The Return of the Prodigal Son

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1669. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Questions

-What do you notice about this painting at first?

What do you remember about the parable of the prodigal son? How is it shown in this painting?

-Do you like this style of art? Why or why not?

-Who else do you think is in this painting? How does it change the focus of the piece?

Reflections

As I have gotten older, the parable of the prodigal son has grown in meaning and understanding in my heart. This year, the Fourth Sunday of Lent's gospel is this powerful gospel. I think this requires reflection on why out of all the gospels, this one was chosen for this time of preparation, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. There are so many wonderful lessons an reflections that can be gleaned from this parable and every time I revisit it, I receive something else. This is the gift of lectio divina and visio divina. The Lord always has more to share and give us than we can ever imagine.

This parable begins with the younger of two sons asking his father for his share of the estate. Instead of being off put or telling the son no, the father quickly and freely gave of what he had. He did not worry that he himself was losing his property, riches, or goods but gave to the son what he requested. Our Lord does the same towards us. God does not hold back any gifts or graces from his children when we ask for them. He is not worried about the loss of His security, control, or ownership over the things which He created and brought to be. He trusted his son to care well for what he was given, what was not originally his but given to him as he was the son, the proper inheritor of his father's goods. But it did not take long to squander it all, which we do the same. How often have we taken the kindness, love, virtues, dignity, gifts, graces, and goods that the Lord gives us and throw it away for momentary pleasure, vice, or empty promises? We often squander our inheritance just like the son.

In this painting you can see the son is in absolute squalor and is truly poor. He has torn and dirty clothing, has less than one complete shoe left, is bald which probably reflects that he had lice or a sickness that forced him to cut it all off, and he most likely stinks terribly bad. This is the physical representation of our soul when it is in sin. Sin dirties us - it makes our purity and dignity look so unpleasant that we can forget that we had it in the first place. We cannot figure out which way is up or down or right or wrong, it is like we are stuck in the filth. When we are in a state of sin it can be so difficult to see a way out or even a way to take a step forward. It is overwhelming to try figure out how to become better, how to cleanse ourselves of our dirtiness so we can see even a glimpse of who we were made to be. Without our Lord, we are completely poor. Everything that is ours was at first a gift from Our Lord, who created the entirety of the universe.

The good news of this Gospel parable is that Our Lord is like the father. When the son came to his senses and starting to go home, his father saw him from far off and ran to him. He did not wait for him to get there and grovel or send someone else to bring him in. But he himself was filled with compassion, dropped everything he had, and went to the son. He had no idea where the son had been or what happened, only that he had returned. His son had a practiced script in his head of what he was going to say to his father to convince him to let him return not as a son, but as servant. The son was expecting wrath and difficulty and a life of sorrow. Instead, his father went out to him and brought him back into the family no questions asked.

We often approach God this way when we have sinned. We think that we need to have a solution figured out or the perfect words in confession or that we do not deserve to be called a son or daughter of Christ anymore. God does not see it this way. He rejoices when the one lost sheep has been found. He rejoices when the son returns humbly and with sorrow so that He can respond with love, forgiveness, and mercy. God's mercy and forgiveness is always beyond our wildest imagination, just like the father in this parable. The father knew and saw that the son had already been through enough punishment and struggles so that he did not have to push it on him any further. The father could just receive the son and love him for coming back to him. God loves when we return to Him, especially after sin. When we return to the Lord it is like a resurrection of our very soul and body. We are no longer dead in sin, but alive in Christ. Alive in relationship with our very, very Good Father.

I think we can find ourselves in the shoes of several of the parable characters - the son, the father, the servants preparing the feast when the son returns. But more often than not, I find myself in the place of the older son. I am the oldest daughter in my family, so I think this comes a bit naturally, but it is also reflective of my own sinfulness. The older son did not leave, did not squander his inheritance, and worked hard for his father so when he came back from the fields and saw a feast, he was confused. Why would they be celebrating? It says in the parable that when he learned it was for his lost brother who returned he became angry and would not even enter the house. This anger came from a very real place of seeing his brother's sins and wrongdoings and not being able to get over that, as well as jealousy that his father's delight was for his brother and not him. How often have I been in that place? So often I find myself jealous of the gifts of others from the Lord. Jealous of the freedom from sin and mercy that others receive. Jealous that the sinners can come back into the fold without anyone saying anything about their past. But this jealousy and anger towards his brother shows how misplaced his relationship with his father is. He does not understand that all that the father has is his. It is more than just doing the right things and following the rules, the father wants a relationship with his son.

God wants a relationship with us and he delights in our following his path and will, but our very being means more than that. That father was so happy when the younger son came back because he desired a relationship where it was long lost. The father probably wanted a better relationship with his oldest son too but that son only saw his duties and work as something to be fulfilled. God wants us to complete our duties out of love for Him and for love of ourselves and our neighbor. He does not want them completed because we think that is the right thing and what will get us to heaven. Duties alone will never get us to heaven, we need relationship with the Father. In this parable the father is trying to change the lens in which the oldest son sees this situation. It is not about the sin or wrongdoing, it is about the change of life afterwards. It takes great humility to admit that you were wrong and to come back to the one whom you harmed. Our God will always graciously give everything that is His to us because we are His adopted sons and daughters. All that He has is ours. We must rejoice in this gift that is given freely, even when it is so often squandered by ourselves and others. It is cause for even greater rejoicing though when one of our lost family members comes back, desiring not the gift but the relationship. The youngest son took the gift but now only wants the relationship. The oldest son needs to realize that he may have the relationship, but it is not fully his until he accepts the gift. A restoration of relationship and awareness of the inherit and endless gifts we receive as children of God is cause for a multitude of celebrations.

