Welcome-home party

An errant & disrespectful son,
(been there, done that);
dissolute living – code
for wine, women and song;
a robe, a ring and a fatted calf;
music and dancing
and a pissed-off older brother:
Jesus knew how to put a yarn together

The older brother was deserving
in the way that the younger one wasn’t.
Worked hard, did what was expected,
never questioned his father’s judgement;
until the outrageous welcome-home party.
The old man couldn’t even wait for the sun to set;
didn’t think to send out to the field
with instructions to knock-off early.

Like the father in the story, who pines
for his lost son, God, they say,
is forgiving and generous to a fault.
Which may be true, but it misses the point.
It’s the older brother, and the rest of us,
unable to rejoice at grace shown to someone
who might be less deserving than us;
we are the point.

Jesus never wasted a parable.

© Ken Rookes 2013