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Background
 This reflection
offers a very
familiar parable.
Possibly, however,
it offers a
previously unknown
approach in that
either the son or
the father may be
seen as
"prodigal."
(Consult your
dictionary for a
definition, if
needed.) Keeping in
mind the goal of
making stewardship a
way of life,
question number thee
should move from a
discussion of the
father in this story
to your own
decisions, habits,
and attitudes.
Reading
The
Parable of the
Prodigal
Luke 15:11–32
Reflection
This text is
well known as
"The Parable of
the Prodigal
Son," yet it
might just as easily
have been named
"The Parable of
the Prodigal
Parent." The
word
"prodigal"
has two very
opposite meanings.
It can be defined as
both wasteful or
gluttonous, and as
generous or
bounteous. It
depends, of course,
on one's point of
view.
Most
would readily agree
that the son who
demanded his
inheritance and then
squandered it in
wild living was
prodigal in the
first sense. Yet
what about the
father? Was he
"sinfully"
wasteful, or
extravagantly
generous, in giving
in to his son's
demands?
Both
waste and generosity
are judgment
statements; which
word we choose to
use to describe a
specific use of
money depends
largely on whether
we approve or
disapprove of the
way the money is
spent.
If
we manage our money
in a context of
fear, we may tend to
store up and hoard
— there is never
enough to go around
-- and many
expenditures are
seen as wasteful. If
we manage our money
in a context of
faith, we can break
free of artificial
or self-imposed
limits and are more
able to adopt a
pattern of
generosity,
regardless of how
the money is
eventually used. It
all depends on our
point of view.
Discussion
| 1. |
Was the father
wasteful or
generous? What
difference
does it make
in the meaning
of the
parable? |
| 2. |
What
are your
attitudes
and beliefs
about money?
How do they
support,
encourage,
contradict,
or deny your
faith
values? |
| 3. |
The
way in which
we manage
money is
learned over
a lifetime.
What kinds
of attitudes
and
approaches
to life, and
to his
resources,
might have
enabled the
parent to
give his son
his portion
of the
inheritance? |
Prayer
Gracious God, you
give to us without
limit; yet we fear
having too much or
too little, and we
judge those who do.
Teach us to use
money faithfully and
fearlessly, that we
may respond with joy
and wisdom to needs
and desires — for
ourselves, our loved
ones, and our
neighbors across the
street and around
the world. Amen
Written
by Susan K. Wendorf
for Women of the
ELCA. Copyright ©
1995 Women of the
Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America.
All rights reserved.
May be reproduced
for use by Women of
the ELCA in
congregations
provided each copy
carries the
copyright notice
above. For
all other purposes, contact
us.
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