Nouwen, Henri J.M. The return of the prodigal son : the story of a homecoming. 1992

 

I usually find the work of Nouwen both challenging and rewarding and this book is no exception. He writes of a journey, begun in contemplation of Rembrandt’s painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” and steps the reader through his own personal pilgrimage using both painting and parable.

 

At first he sees himself as the younger son, weary, destitute, ashamed, resting in the blessing of his compassionate father, but as he journeys he also recognises himself in the older son, obedient, wanting praise, resentful of his brother and realises that this son too needs to come home to the love and compassion of his father.

 

Finally, as he grows through his sonship, he acknowledges that he must, in the end, become the compassionate father, the spiritual adult.

 

“Grief, forgiveness and generosity are, then, the three ways by which the image of the Father can grow in me. They are three aspects of the Father’s call to be home. … There is a dreadful emptiness in this spiritual fatherhood. No power, no success, no popularity, no easy satisfaction. But that same dreadful emptiness is also the place of true freedom. It is the place where there is ‘nothing left to lose’, where love has no strings attached, and where real spiritual strength is found.”

 

Nouwen’s journey is both challenge and guide to all travellers on the way home.

Rosalind Kentwell