Let us pray: O God, guide my words, and guide our feet that whether we are venturing out into new territory or making our way back home that you might be a part of every step we take, and that we might be led in the direction that will lead to a greater sense of your presence among us – for ourselves and for everyone we meet. Amen.

It is amazing that two thousand year old stories can be so rich with meaning and insight. Yet, that is the overwhelming sentiment that was part of my preparation this week. The story of the prodigal son is of course one of the touchstone stories of the gospel. On the surface it is a story of grace, repentance, acceptance, and the nature of familial love. All of that was once again, although never old, part of the meaning that revealed itself as I read the story yet again.

But as usually happens with all of Jesus' parables, the week of contemplation kept working away at me – with some help and extra inspiration from the interactions I was part of this week.

I was attending my final meeting of the Alberta and Northwest Conference Executive in Edmonton this week. And the worship leader for our opening worship on Thursday morning decided to use the story of the prodigals – for it is not only the younger son who is prodigal, but also the abundantly generous father, as the scripture reading.

I had read the parable earlier in the week, as usual, in my beginning preparations for worship, so it was a helpful addition to have it layered upon the first and second thoughts of the week when we came to it on Thursday. Not only that but our worship leader invited us into some interactive discussion about the passage with a colleague who was part of the circle of worship on Thursday. It just so happened that I was sitting beside my colleague Bev Brazier from Whitehorse, and the playwright of the piece from which our Remember me from '73 dinner theatre last week was adapted. Conversation with Bev is always deep and stimulating and it was no different this week. Finally, Brent Woodard, our worship leader and chair of South Alberta presbytery and a friend and classmate of mine from many years back had offered me a ride to my hotel on Thursday evening and he told me he wanted to discuss the parable on our drive to Leduc as well.

So, the richness of the parable was made richer by the conversations and interactions which were part of my week.

Parables are designed to make us think. I believe there is a reason that very few of Jesus' parables are explained by Jesus in the gospels. Explanations would detract from the depth of meaning and connection that can be gleaned from them. Instead, by having the stories speak for themselves, there are many different connections we can make from them, and depending on the circumstances of our lives we can take new meaning from them every time we encounter them. That's exactly what happened for me this week.

I want to offer some of the things that spoke to me this week about this iconic story – without an attempt to explain what it means – because I don't think there is only one meaning, and because as I said earlier – the story is much richer with the insights simply listed and mentioned and not completely explained.

As I have said already, the surface, but deeply important themes of the parable were there once again – repentance, acceptance, unconditional love and the power of love among family members were still there.

Another disturbing aspect of the story has always been the reaction of the older brother to the return of his wastrel brother and his lavishly celebrating father, but this year when I first read the story it was that aspect that spoke to me the loudest. I identified with that older brother more than I ever have, and I found myself wondering why. The story is not exactly one which leaves you feeling good about identifying with the good but jealous older brother, but this time that's where I was, in a way that was deeper and more passionate than I've experienced at other times. And more distressing, because I wondered what that meant about my life circumstances this time in particular. I couldn't come up with anything in particular.

But then as we were drawn to read and reflect on it some more in worship on Thursday I found myself in a deeper conversation with my aforementioned colleagues. I laid out my identification with the older brother this time around. But then other questions came to the fore. For example, why did Jesus add that bit about the older brother at all? Doesn't the main theme of the parable work just as well without any reference to the older brother at all? But because Jesus did make it an important part and in fact reinforces the importance by making it the last thing to think about in the story , there must be a reason. Perhaps it is the real point of the story, Maybe the joy and celebration of the father is a secondary point. Maybe the story is really about the reaction of the older brother, and if so, then it is a kind of ouch to recognize how much I identify with him – and want to defend his response to his father's decision to throw a party for his brother – returned from a life of being bad when he himself has been good all along.

Well, as if that ouch wasn't hard enough to take, my friend Brent suggested that the story was really about the pharisees and religion scholars and how the older brother was just like them – grumbling about the people that Jesus was hanging out with – ouch again!

Finally, let me offer one more insight from my own reflection and my conversation with others about this well-known but still to be understood parable. In this Lenten season, is it possible that the parable is a story about the Christian story. It's a resurrection story. The younger son, in the father's mind, was dead. The father had lost hope that his prodigal son had survived his spendthrift and loosely lived ways. He was dead and the father grieved as only a parent can grieve the death of a child. But then the dead was discovered to be living. He came home and a father's grief was turned from grief to uncontrollable joy. Is that not the Easter Story?

Well, of course, that is exactly what the parables are supposed to do – they are morality plays – stories that invite us into deeper reflection on what it means to be a follower of God's way – stories that at different times in our lives will have us identifying with different characters in the story – and coming to new and helpful insights about what and what not to do in our relationships with each other and with God as we strive to live lives of meaning and purpose. May the depth of meaning offered to us in the stories of Jesus be matched and surpassed by the depth of reflection, meaning and relationship that God calls us to – and may we always hear the promise of grace and forgiveness that is always a part of God's word to us in all times and in every time. Amen.