Father's Day Reflections on Unconditional Love and the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32 (NRSV) – The Prodigal Son.
Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

From 'Embracing The Power of Truth' by Shavasti:
When we insist that only the victim has the right to heal, or more right to heal, then what we are agreeing to is that the perpetrators and all of their descendants live in separation from their true nature - that is how we end up with the world as it is today.
Those of us who have stood in righteous indignation demanding the downfall of the wicked, the cruel and the unjust have made just as big a contribution to the age of darkness as anyone else. We insist on separation, we insist that others live in darkness.
Peace will come to us all when we have the courage to lament the losses of our enemies, when we have the courage to grieve their dead, when we have the courage to weep for the burden that their children carry, when we have the courage to recognise that we ourselves will never be at peace individually or collectively until our sworn enemies are likewise at peace.


The parable of the prodigal son is a very well-known story, but even stories that are familiar are worth re-examining now and then.  As with all the parables of Jesus, they work on various levels.  They are simple stories about everyday things, but they reveal deep truths.  They are archetypal stories that we can all identify with, speaking to us now, in this day and age, as much as they did two thousand years ago.

The story appears in Luke’s gospel as the last of three parables about loss and redemption, following the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the Lost Coin, that Jesus tells after the Pharisees and religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners."

The younger son, who squanders his father’s inheritance in ‘loose living’, represents ‘sinners’, while the older son, who is concerned with following duty and law in the hope of reward for merit, represents the Pharisees.  The father represents God with his unconditional and limitless divine love and mercy.

When we look at the two sons we can see that we could probably identify with each of them at some time in our lives.  And because this is an archetypal story we may see parallels in the lives of those around us too.

When I mentioned to my own father that I would be using the parable of the prodigal son as the basis for the Father's Day service, he said, “Oh, I don’t like that story.  It’s not fair on the son who stays at home.  He works hard and gets nothing, but his wastrel brother gets the party.  The message is that you may as well be a bad person all your life and then repent at the last minute.”

I can see where he is coming from.  Most of us can probably identify as one who works hard and does their duty, and may feel aggrieved when we are not rewarded for it, and perhaps even bitter and envious of others who may seem to us to be less deserving but are showered with love and riches.

My father stayed at home and worked hard for his father, a difficult man, who never expressed his gratitude.  His sisters left home and were always welcomed back by their parents, whatever mistakes they had made.  So I can understand why my father identifies with the dutiful son.

But what of the prodigal son - can we identify with him?  Is anything he does so terrible?  Yes, he is restless and reckless.  He wastes his money and by implication, his life. As far as we know, the only person he hurts is himself.  Most of us have probably done things we are not proud of.  Perhaps sometimes we may feel we have wasted our time on things that are not good for us.  At some time in our lives we have all needed forgiveness.

And so we come to the father.  The message of the parable is distinctly Universalist. The love of God the Father is infinite – there is nothing one can do that would make Him turn away.  We are always welcome to return to the fold. This is inclusivity at its most radical.  No one is excluded from the circle.

It may seem as if there is no motivation to do the right thing and to live by a moral code if God accepts everyone, no matter what.  That motivation, in my understanding, lies in the knowledge that love is its own reward. If I embody love then I will naturally choose to do what is most loving, right and just.

The prodigal son can be seen as an archetypal story about the journey we all need to make as individuals towards wholeness and acceptance of our true nature as children of divine love.  We go out into the world, make mistakes, experience loneliness and loss. Yet, hidden in these experiences of suffering are the seeds of transformation.

Perhaps we can also see the story reflected in society as a whole.  We have wandered far away from home; some would say we are squandering our inheritance by turning away from God and the spiritual dimension of life.  Can we find our way back home?  Will there be a happy ending for us?  Will all be well?  That possibility lies in whether we choose to accept the invitation to embody love.

A similar parable of a lost son is found in the Mahayana Buddhist Lotus Sutra. The stories are parallel to start with, but continue differently after the son's return. In the Lotus sutra, the poor son does not recognize the rich man as his father. When his father sends out some attendants to welcome him, the son panics, fearing retribution. The father lets the son leave without revealing their kinship. However, he gradually draws the son closer to him by employing him in successively higher positions, and eventually tells him of their kinship.  In the Buddhist parable, the father symbolises the Buddha, and the son symbolises all human beings. Their kinship symbolises that everyone has Buddha nature.

A friend pointed me to the Shavasti piece.  The book had made a big impression on her, especially the concept that “we ourselves will never be at peace individually or collectively until our sworn enemies are likewise at peace.”

It is easy to judge others for actions we consider reprehensible.  Those who commit murder, rape, terrorism; clearly these things are wrong and it is easy to justify demanding retribution for such crimes.  It is hard to believe that even perpetrators such as these could be embraced by Love.

If God is all loving then that love extends to even those we detest with our whole being.   If there is any limitation on that love, if murderers are refused by Love, then Love is not love, but something else. And if Love refuses a murderer, who else does Love refuse to embrace? Who else is love unable to transform and heal?

In the Lord’s Prayer we ask, ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’.  In the parable and in life, forgiveness is key to reconciliation and peace – it is only by forgiving others and ourselves for our mistakes that we can be reconciled to each other and to our own true nature, and so find peace.  May we always remember that, however far we roam, there is always an invitation to open the door and be embraced by Love.

Some final thoughts from UU Minister, Rev Ana Levy-Lyons, “Give yourself permission to be all three characters in the Prodigal Son story. Feed your inner settler and your inner nomad. Find a place for each in this world. And be your own loving parent too – the parent who accepts and values each; allows each to make mistakes; and invites each to the party. This is the true meaning of freedom.”