Wasteful

The word “prodigal” means wasteful. It is a fitting description of the younger son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32). He is indeed wasteful in the most shameful way, for in those days his shame is shared by his father and brother, and by his whole family.

There are those who have suggested that we should start calling this the Parable of the Loving Father, thus shifting the focus from the shame of the younger son to the love the father has for him.

Okay, I suppose. The point of the story is the abundant love of the father. A love so abundant that it too could be characterized as wasteful or prodigal. If there’s to be a title change to this parable, I suggest that we call it the Prodigal Father. After all, there is biblical proof of the wastefulness of God’s love in such familiar passages as Psalm 23, “you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

God’s love for us overflows and is lavish, just like the father in the parable. In fact, even the older brother can be characterized as “prodigal,” because his anger overflows, wastefully.

So, in the end, I’m okay with leaving the name of the parable as it is, the Prodigal Son.

If it weren’t for the parable the word “prodigal” would probably be obsolete by now. It has come to mean more than “wasteful” and is more associated with the returning (the repentance) of the son, or any of us who have turned away from God for a time.

When we gather for worship on Sunday morning, we characterize what we do as a celebration—a party. We sing and talk and socialize, just like at parties. We also pray and sometimes laugh or cry, just like at parties (some anyway). Sunday morning worship is, at so many levels, a party, a celebration.

Too often, people who want to be a part of the gathering choose to walk by and not even enter our place of worship (of celebration). Somehow, we need to find a way to assure all the prodigals that we are not like the older brother (jealous and angry), we are like the father—wasteful in our willingness to celebrate the return (the repentance) of any and all people.

Many of us, in fact, have firsthand experience of being a prodigal and such an experience only serves to increase our joy over the return of each child of God. And in the end, the abundant, overflowing love of God is never a waste.