Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32 This is a parable we love, love, love. Unless, that is, Jesus is telling it to us. Then it is another matter. You know what I mean? It’s a really nice story in the abstract way. Like saying, “I love people. Only, not that particular one, or that one, or that one either.” It turns out that we mean a very specific and relatively small set of people. The first time I realized how hard this parable is was when I was reading it to an adult Bible study group. I looked up at the faces around me and they said, “I don’t like that one.” They didn’t like it because they had taken it personally (which is good.) They had asked themselves, am I as forgiving as this father? Do I want to be that forgiving? And their answer was no. Parables that talk about […]
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