Kevin spent this morning and will spend the next 3 weeks digging into Luke 15, primarily in the parable of the prodigal son. We learned that to the people who were listening to Jesus tell this story, the parable must have been considered completely outrageous. In the Mideast at that time, a "shame and honor" culture defined all of life's relationships and actions. So for a Jewish son to demand his inheritance while his father was still alive, to squander it away, to reduce himself to feeding pigs was outrageously shameful. Even more so, though, was it undignified for a father to run to his son and welcome him back extravagantly after being dishonored so deeply. Kevin asked us if there are people in our lives that we feel don't deserve God's grace - perhaps someone who has offended us or wounded our pride. We were challenged to study Luke 15 this week and consider God's love for people.
There are so many layers to this story, as well as the two shorter parables that precede it. Next week we're looking more deeply into the older son's reaction. Stay tuned!
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