The Prodigal Father

This post comes with a large amount of credit going to pastor Brian Zahnd at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri.

One of my favorite New Testament stories is the story commonly known as "The Prodigal Son." It is found in Luke chapter 15. Many of us have heard the story...

1 The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him,
2but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”...
11Then he said, “A man had two sons,
12and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.
13After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
14When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.
15So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
16And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
17Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.
18I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
20So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
21His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
22But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast,
24because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.
25Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.
26He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
27The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.
29He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
30But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
31He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.
32But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’” [NAB]

A little background trivia, the word "prodigal" does not mean returning. It is usually not take in the text of a compliment. Prodigal is defined by Merriam-Webster is listed as such:
1 : characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure : lavish
2 : recklessly spendthrift
3 : yielding abundantly : luxuriant — often used with of

Now that you understand what prodigal means, let's take a look at the story-telling of Jesus from the logistical perspective. There are three main characters in the story: the prodigal son, the older son, and the father. There are also three acts of the story (Jesus was a REALLY good story-teller). Each act focuses on each one of them - respectively, the prodigal son, the father, and the older son. Also, in case you didn't notice, each character represents a real-life person who is in this setting of the Bible.

In the first act, we focus on the prodigal son. The son makes three strikes against his father. First, he asks for his share of he land before it is his time to receive it. Second, he tells his father he is going to leave the land before it is his time to do so. Finally, the son sells his land that was supposed to remain in the family for all of the descendants of the family. The father had allowed the son to do as he wished for what he was asked. And as we see, the son squandered the money for a life of wine, women, and song - drugs, sex, and rock and roll. He soon ran out of money and fell a victim to a famine of the time. He remembered how much food the servants had at his father's hose and decided to go back to his father, realizing how much food the servants had. He believed his father would be upset with him, so he prepared a "forgive me" speech and would ask to return NOT as a son, but as a SERVANT.

At this point in the story, the beginning of the second act, we change our perspective to the father. As the son is returning, we see that the father sees his and runs out to greet him. This means the father was LOOkING for his son! And as the younger son started his "forgive me" speech, the father paid no attention. Now all of a sudden, the father was being prodigal - TOWARDS HIS SON!! He gave him a ring, robe, and wanted to throw a homecoming party for his son! He was so happy that his son had returned, even forgiving him for his past transgressions against him!

At the final act, we see the older son. He is working in the field, hears the noise, asks a servant about it and discovers that the party is a celebration of the homecoming of the younger son. The older son decides not to rejoice, but to be angry. And we see the father comes out and asks him to join, but the older son stubbornly refuses. He complains that he never got any sort of celebration despite remaining always faithful. His father says, essentially, "what is mine has always been yours." The older son, as far as we know, never went in because he believed the reward of his younger brother wasn't "fair".

I referenced earlier that the characters of the story had references to real characters. The most obvious is the father, who represents Jesus. The prodigal son represented the tax collectors and prositiutes and other sinners. If we return to the father, truly sorry for what we have done, he will forgive us and celebrate our return!

Finally, the older son represents the scribes and Pharisees. They accused Jesus of wrongdoing because he spends time with the sinners. They don't realize how their own action is sinful in itself. We are all sinners and we all need Jesus in our lives.

As I said before in my explanation of the three acts, the father became "prodigal" when he spent on his returning son. God wants to be prodigal for us - He wants to share his ENDLESS and UNCONDITIONAL love for us. Let's not keep ourselves from God like the prodigal son was before he became desperate. Let's not be like the older son and be upset with God because people less "deserving" get better treatment. Let's all come to God and enjoy his prodigal spending on us.

Angels in the Outfield... It could happen!!

Last night, I watched one of my favorite movies of all time: "Angels in the Outfield". If you, the reader, haven't seen this movie, I recommend you see it as soon as possible. The family movie revolves aroundRoger, a young boy in a foster care, waiting for his dad to get him out. Meanwhile, the manager of the California Angels, George Knox, struggles to revive a slipshod team with little success. The two meet when Roger sees angels from heaven help the baseball team find a winning way.

As the Angels continue on their run for the division title, Roger is summoned to the family court on the day of a critical game for the Angels. When Roger goes to court, he discovers that his father has disclaimed his son because he knows he cannot materially provide for him. As Roger's heart is broken knowing he will not see his father again, Knox's heart is broken as his Angels team loses a game that could have cliched the championship. As Roger and George talked together, George tells Roger that "you can't go through life thinking everything you need will one day let you down."

As my college undergrad career is winding down, I realize this is the most important lesson for me to hold true to. When the Benedictine College class of 2013 graduates, we will go our separate ways to all over the country. It is so important for us to remember our friends that have formed us into who we are. We can't think they let us down by having a different plan for life or chose a different career. We have to continue to support each other and uphold our friendships. As we do this, we will continue to make our friends the best people they can be.

