It's one of the most overlooked, taken-for-granted lines in the parable.

A parable with so many nuances, so many lessons, so much truth, so rich in explanatory power.

"But while he was still far off..."

"Put a ring on his finger..."

"...this son of mine was dead and is alive again..."

Densely packed truth.

So dense, that we often miss how it all got started:

The younger of [the two sons] said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.

Or, in the socio-historical context in which those words were uttered (according to Kenneth Bailey), "I wish you were dead."

And here's the part we overlook. The stunning answer that we often take for granted, being overly-familiar with the loving character who "really" shows what He's all about later in the story:

So he divided his property between them.

Kind of nonchalantly stated.

But huge. HUGE.

This was the master of the family. The patriarch. The son's request, again, in that time and place, was utterly shameful. Unforgivable, the moment it passed through his lips, never mind how he eventually blew it on "dissolute living."

And what does the head honcho do? He could have disowned his son right then and there. Nobody, and I mean nobody, would have blamed him for doing so.

He didn't.

He said OK.

Utter dignity and respect, notwithstanding his position of power, notwithstanding his knowledge of the wrongness of the situation.

I'm not gonna force you to live correctly. I'm gonna let you make your mistakes, and I'll be here to love you, like I always have, like I always will, when you decide to come back.

If you decide to come back.

This is risk-taking, faithful, self-giving, self-sacrificial love.

This is what the Kingdom of God is like.

Grace and Peace,
Raffi