Jesus begins to tell this parable because the Pharisees and scribes complained about how he would welcome and eat with sinners. And while we ourselves may grumble this should actually give us cause for great joy. Praise the Lord that Jesus Christ welcomes sinners, of whom I am the first! The oldest son lacked the sight of his own sinfulness and the ways that he was far from his father. While there may not be physical distance, there was a separation in relationship and the way they viewed the world. This is why an examination of conscience and confession is so deeply needed. There are so many ways that we stray from God in thought, word, and action. We must realize and recognize them so we can run to our Good Father to ask for mercy and to be accepted back into the fold. Heaven is rejoicing and will be feasting when one of His children come back to Him. Lets give the saints a reason to celebrate with our constant return to the Father, who always runs to greet us.

Information

Rembrandt is one of those artists who name is usually so well known, you always look for his works in museums or online. He is one of the "greats", but he does not have an art piece that pops into your head when you say his name. An example of the opposite would be when I say Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper painting pops into my mind. Or if I saw Michelangelo, usually the Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel is the first image that comes to mind. With Raphael though, he was a different type of artist in popularity and subject type. He focused more on portraits, myths, everyday life, and some biblical imagery. I hope now that with this reflection when someone says Rembrandt, you think of this amazing painting of The Return of the Prodigal Son.

This painting is one of Rembrandt's final works, most likely completed within the last two years of his life, before his death in 1669. This has proved to be one of his most well known and beloved paintings that reaches beyond his earlier works. It demonstrates the mastery of Rembrandt even at the end of his life. The spirituality and message in the parable of the forgiveness is palpable and considered the height of his art. The interpretation that Rembrandt took of extreme solemnity in the moment is mercy is incredibly powerful. The religious mood and human sympathy goes beyond that work of many other artists at the time. While the figures look real, it is not the same perfect likeness that Rembrandt had conquered before. It was an intentional choice to instead increase the psychological insight and spiritual awareness, rather than the perfection of the human likeness to be shown. As we gaze upon this painting we are brought into the feeling of the father, the son, and those who are privy to this meeting and moment of forgiveness. The darkness is being dispelled by the light of tenderness, deep love, and mercy. It is like our weary and sinful nature that is plunged in the darkness is at once gone by the homecoming of throwing ourselves at God's feet, begging for the shelter of His mercy.

Rembrandt's style is identified through his use of texture and light to bring about intense emotional depth. Through his dedication and mastery of this style he was regarded as a well known and important Dutch artist in his time and today. He has always painted with a great deal of detail and naturalism. Skin tones, textures, clothing textiles, and other features of the human body are depicted very intentionally and meticulously. This attention to detail adds to the realism of the paintings. From a young age he was a studio apprentice to several great artists and even opened his own workshop at age 18. He never left the Netherlands but was able to study other great painters such as Caravaggio. Chiaroscuro, the use of dramatic light and darkness, can be seen in his paintings and was mastered by Caravaggio. He also learned the impasto technique, which is adding thick, multiple layers of paint to the canvas' surface. His portraits helped to receive public admiration as well as provide financially for him and his wife. Throughout his life, the demand of his paintings lessened and in later life he was actually in a great deal of debt. It makes it powerful that in the last years of his life he turns to the parable of the prodigal son, experiencing a type of expulsion from popular and well-off society that he experienced in the heigh of his career.

Looking closer at the painting, you see that the son in leaning against his father's breast and the father is bending over his son. The father does not reel back from the state of his son, but instead embraces him. The father is older and knows how close to the end of life he is getting. His outstretched hands on his sons back show evidence of the stiffness of old age. The light illuminates the darkness and puts the focus altogether on the father and son. The simplicity of setting helps the viewer to feel the full impact of the event. The colors of the painting are natural, but vivid. The scarlet red in the father's cloak is tempered by the ochre and olive of his clothes underneath. The son's tan and muted clothes contrasts the red of his father's cloak. In the past, red often represents humanity, devotion, and sacrifice. The father sacrificed so much by giving his inheritance to the son, but he also sacrificed a great deal of his heart when he let the son go off. In his devotion to his son and the love that he had, he extended mercy. Devotion to Christ should reflect in the way we treat others and extend mercy even to those who have taken much from us.

This painting of the prodigal son is much beloved in our Catholic faith. The Dutch priest Henri Nouwen loved this painting so much that he wrote the book The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, using the parable and this painting as a framework. Contemplating artwork can bring incredible spiritual fruit and further understanding of the Word of God. The impact of art on our faith lives and society as a whole can be powerful is we allow it to be. The homecoming that awaits us when we reconcile with others in our life, God in prayer, and eventually in heaven is the greatest place of mercy and joy in our lives. The return of the prodigal son is a story in which we can continually find ourselves in.

More Questions

-Who do you find yourself to feel the most like today - the younger son, the father, a servant, or the older son?

-Where in our lives do we need to go to the Lord for forgiveness in humility and hope of mercy?

-How has the Lord ran to meet you in your sinful state and fallen nature? Are you running to meet him?

-Who in your life do you need to extend mercy to? How can you extend your hands upon them in forgiveness and reconciliation of relationship?

Let us pray -

Lord, thank you for the parable of the prodigal son. It is a gift to hear your lessons and experience them as realities in our own lives. Help us to run towards you in our sinfulness in humility and desire for reconciliation. May we see how you are coming to meet us in love and mercy. Let me rest my head upon your warm, forgiving, and loving embrace. You are a Good Father and we love being your true children. In preparation for your resurrection at Easter, help us to rid ourselves of our sinful nature and offer forgiveness to ourselves and others. Resurrect our right relationship with you and may we appreciate and accept the wonderful gifts you give us.

Amen.