That scene also shows that wins and losses are important in sports, but the wins and losses in life are much more important. I hold my philosophy of "Win Forever" but I also realize there is a time and place when there is a loss in which no one wins. Losing a championship pales in comparison to losing a parent. Be thankful for what you have in your life and strive to be the best. When you lose a competition, be able to admit a loss and move on. When you lose something much more valuable in life, thank God for the blessings that we have in life - vehicles, a home, people that love us, and so much more.

Lastly, never lose hope. The Angels' star pitcher Mel Clark pitched a complete game victory because he believed he could (with a little convincing from Roger and Knox). If there is a shot to succeed, give it your best shot and aim to succeed! It could happen!!

Six Seconds

     Over Christmas break, I was watching one of the less exciting college football bowl games: the Liberty Bowl. The game ended in a 31-24 victory for the Cincinnati Wildcats over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Something interesting that had caught my eye was a hand signal that was used by the players, coaches, and fans of the Commodores. They held up the middle finger, pointer finger, and thumbs of both hands in the air. One of the commentators proceeded to explain that this hand gesture was to represent six seconds, the average time a football play lasts. The signal was a reminder that the players just had to focus on the next six seconds.
     A further explanation can be seen in a quotation by Vanderbilt's first year head coach James Franklin, who came up with the "six seconds" theme around the Vanderbilt football program.

"Visualize yourself making successful plays. Don't save anything. This is the last one. At the end of the game you should be exhausted. Leave it all out on the field. Let's play with poise, let's outwork them, and most importantly, let's out-execute them. Let's play smart, sound football. Focus on Vanderbilt, six seconds at a time. You don't have to be great for 60 minutes, you have to be great for six seconds at a time. The best football you got." 

      This idea of "six seconds" has been a theme in the Benedictine College football program as well. In each of the meeting rooms of the football facility, there are two signs posted. One of them list the four goals for the team bottom line, the second of which is "BE A 6 SECOND COMPETITOR". The second sign reads the following: "1 play at a time. All your energy, focus, and concentration on that one play. After it's over, you have 100% focus on the next play."
     This is truly one of the best advantages of being an athlete. We are able to focus all of our effort and energy on one thing, then after that play, being able to focus all of our effort and energy on the next thing. This does not necessarily pertain to sports. Athletes can use this in many aspects of our lives. For example, let's look at everyone's favorite time of year: finals week. Using these beliefs in this time, we are able to study as hard as we can for one test, and after that test, we reset and focus on the next test, and this process continues until they are finished.
   This is the catch of using this theory: no outcome is guaranteed. Just because one uses all of his or her effort and energy on the upcoming challenge or test does not mean that it will be successful. That being said, if one puts ALL of his or her effort and energy into whatever you are doing, success will be the result more often than not. If we all try as hard as we can at something, especially in a way that serves our Lord, there is no way we can fail.

What We Deserve

     A couple of Sundays ago, I went to the morning student mass at the Benedictine College Abbey. The priest of the mass, Father Justin, gave a very wonderful homily. The biggest thing that caught my attention was when he was talking about the Christmas season in his childhood. I recall he talked about receiving gifts from Santa that he "didn't deserve". I'm sure that all of us received gifts from a very generous Santa when a more suitable gift would be coal. An important life lessons I have learned through my experiences: 90 percent of the time, we as people will not deserve what life presents us.
     Let's take a minute to reflect on some things we may have deserved in our lives. We may have worked hard to deserve that A-grade in a particular class. We may have worked hard in the off-season and deserved a starting position in a sport we play. Maybe all of the hard work you put into a job, whether an occupation or a task, cause you to deserve your handsome reward. Now what about what about the things we have that maybe we don't deserve? Did the old lady you know deserve to have her house robbed? Did people like Garrett Uekman or RJ Demps deserve to have their life cut short at such a young age?
     One of my favorite athletes is Tim Tebow. Despite the fact that this may be an extremely unorthodox player in his throwing form and running ability, I love his desire to win and his humility in putting God and his team to be recognized rather than glorify his own abilities. In spite of all his efforts to do what is right, he still receives criticisms for what he may or may not do, while other athletes who do not have good character or standards of winning receive much less criticism. Does Mr. Tebow really deserve such opposition? Don't the athletes who degrade sports deserve a much larger criticism or punishment for their actions?
      Yes, we do face things that do not seem suitable of what may be "deserved", but it isn't always a bad thing. I know on a personal level that throughout my twenty years of living, some of my actions throughout that time were less than intelligent, and I would say those were times I did not deserve to live in this house. Fortunately, my parents were forgiving to me, regardless of what I may or may not have deserved at the time.
     Let's take a look in the Bible at some examples. First: the prodigal son. He leaves his father's work early and spends it on luxury and pleasure. After he went broke and famine struck, he desperately returned to his father's home. Rather than sending him away, the father not only welcomed him, but threw a party for his homecoming. How many of us if we were the father think he deserved a homecoming celebration as such? Secondly, look at Jesus. Here's a man whose actions were only to help everyone whether by healing the sick or teaching about God. What happens? Those same people demanded he be put to death on a cross. I have a very good feeling that I may be right when I say that Jesus did not deserve anything like this. At the same time, Jesus died to save us from our sins. Do any of us really think we have earned God's forgiveness through our actions? I know I haven't, and I'm pretty certain almost all of you will agree.
     God gave us Jesus so that He could die for our sins. God loves us, no matter what we may deserve. Take some time to reflect in your life everything you have in your life - family, education, a home. Consider what you have earned in your life. Thank God for the opportunity to earn everything you would say you deserve, no matter how big or small. Then thank God for what we may be blessed to have in our life. So before you complain about what happens in your life, consider what you have in your life. You have more blessings than you think.

