Do you recognise this painting? Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal explores Jesus’ story about an errant son coming home. Within a dark setting, Rembrandt represents the father’s warm love by his dramatic red cape and the light cast on his face and hands as he embraces his ragged son. The father’s welcome is unexpected. The cultural expectation of the time was that a father should reject, not forgive, a prodigal son who has brought disgrace on his family.
The publisher chose this painting for the background cover of my new book, Home with the Good Father. I was delighted with the choice, and we picked up Rembrandt’s warm red for the décor of the room where we held our local book launch. The picture is very fitting because the prodigal story is the starting point for my imagining what might happen next for a son returning home to love and acceptance.
Last week someone buying my book told me he just had to read it! He too had been a prodigal before he came home to God.
“I identify with the prodigal’s older brother”, I told him. “And there’s a chapter about him too.” He confessed that was his current challenge. Burnt out by doing good to earn the divine Father’s approval, he had found his hard work was not appreciated by those around him. He had grown resentful and broken.
The other homecoming
Then I remembered Henri Nouwen’s book, read many years before, which centres on this painting. Contemplating Rembrandt’s image, Nouwen begins by seeing himself as a returning prodigal, glad to be let in the door. He finds true warmth and forgiveness in the Father’s love.
Then with the kudos of teaching at prestigious Harvard, he identifies with the self-righteous older son in Jesus’ story. He is doing everything expected of him. But finds it is not satisfying.
Finally, he hears a challenge to be like the compassionate father, offering “spiritual fatherhood” to those around him. He sees his life representing a movement from self-centredness to other-ing. Gentle, wise, but not intrusive or demanding loving. Nouwen calls this the true homecoming.
Compassionate eldering
We can never match the welcome and grace of the divine Father who has welcomed us home. But we can grow more compassionate and wise like him. And not stay wallowing in our own needs or resentments.
A friend who is a little younger than me calls his current contribution to others, “eldering”. I like this term for the tasks of this stage of my life too. It describes much of what I do and is a fitting way to give back for all I have received over the years from many others along the way.
Coming home
Return of the Prodigal was one of Rembrandt’s last paintings before his death in 1669. Some commentators suggest it expresses his relief at finding there was still a homecoming and forgiveness possible for him after a self-centred dissolute life and neglect of his family.
There is always a path back to forgiveness because of Jesus. But much better to live all of life knowing you are seen and loved in the presence of the Good Father.
Jennifer Turner
