Prodigals, mountain climbers and you (me)
The story of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is familiar to every practicing Christian, I presume. It’s one of Jesus’ most powerful parables, an allegory illustrating important truths. We may not always agree on what truths are most important there, but the allegory popped up again for me when I read that hopes are high for rescue personnel and helicopters to search again for three missing climbers in very difficult terrain. (CBC News, June 08, 2024) Put crassly, how much risk and effort do we owe others when in self-inflicted danger? The obedient other son in the parable is appalled at his father’s embrace of the one whose demise followed his own—eye’s open—bad choices. His, “All my life I’ve been a model son, and you’ve never thrown a banquet for me!” is an eminently logical accusation. Nobody has ever staged a celebration to honour me for not climbing precarious precipices, never taking illicit drugs, not abusing alcohol or disobeying driving rules either. We know by no...