Watching and waiting
One of the most scary parts of being a parent is when your children learn to drive. You have to stand and watch them drive off. You are no longer in any control. They are. And they have the power and the freedom to go anywhere, risk anything – and you neither know, or can do anything about it. And you wait, often with your heart in your mouth, not able to settle until they come back home.
It is difficult to say anything about the Parable of the Lost Son, that Henri Nouwen does not say much better in ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son‘ – and I recommend that you read it. Spend some time reflecting on the picture by Rembrandt.
But I guess that must be something of the feeling that the father had. His son might not have had a car, but he had money enough to go out and do what he wanted. To make mistakes, do what he thought was right, do his own thing. And all the father can do is wait. How scared he must have been about what his son might do. How brave of him to let him go and do it. How strong of him to welcome him home when he had got it all so wrong.
You can put yourself in any of the the characters of this story. But the overwhelming theme is of the Father who allows his son to go – and waits for him to come back, and when he does is overjoyed and welcomes him home.
This is also the theme in the reading from 2 Corinthians. We are brought back to God. Not because of anything we’ve done – but because of Jesus. Unlike us, he had done nothing wrong. We, like the prodigal son, have gone away and done our own thing, what looked exciting, what we wanted to. We have thought that the grass would be greener on the other side. And when we discovered it wasn’t, God was waiting. Jesus has never done anything wrong. He understood what God needed and did it – but he was willing to offer himself – so that we might be right with God.
Perhaps during Lent if we’ve had time to think and reflect about our lives, we might have found somehings we’re not proud of. Perhaps, like the son, we have come to our senses and seen what a poor life we lead compared to what God can offer. God is always there waiting, it’s us that goes to other places. Wherever we have been, whatever we have or haven’t done, we can come back to God. He is looking out for us, just waiting for us to start back to him.
I love the wild abandon of the father. He doesn’t wait patiently for his son to make it t the front door, he doesn’t wait until he’s apologised – no he runs to meet him. There is nothing the son need do but set off towards home, and the father is there. There is nothing we need do, but reach out to God. Jesus has done the rest, we can come back to God through him.
God is waiting, arms open wide. Are we going to turn to him? Let him forgive us and welcome us home? To know that we are right with him, and live the life he offers?
Pam's Perambulation 
