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Henri J. M. Nouwen and The Return of the Prodigal Son

© Kathryn Morse

The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal begins his journey by rejecting his father's values. Nouwen writes of the eventual rejection of this younger son. After his money ran out and he was "employed" feeding hogs, he experienced total rejection when he was not even offered the pigs' food to eat. The people around the son did not even recognize his human need for sustenance, his commonality with them. They cut him off as even being human.

And then when he desired to eat the pigs' food, the son comes to the realization that he is not a pig, he is a human, and he is a son with a father. And he makes a decision.

The son returns to his home, not expecting total forgiveness, however. It is hard for us to imagine total forgiveness when we have thrown away our Father's values, when we have insulted Him and gone astray.

Nouwen translated Matthew 18:3: "Unless you turn and become like children you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The younger son turned toward home only hoping to participate outside his father's home as a laborer, but found himself restored to complete sonship, a picture of being "re-born" into the Kingdom.

Meditate on the painting and imagine yourself in the place of the returning prodigal.

The Elder Son

In the painting, the elder son stands aside, on the edge of the lighted area. He holds his hands rather than opening them in welcome. Here is a picture of a man who is physically in his father's house, yet in his heart he is far away. Perhaps, over the years "dark" feelings had festered in the elder son's heart: envy at the liberties taken by his brother, judgment and condemnation and growing bitterness and anger.

Nouwen said, "Looking into myself and then around me at the lives of other people, I wonder which does more damage, lust or resentment? There is so much resentment among the 'just' and the 'righteous.' There is so much judgment. condemnation and prejudice among the 'saints.' There is so much frozen anger among the people who are so concerned about avoiding 'sin.'"

Did the elder son let the light of the Father eventually warm his heart and hands? The Biblical account nor the painting provide the answer. We can only hope so.

The Father

Nouwen spent some time discussing how the father goes out to both sons. That is something I had never noticed. Many of us have heard homilies describing how the father ran out to the prodigal, but I had never heard a description of him going out to the older. But he did go out to greet the elder son and ask him to come in.