one such as this...

the prodigal returns...

Lectionary...
this week tells the story of the prodigal.
He deserves what is coming we easily conclude.
Impatient. Rude. Audacity.
Asking for his inheritance
as if his father were already dead.

How many times
I've stood with the other brother
pointing my finger, jealousy, anger...
at this one who will become the prodigal.
We who point see things so clearly.
The sin in others...
obvious, hideous, and worthy of gossip.

I learned this week
that I have arrived in this town
I now live.

For I
am now worthy
of gossip.
She whispered
across the table loud enough for me to hear,
"That's him. Yep, right there, that is him.
The Presbyterian minister."
She's heard a story
meaty, juicy, so tasty
she could not control her tongue...
could not help but point my way.

Like the other brother
who dutifully stays at home
for reasons we rarely ponder...
we are too busy pointing,
gossiping, and judging the other.

We identify the sins of others with ease.
You're an abomination
an aberration
and I can clearly see why.

We hold up
OUR
Bible
with proof enough
to condemn.

Yet, the story played out
in the hearts and minds
of prodigals in this world
rarely gets spoken...
rarely is
known.
Indeed prodigals sin...
but perhaps
just perhaps
their sin is not what you determine it to be...
what we
so adamantly point out.

Just perhaps the sin
of the prodigal, your prodigal...
is something
you
can
not
yet see
or know.

Just perhaps
your sin
our sin
blinds
us to the real story at hand.

Just perhaps
you,
I...
wait
to be greeted with
an embrace
so tight
so bold
so loving
all there is left
to do is love
and be loved.