Home tonight: Further reflections on the prodigal son

This past Sunday, Maddie preached about practicing the way of love when we mess up by looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

She talked about how challenging it can be to show love to others when we mess up because we're filled with shame.

She then took a look at Henri Nouwen's best-selling book, "The Return of the Prodigal Son" and explored how Nouwen's journey with the Parable of the Prodigal Son might help us navigate situations where we mess up. Nouwen, over the course of his journey, realizes that he is both the younger son in the parable as well as the older son, but discovers that he is called to try, as best he can, to be the father. Similarly, when we mess up, it can help to remember that we are both the younger son in the parable, who God will always welcome home, as well as the older son, who needs to examine his own shame and resentment. Once we are secure in the knowledge of God's love and are able to take an honest inventory of what we might do better in the better, we can then try, like Nouwen, to be like the father in the story and extend God's grace to others who need it too.

This week's resource of the week is the sequel to Nouwen's "Return of the Prodigal Son."

In Home Tonight: Further Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Nouwen revisits this beloved story through the lens of his own struggles with loneliness, resentment, depression, and belonging. Drawn from workshops and unpublished reflections written near the end of his life, the book is more personal and autobiographical than its predecessor. Rather than focusing primarily on Rembrandt's famous painting, Nouwen reflects on his own journey from the prestige of academia to life in the L'Arche community, and the painful realization that many of the elder brother's resentments lived within him as well.
One of the book's central insights is that gratitude is the antidote to resentment. The elder brother becomes trapped in a world of comparison, fairness, and earning, while the father invites him into a world shaped by grace. Nouwen argues that true homecoming requires not only accepting God's unconditional love for ourselves, but also learning to celebrate that same love when it is extended to others.

If Sunday's sermon resonated with you, Home Tonight offers a thoughtful companion for anyone learning how to move beyond shame, receive grace, and practice love after they've made a mistake.

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