It’s no wonder the Prodigal son ever came to his senses. After all, he was returning to one of the most dysfunctional households in the Bible. The mother is awol, the father has less pride and fewer clues than Homer Simpson, the brother treats him like toxic waste, and we can imagine family meals around that house having more drama than a season’s worth of The Kardashians.

But the money had run out and the hunger had set in. For the Prodigal son, the trip home was out of desperation and not sentimentalism - coming home was his best option. Coming home was his only option. Coming home was the smartest thing he would ever do. Coming home was the hardest thing he would ever do.

And in this fourth week of Lent you and I are invited to look for the parallels - and the ways we choose avoidance over reconciliation. How many times have we screened phone calls, skipped outings, and filled our lives with distractions rather than facing up to and grappling with forgiveness? Sometimes it’s only when our backs are against the wall and we’re forced to forgive that we finally do. And when we finally do, as difficult as it is, we find that we experience a little slice of heaven.

Coming Home makes for one huge metaphor. It stirs up uncomfortable relationships and situations we may have buried years ago, but that deep down inside we want to make right. Could this be the time? Is Lent 2010 calling us to ponder the ways we need to come to our senses and make peace with someone else - a family member, a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend, a church, or even God? In what ways are we running, in what ways do we need to come to our senses? In what ways have we distracted ourselves with dissolute living in order to avoid the tough stuff, the real stuff, of making things right?

Reading List
Explosive Preaching – Ron Boyd-McMillan
The Source – James Michener
The Politics of Jesus – Obrey Hendricks