Breath Prayer and Words for the Day: God is calling me home to rest in the embrace of love.
The story of the prodigal son has shaped our understanding of what it means to be accepted back into the fold of God. The parable proclaims an unconditionality of love for the lost. A son asks for his inheritance, a clear separation from his family. He squanders his inheritance and finds himself on a pig farm. Eating from the pig trough, the prodigal finds himself and decides to return home. He rehearsed what he would say to his father over and over upon his return. Now, the father waited and watched day after day. He paced the porch, looked out the window, watching the hill home every day at dusk. Then, one day the wait ended. Seeing a thin shadow grace the hill at dusk, he recognized his son. He flung open the door and ran out to greet his son. Without hesitation or want, the father picks up the son, holds him to his breast so that the rehearsed speech cannot be heard. The embrace lasts and lasts.
A Chinese artist was asked to render this story as a focal point in a church’s sanctuary. When the picture was completed, the artist was flown to the United States with her rendering. The art was unveiled. The congregation was amazed at the beauty and care in the story’s telling. The picture was of a father embracing his son; dress of ancient Palestine for the father, rags for the son. But there was something peculiar. A congregation member asked, “Why does the father have two mismatched shoes on?” The artist replied, “When a parent misses their child and the child miraculously returns, it matters not if your shoes match.”
God’s wish for you this Christmas is a loving embrace from the One who gives life, life in abundance. God is waiting to embrace you; it’ll be a lasting embrace.
