The Prodigal Son and the Petty One

The Prodigal Son and the Petty One
Lent 4; Luke 15:11-32
Jesus still speaks to our time and our weakness:
some of us spending what might have sustained us,
others resenting remaining in meekness,
stuck in the limits of work that restrained us.

Some of us leave seeking fields that seem greener,
following whims and indulging our senses.
Some of us stay, growing thwarted and meaner,
tending our anger and spiking the fences.

Some then return from an alien nation,
where in pursuit of our passions we wandered.
Others take pride in determined privation,
mocking the ones who have floundered and squandered.

Father, you wait for us all open hearted:
those who turn back, hungry, humbled, repenting,
those who in bitterness blame the departed,
righteous, refusing rejoicing, and venting.

Those lost and strayed you will welcome to living.
Those in whom faithfulness soured in persisting
you will affirm, and encourage in giving,
showing life loved is much more than existing.
	Barbara Messner 23/03/2022