A FATHER'S LOVE

Having time on my hands means having the luxury of doing things I normally would not do, such as writing and watching television during the day.

It so happened that I flipped onto a channel showing an Oprah re-run, her guest was Chaz Bono, formerly known as Chastity, the daughter of Sonny Bono and Cher.

All Sonny and Cher fans will remember the little tomboyish Chastity who came out at the end of almost every show to bid the audience goodbye. In 1995, Chastity openly declared that she was a lesbian, but in May of 2010, after nearly 2 years of well documented surgical and chemo intervention, Chastity became Chaz, the guy.

Chaz, who is an author and an advocate of human rights, was sophisticated and articulate on Oprah’s show. He was nothing like those who mounted themselves on top of a float at a Pride Parade, greeting the public with slithering tongues and gyrating hips.

Tears welled in his eyes when Chaz recounted his journey of gender identification and transformation. It was still traumatic and painful to him and the audience felt it too.

We Christians know what the Bible says about homosexuality (lesbian and gay), and for that matter, about bisexuality, transvestism, transgender and two spiritedness etc. etc. We also know that they face discrimination and defamation all the time and many are hurt and angry. But how often do we pay attention to how a LGBT feels? Then again, we may feel differently if this individual happens to be someone we know, someone close and dear to us, like our own son or daughter?

Our perspective can change drastically under different circumstances, but the Bible tells us our Lord has only one perspective: He loves us and He cares about how all of us feel because we are all His children.

In the parable of the prodigal son, as narrated by Jesus Himself, the reaction of the father upon the prodigal son’s return was swift and definite, “…but while he (the son) was still a long way off his father saw him, and his heart went out for him. He (the father) ran to meet him, flung his arms around him, and kissed him.” (Luke 15: 20. New English Bible)

Jesus never disclosed the true intention of the prodigal son except that he “came to his senses” and rehearsed a speech of repentance so that he could be home to avoid starvation, but before he could even open his mouth to make that speech, he was greeted by his father with hugs and kisses.
   
The father did not stop dead with arms crossed and squawked, “Well! Well! Look who’s back with his tail between his legs?”, nor did he lay out more terms and conditions than a smart phone contract to his son before he would even touch him.

Why did his son come home? May be he needed a roof over his head? May be he needed more money? The father was not concerned. His son was home, and that was the only thing that mattered. “…His heart went out for him…”, said the Bible.

Whenever the parable is being studied, much emphasis is placed on the sins and repentance of the prodigal son, as well as the self-righteous reaction of the older brother. However, try to imagine ourselves in the shoes of either one of the brothers.  We will eventually realize that they both were victims of a broken relationship initiated by them.  The younger brother spent his inheritance decadently and abandoned his filial responsibilities; the elder brother was impelled by a sense of entitlement and confronted his father regarding his decision.  

Jesus ended the parable with the father’s explanation to the elder son: “My son, … you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he as been found.” (Luke 15: 31 – 32, New English Bible).    

Did the elder son buy into that? Will he end up granting his father’s wish by reaching out to his brother and trying to accept him at face value without further condemnation? Or will he deck that sorry-piece-of work brother of his, and continue to feel betrayed and angry while focusing on the blemished past of his brother in order to justify his feeling?

Will the younger brother truthfully repent because he was deeply moved by the unconditional love of his father?  Will he work earnestly to redeem himself by being accountable and respectful? What will happen if his elder brother remain antagonistic and continue to give him a rough ride? Will that confirm his worst fear, lead him to despair and to once again fall from grace?

Apart from the unrelenting and unconditional love of the father, Jesus did not give us any indication on what might happen next. Perhaps He expects us to develop and to complete the rest of the unfinished parable He started two millenniums ago.

There are so many possible outcomes!

It was almost a decade ago when the Diocese of New Westminster split on what appeared to be a single agenda that evolved into an ecclesiastical Kraken. Many of us are still struggling with unresolved emotions and spiritual turmoil. Frustration cascaded in all directions like the overflow from a broken dam, flooding realms of reason and drowning old-growth relationships.

Ten years is not even worth a split second in God’s timeline but I am sure He takes heed of every prayer uttered, every drop of tear shed, every gesture made and every soul lost or gained.

Brothers and sisters, as most of us would agree, the impasse is much more complicated than just one single issue. The Chinese proverb says, “It takes more than a day of cold blast to freeze a sheet of ice to the thickness of a metre.”  It would take an army of ice picks plus a miracle to break up this sheet of ice, as it would take a whole diocese plus a miracle to play out the parable Jesus bestows on us.

We all believe in miracles, don’t we?  

Let’s clear our minds and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us with a rejuvenated conviction. What is our Father’s wish?  What role and action does He expect each and every one of us to partake in rebuilding relationships? At the end of the day, whether we see ourselves as the elder brother or the prodigal son, we all have to answer to God individually.

“Come to me, all whose work is hard, whose load is heavy; and I will give you relief. Bend your necks to my yoke, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-hearted; and your sols will find relief. For my yoke is good to bear, my load is light.” (Matthew 11: 28 – 30. New English Bible)

Raymond Li