Category: Lent 2020 – The Return of the Prodigal Son

Reading: Rembrandt and the Elder Son; The Elder Son Leaves; The Elder Son’s
Return (p. 59 t0 88)

Both (the younger son and the elder son) needed healing and forgiveness. Both needed to come home. . . (I)t is clear that the hardest conversion
to go through is the conversion of the one who stayed home. (p. 66)

Let me begin with the words Henri Nouwen’s favorite saint, Francis of Assisi, said when greeting those he met on his journey, “May the Lord give you peace.” It is the Lord’s presence among his people that can give us peace even as we share a Lenten journey unlike any in my lifetime in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask that the Lord grant his peace and healing presence in a special way to the ill and suffering and to the medical professionals and others caring for them. It is a great blessing for me during this difficult season to participate in the honest and insightful discussion of The Return of the Prodigal Son that continued apace across our global community last week. This week we turn our attention to the right in Rembrandt’s painting–to the elder son.

Henri begins his reflection on The Elder Son by noting that during Rembrandt’s time “the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and the parable of the prodigal son were closely linked” (p. 63) and that the elder son represented the Pharisees and the scribes. This insight becomes an interpretive key for Henri who sees this painting “as a work that summarizes the great spiritual battle and the great choices this battle demands.” (p. 63) And what is this spiritual battle? The elder son can “choose for or against the love that is offered to him” as his younger brother already has. Henri then explores how the son who stayed home also became a lost man. “Exteriorly he did all the things a good son is supposed to do, but, interiorly, he wandered away from his father.” (p. 69) Henri show us how the resentment, anger, and judgment of the elder son, like that of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time and people like us up until the present day, makes the “return” of the one who stayed home “the hardest conversion to go through.” Will the elder son choose to turn away (or convert) from his angry resentment in order to accept the Father’s love or not? Will we?

There is much to discuss this week. Please share whatever touched you in the reading to the extent you are comfortable. You might also consider replying to one or more of the following questions.

(T)he standing man looking at the father . . . is the elder son, representing the Pharisees and scribes.” (p.63) How does considering the elder son as a Pharisee or scribe influence your understanding of the parable? Does this understanding help you to see how you or someone you know might be acting as the elder son at times?

“Once the self-rejecting complaint has formed in us, we lose the spontaneity to the extent that even joy can no longer evoke joy in us. . . . Joy and resentment cannot coexist. The music and dancing, instead of inviting joy, become a cause for even greater withdrawal.” (p. 73) Have you ever experienced a situation similar to this? What was it like and how did you respond? What changes did you make in your life as a result?

Although we are incapable of liberating ourselves from our frozen anger, we can allow ourselves to be found by God. . . Trust and gratitude are the disciplines for the conversion of the elder son. (p. 84) How have you responded to feelings of resentment and chronic complaining in your life? Do you see how the disciplines of trust and gratitude might change that response?

Thanks again to each of you for sharing your Lenten journey. Each of you is a valued participant, whether you are posting comments or following along silently. You are all welcome and we’re grateful for your presence.

Blessings and be safe,
Ray

Reading: Rembrandt and the Younger Son; The Younger Son Leaves; The Younger Son’s Return (p. 25 t0 58)

Judas betrayed Jesus. Peter denied him. Both were lost children. . . .
Judas chose death. Peter chose life. I realize
this decision is always before me. (p.50)

Thanks to each of you for a wonderful first week of sharing. It’s a blessing, a joy, and a privilege to read the many thoughtful and deeply personal comments. For some of you in our Lenten community this is your first encounter with Henri Nouwen and The Return of the Prodigal Son. Others of you are returning to this classic after some years. Bringing together participants with these diverse perspectives enriches the discussion and enhances our understanding of this great parable.

This week we focus our attention on the title character in the story–the Prodigal Son, or as Henri calls him, The Younger Son. There is so much that we can reflect on in this rich and spiritually powerful work. Nouwen first considers how this painting may convey aspects of Rembrandt’s personal story. He then looks at the two major phases in this narrative–the younger son’s leaving to a distant land and then the younger son’s return home. Henri relates these phases to his own spiritual journey. Finally, Henri introduces idea that the parable of the prodigal son may be presenting a reality far beyond its surface meeting of a returning son and a forgiving Father. You are invited to reflect on the reading for this week and share your thoughts, comments, and reaction to Henri’s description and portrayal of the younger son. Are there times when you were the prodigal son or daughter? What is you response to Henri’s words? Share to the extent you are comfortable.

You might also consider replying to one or more of the following questions.

Consider the quotation at the top of this post about how Judas and Peter were both lost children at the time of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. How does Henri’s parable of the prodigal son influence your understanding or of how Judas and Peter were both similar and different simultaneously?

