Running

“…he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20).

The Return of the Prodigal Son (Pompeo Batoni)

I am the other of teenage children.  What does this really mean?  Perhaps it means that all of my past sins are being visited upon me?  After all, I was a teenager myself once and while I was going through that awkward time I was learning about the boundaries that would affect my life.  And learning about boundaries is important because it means that we are able to understand how we fit with our parents.  Sometimes these boundaries mean that we draw closer to our parents and sometimes we draw further away.  While we are clumsily establishing those boundaries, I find that as an adolescent we can make a lot of mistakes.  I continue to make mistakes.

But one thing that cannot change is that the parents of the adolescent must continue to welcome the adolescent back.  Sometimes this in itself is a very difficult thing.  After all, it is not easy to be disappointed in a person and continue to lovingly engage with them.  It is not easy to be angry or sad with that person and continue to lovingly engage with them.  Perhaps this is why God is our FATHER – a parent – because in this way we can understand how this difficulty could be magnified at an infinite level.  After all, I only see and hear what my adolescent child wants to share, but God knows even the inner-most and secret thoughts of us, which really means He knows every single sin…  And STILL He welcomes us back with open arms.

And He does not just welcome us back – but He runs to us.

I know this because this is what I am told in the Gospels…

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:20-22).

And that running is significant.  In ancient times, fathers wore long robes.  They did not wear shorts and joggers.  The father of the household was a dignified man and acted with dignity.  And yet, in this story we are told that the father ran to his returning wayward son.  He did not stand at his door and wait for the son to skulk home.  He ran to him.  I can imagine the scene…  The father must have lifted his robes above his knees, he must have kicked dust behind and around him along the road.  His sandaled feet would have slipped as he rushed.  His beard and hair would have blown back.  He would have sweat and arrived at his son panting and out of breath.  Perhaps without even a moment’s pause, he would have folded that man within his arms and closed his eyes and breathed that child in.  Perhaps that man would have made him unclean – he had been living with pigs after all.  Perhaps the smell of the pigsty was still on his skin or in his clothes and hair.  The father did not care, he breathed him in and knew joy.  For his son was returned…

There was no shame.  There was no recrimination.  There was no grudge.  There was not teaching or lesson or anything else.  There was acceptance.

And I have been thinking about this in relation to my own life.  For it seems to me that the real question is not whether God will accept me if I return to Him, but rather, when will I actually return to Him?  For the moment I turn myself back to Him, He is there – running towards me…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.