translations of the Bible say slave and others servants. This is a subtle difference that was only made plain to me after spending six years living in the deep South. Someone I knew who’s family had lived in the Florida Panhandle talked often about his family’s servants who’s descendants were considered friends. Even his wife would correct him and say they weren’t servants, but rather were slaves! Yes, they may be friends today, but in the previous generation, their ancestors weren’t servants, they were slaves… owned by his ancestors!

This son was so woefully lost that he considered being a slave to his father. He figured being a slave to a generous master (he figured that if his father had been generous enough to give him his inheritance before he had died, he would be generous enough to make this wayward soul his slave) was better than not eating as well as the hogs he slopped on a daily basis.

What is always amazing to me, of course, is the fact that the Father welcomed his prodigal back with open arms. Believe me, I understand the bitter feelings of the older brother, but that may well be a subject of a future blog or sermon. You see, today I see the younger son in a different light.

I have been that younger son! I have taken all that God offers to me and I have squandered it. I have made a boatload of bad choices and decisions for which I have nobody to blame but myself. Towards the end of my Air Force career, I had turned so far away from God that I was considering being a barista at a coffee shop instead of continuing the journey as a chaplain or pastor. Yet instead of condemning me, God re-called me to ministry. Even as I began to realize that I had gotten off of the path (remember yesterday’s hike?), God didn’t give up on me. Even though I hadn’t made my way back to Nymph Lake, I still made it back to the place where I needed to be. Even though the journey was not exactly turning out the way I had planned in terms of my professional career, God was calling… God was re-calling… God was patient… and from a distance, God ran towards me with arms open wide!

The words from the other reading for tomorrow from the Lectionary (Psalm 32) speak to me of that time in my journey. “Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin… You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:5, 7-8)

Dear reader, take it from this prodigal… Whether you are hiking in a National Park or walking down the pathway of life’s journey, you are never so lost that you cannot be found. Unlike so many in the religious and political realm who are quick to condemn and not willing to show mercy, the God I serve is like the Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Even before you can see God, God sees you… God loves you… God invites you to be a part of the family once again… actually, God invites you to return to the family as God never cast you out of the family!

I believe that God, in Christ, welcomes sinners! God gives us second and third and fourth and fifth and sixth up to infinity and beyond opportunities to return home. Welcome sinners? Really? Yes, Really! Welcome home!