(A)s a young man, Rembrandt had all the characteristics of the prodigal son: brash, self-confident, spendthrift, sensual and very arrogant. (p.30) . . . As I look at the prodigal son kneeling before he father. . . I cannot but see there the . . . venerated artist who has come to the painful realization that all the glory he had gathered for himself proved to be vain glory. (p. 33) Henri shows us that Rembrandt’s spiritual journey can be seen through his art. Nouwen, too, went through a difficult spiritual journey that led to this book. How might this reflection by Henri relate to his life, as you understand it? More important, have you experienced similar changes on your own spiritual journey?

Home is the center of my being where I can hear the voice that says: “You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests” (p. 37) . . . I leave home every time I lose faith in the voice that calls me the Beloved and follow the voices that offer a great variety of ways to win the love I so much desire. (p.40) . . . I am the prodigal son every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found. (p. 43) What do you think about Henri’s definition of home and what it means to leave home? What does it mean for you to leave home?

(The) younger son realizes that he has lost the dignity of his sonship, but at the same time that sense of lost dignity makes him aware that he is indeed the son who had dignity to lose. The younger son’s return takes place in the very moment that he reclaims his sonship, even though his has lost all the dignity that belongs to it. (p. 49) Have you ever experienced a similar situation where you felt you had lost the dignity of your sonship or daughtership? Please share your feelings to the extent you are comfortable.

The Beatitudes “present a portrait of the child of God. It is a self portrait of Jesus, the Beloved Son. It is also a portrait of me as I must be. The Beatitudes offer me the simplest route for the journey home, back into the house of my Father.” (p.54) What is your reaction to Henri’s idea that the Beatitudes offer the simplest route to return home.

Seeing Jesus himself as the prodigal son goes far beyond the traditional interpretation of the parable. Nonetheless, this vision holds a great secret. . . . (T)he “return” of the prodigal becomes the return of the Son of God who has drawn all people into himself and brings them home to his heavenly Father. (p. 56) What are your thoughts on this non-traditional interpretation of the parable. Does it give you greater insight into the parable? ‘

Thank you again for joining our Lenten journey. There is lots to discuss this week Let’s get started.

Peace and all good.
Ray

Reading: The Story of Two Sons and Their Father; Prologue: Encounter With a Painting; Introduction: The Younger Son, the Elder Son, and the Father (p. 1 to 23)

At the heart of this adventure is a 17th-century painting and its artist,
a 1st-century parable and its author, and a 20th century person
in search of life’s meaning. (p.3)

Welcome, welcome, welcome to each of you. What a tremendous start to what promises to be a blessed and meaningful Lenten journey. Thanks to those of you who introduced yourselves. We have gathered in this virtual space from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, the UK, the Netherlands, Hungary and beyond to form a global community to read and discuss this spiritual classic.

Gabrielle Earnshaw–Nouwen scholar and author of the soon-to-be published Henri Nouwen and The Return of the Prodigal Son – The Making of a Spiritual Classic–said that it took Henri nine years to write this book, the longest gestation period of any of his forty books.

Then why did it take nine years to complete? As Henri describes in the reading this week, he decided to leave the world of the university to make his home with mentally handicapped core members of the L’Arche Daybreak (just north of Toronto) and their assistants. After his arrival, he experienced a disabling spiritual and emotional crisis. So rather than writing about Rembrandt and the painting, the artist and his masterpiece accompanied Nouwen through his time of transition, healing, and rejuvenation. And, as Henri writes, “Now a time has come where it is possible to look back on those years of turmoil and to describe . . . the place to which all that struggle brought me.” (p. 13) The book we have before us is the result of Henri’s anguished journey and it has been a blessing and a comfort to more than a million readers the world over.

You are encouraged to share and discuss whatever came up for you in the readings. You are also welcome to share your reflections and insights prompted by the comments of others. The thoughts and insights shared by the participants provides the heartbeat for every Henri Nouwen book discussion. Here are a few questions that may help get the discussion going, but please don’t feel bound to them.

1. “Coming home” meant, for me, walking step by step toward the one who awaits me with open arms and wants to hold me in an eternal embrace. (p. 6) What does “coming home” mean for you? Have the readings this week challenged or deepened your understanding?
2. As I reflect on my own journey, I become more and more aware of how long I have played the role of observer. . . had I, myself, really ever dared to step into the center, kneel down and let myself be held by a forgiving God? (p. 12) Do you find yourself living life largely as an observer? Are there times you have stepped into center and what was that like?
3. I have been led to an inner place where I had not been before. It is the place where God has chosen to dwell. It is the place where I am held safe in the embrace of an all loving father. . . who says, “You are my beloved son.” (p. 16) How do you respond to these two ideas at the heart of Henri’s spirituality–you are the beloved and you are God’s home? Have you experienced this in your life? What was it like?
4. I am called to enter into the inner sanctuary of my own being where God has chosen to dwell. The only way to do that is prayer, unceasing prayer. (p. 18) How do you approach your inner sanctuary? What does “prayer, unceasing prayer” mean in your life?

As we enter in to this first week of Lent there is much to share from our reading and we look forward to hearing from many of you. It is an joy to be gathered with each of you, those posting comments, and those following along silently. Everyone is welcome here.

Peace and all good.
Ray