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The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
By Henri J. M. Nouwen
Narrated by Fred Sanders
Jesus told a story, recorded in the New Testament, of a young man who left his home and family for wasteful living. When he ran out of money and friends, he realized he would be better off working as a servant in his father’s house. His decision leads him back to a loving father and a resentful brother. So much has been said in sermons and written in books about the prodigal son that a reader might wonder what could be added to this study. The phrase “the prodigal son” has even become a part of our lexicon.
Henri Nouwen has written a masterpiece by combining the original story with a description of his personal journey in which he finds he can identify at various times and circumstances with the prodigal son and the elder brother. He feels called to love like the father in the story. What makes this book unique, besides his style and familiar tone is his long study of Rembrandt’s famous depiction of the family reunion. It began with seeing it on a poster and continues through a specially arranged trip to view at length the original at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Nouwen brings the reader along in his search for the truths held in the painting and how to apply them to his life. Nouwen’s own story is found in this book through the realism and honesty of his disclosures of personal struggles. As an academic, he taught at several universities, but found his most growth as a child of God during his time as pastor at L’Arche community for disabled persons and their caretakers in Ontario, Canada.
I was immersed in this short book from the beginning, not wanting my time of introspection to end. Fred Sanders narrated the book with kindness and care. I believed I could hear Nouwen’s “voice” spoken through the audio. I recommend this book in any of its formats or many translations. It is good for personal study or would make a nice gift.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Nonfiction, Christian, Religion & Spirituality, Inspirational
Publication: Printed–March 1, 1994—Image
Audio–November 15, 2010—Random House Audio/Audible
Memorable Lines:
Resentment and gratitude cannot coexist, since resentment blocks the perception and experience of life as a gift. My resentment tells me that I don’t receive what I deserve. It always manifests itself in envy.
The leap of faith always means loving without expecting to be loved in return, giving without wanting to receive, inviting without hoping to be invited, holding without asking to be held. And every time I make a little leap, I catch a glimpse of the One who runs out to me and invites me into his joy, the joy in which I can find not only myself, but also my brothers and sisters. Thus the disciplines of trust and gratitude reveal the God who searches for me, burning with desire to take away all my resentments and complaints and to let me sit at his side at the heavenly banquet.
Unlike a fairy tale, the parable provides no happy ending. Instead, it leaves us face to face with one of life’s hardest spiritual choices: to trust or not to trust in God’s all-forgiving love.
If God is compassionate, then certainly those who love God should be compassionate as well.
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
The Prodigal God
by Timothy Keller
You may feel the urge to read that title twice. Wait, you say, the parable in the Bible is commonly referred to as “The Prodigal Son”! One of the meanings of prodigal, however, is “recklessly extravagant,” and that is the kind of love God has for us.
The Prodigal God is a fairly short book that uses Jesus’ parable about a spendthrift son who wastes his inheritance on immoral living to explain the good news of God’s love and salvation. If you are not familiar with the tale, it’s okay because Keller shares the story as told by Luke at the first of his book. As you read it you will be reminded that there are two brothers who both have bad attitudes. The younger brother engages in wild living, but the older brother who exemplifies the religious leaders listening to the parable has an attitude problem as well. These self-righteous scribes and Pharisees try to follow the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. One of the chapter titles is “The Two Lost Sons.” Neither son shows the respect for the father that would be expected according to the customs of their culture.
This is a great book to read if you are seeking a personal relationship with God. It is also good for those who are already followers of Jesus. I particularly appreciated the examination of the characters’ actions in the light of the time and place where they lived. It made a story I have long been familiar with come alive. Keller compares the feast at the end of the parable with “the great festival of God at the end of history” and explains four ways in which salvation is like a feast. This book will challenge your mind and heart.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology
Publication: 2008—Penguin Group
Memorable Lines:
…sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge just as each son sought to displace the authority of the father in his own life.
…the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it.
We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness—the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord. We must admit that we’ve put our ultimate hope and trust in things other than God, and that in both our wrongdoing and right doing we have been seeking to get around God or get control of God in order to get control of those things.
