Hey friends,
Today is the day!
Tonight at 7:30 PM Eastern, I’d love for you to join me live on Substack for The Prodigal Son Like You’ve Never Heard Before.
We know the broad strokes. A son leaves home, makes a spectacular mess of things, and comes back to a father who runs to embrace him. His father welcomes him home with a feast, and we have a beautiful picture of forgiveness.
But Jesus keeps talking after the reunion. There’s another son outside, and he has a few things to say about this party.
As an oldest brother of three myself, I feel we should at least hear the man out.
But I digress.
Tonight, we’re going to slow down and read the story together. Who was listening when Jesus told it? What would they have heard in that request for an inheritance? What’s with all these pigs? And why does Jesus leave us without telling us what the brother decides?
Those details open up a story that familiarity can sometimes keep us from really hearing.
We’ll explore its world, draw on Henri Nouwen’s extraordinary reflections, and spend some time recognizing ourselves in this family. There may be parts of our lives when we identify with the son who left, others when we understand the resentment of the son who stayed. And then there’s the much harder question of learning to love like the father.
This is the kind of reading I love sharing with you here, with room to follow a question further than a short video allows. Tonight, we get to do it together.
If you want to use your own bible, we’ll be in Luke 15:11–32, with a look at the opening of the chapter to see what prompted Jesus to tell these stories in the first place. I’ll be reading from my Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, which uses the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition translation.
That said, I’ve put together a simple study packet you can download and print below, with the Scripture passages and a few things to help you follow along. If you like having the text in front of you to underline a phrase or jot down a question as we go, I hope this will be useful. Bring it along when we gather, and keep it nearby afterward if you’d like to spend a little more time with the passage in prayer.
Here’s where to join us:
Tuesday, September 29
7:30 PM Eastern / 6:30 PM Central / 5:30 PM Mountain / 4:30 PM Pacific
Live on Substack
The replay should be available after we finish, but this is our first time doing this, and I’m taking the St. Thomas approach to the technology: I’ll believe it when I see it. So, I do hope you’ll join us live so you can ask questions, join the conversation, and experience the evening with us.
For now, save this email so you have the link handy tonight. And if you know someone who loves a good conversation about Scripture, forward this to them. I’d love to have them with us.
And on a personal note, I cannot wait to see you this evening. I love writing for you, and I’m so looking forward to spending time together and hearing from you in real time. Please say a prayer for me as I make the final preparations, and that every technology gremlin is banished far from the chapel.
See you tonight!
With love,
