Jason Hildebrand on the father of the prodigal son
According to Nouwen (The Return of the Prodigal Son), this parable of Jesus is less about the sons and all about the character of the father–his infinite compassion, unconditional love, everlasting forgiveness–all divine realities, emanating from a Father who is the creator of the universe. Yes, the father of the two sons does represent our Father in Heaven.
Jason Hildebrand on the Younger Son
What are the implication of a son, younger or older, leaving home in the Middle East? Henri Nouwen explores those implications in the Return of the Prodigal Son. He says that, especially in Jesus’ time, this would have been an unheard of event. Continue reading
See the parable of the prodigal son depicted here, first as Jesus tells the parable in the Jesus of Nazareth movie. Other versions here are depictions and all are not necessarily explicitly true to scripture but add meaning and richness to the parable.
Jesus of Nazareth telling of the Parable of the Two Sons
This is the hope for all of us, that we would return to our father, the God of Heaven and Earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is our hope whether we are most represented by the Younger or the Elder son in the parable taught Jesus in Luke 15.
The Return of the Prodigal Son is also a book written by Henri J. M. Nouwen parallelling the parable taught by Jesus with the Rembrandt painting now hanging in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Henri’s own life. There are grand parallels and readers will find, as I do, parallels in life to all of these.
To kick things off I would like to relay some things about the painting here. The painting is actually at a minimum Rembrandt’s second portrayal of the return of the prodigal son.
The Good News 