He Ran to His Son

He Ran to His Son

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

Piety

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt?  Micah 7:18-19B

So, he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.  Luke 15:20

Study

The final lines of the book of the prophet Micah contain a hymn of praise for the incomparable God. What emerges is NOT the expected "Old Testament" image of a God of vengeance leading Moses into war, shaft held high. Instead, God invites us to encounter his willingness and even eagerness to pardons our sins.  

The original covenant may have been forged with ancestors many millennia ago. However, it stands ready for us to accept today. God will take care of us, a comforting thought when we have been putting so much of our trust in the roller-coaster ride of Wall Street or the seemingly never-empty (until now) shelves of our favorite warehouse club.  

If the reading from the Tanakh gives us a positive image that is hard to put into modern light, Luke helps out with a very concrete example. 

The Prodigal Son put his trust in his inheritance and his ego. With money in his pocket, the son thought that he could succeed at anything. When he asked for it, he was met not with a parent who was hurt, but with one who was and is extravagantly generous.  

The Good News today speaks directly to the toilet-paper hoarding masses and all our sister and brother prodigals. God’s generosity and mercy are matched only by God’s patience. The Father waits. The Father watches. The Father runs. The Father gives more than we can ever expect. 

Action

Who are you in this story? 

Who spends lavishly or foolishly in this story? The son who runs away and squanders his money or the Father who never ceases to heap praise upon his son, whether going or coming? 

Who squandered the love of the Father? Was it the son who turned his back or the son who returned? Was it the son who wandered away or the brother who never left? 

Who lived up to the original covenant? How can we do that today?