Keep your eyes on the prize

     I went to the BC men's and women's basketball games last night as they took on Graceland University. Kudos to the women for getting revenge from last year's HAAC playoffs, and to the men for winning in overtime. As I was watching the game, the "coaching bone" became active in me. I wanted all of the BC possessions to result in points, so when we didn't score, I was expressing disappointment that we didn't get points. My friend sitting next to me pointed out that not every offensive possession was going to result in a score (as a football coach, I certainly realize this in my own game). I responded "just because you won't score every time doesn't mean you don't aim to score every time you get the ball."
     Every time our offense gets the ball in the football games, I have the belief that "these guys are going to march to the end zone and score." And realistically, I know that we will not score every time. But if our team had the mentality that we would only score some of the time, it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't score at all in a game. The first thing our offense does before going on the field is tell each other "Let's go score!". The same holds true for all of us in life.
When we do something in life, we have some kind of goal when we set out to do whatever it is. Sometimes the goal may be set by others, other times we set the goal ourselves. When we go to school, our goals may be to get a degree and make lifelong friends. We play a game to be better at that game, and to win. We go to church to make stronger our faith (I hope you don't think it's because you have to).
When you set out to accomplish something from now on, make a conscious effort to know what your goal is. In order to succeed, we have to keep your eyes on the prize. If you don't know why you are doing something, or why you are somewhere, or why you work at some place, maybe it's time to re-assess and self-reflect. On a closing. Ote, set your goals high, because no one rises to low expectations.

Thanks to you all...

    As I reflect on what I have to be thankful for in life, the thing that is big on my heart is the loss of fellow Catholic High Rocket Garrett Uekman. It is far too unfortunate to see a great young man at 19 years old pass away, no matter in what way. Particularly, it is difficult to see such a high quality young man go who was truly an inspiration to so many people.
     At my Thanksgiving lunch with my mom's side of the family, my grandfather settled us down and told us to tell everyone else what we are thankful for. At that time, and for so much of this trip home, I have been most thankful for the opportunity to come back home and say 'thank you' to all of the people that have helped me arrive at where I am today, and who are going to be a big part of wherever life takes me from here.
     I'm thankful for my family - Mom, Dad, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, all of them. If it were not for their great guidance, wisdom, and teaching, I would not be the person I am today by any means. In fact, I'm certain I would be someone that I would NOT want to be. I'm thankful for the foundation that Catholic High has made me to build upon. The teachers, staff, and coaches (and in particular, Coach Estes) have all left a huge impression that I will carry in my life as I prepare to become a teacher and coach of my own.
     I'm thankful for Benedictine College. The school, its president and staff, and so many other great things are wonderful factors my life.  The opportunity to work with one of the best football coaching staffs in the nation is something that I would not find anywhere else, and what a great experience it has been! I'm thankful for Coach Fran and his leadership in FCA to help me in keeping my faith and helping me to grow in it. I'm thankful for all of my wonderful friendships I have made at BC, Catholic, and anywhere else I have been in my life. I'm also thankful for all of the wonderful friends, times, and kids that I have encountered at Lake Nixon.
     Lastly, I'm thankful that God has presented all of these things in my life. There is so much that perhaps all of us are trying to deal with in life. We all have our joys in our lives, and we all have pains in our lives. No, we don't know why God seems to let bad things occur, especially those that happen to good people. We as people have to trust him. He has a plan for us all, and if we trust Him and follow Him, He will reward us with something great.