My journey away from, discovering my roots in the Church and heading back to where I belong is a circuitous one. That’s not unlike many people. Each person, though, has mile stones that are different and “ah-ha” moments that are personal. For me, the Gospel of the Prodigal son is one of those. I finally fumbled into the Church after a series of crazy circumstances and unexpected people who had a profound influence on me. Unbelievably enough, one of the people was a “very tall horse” and one of the circumstances my stubbornness that involved me flying through the air and face planting in the sand of a riding arena, more than once! Ptoooey, ptooey! I digress!
After about a year of resistance I acquiesced to my riding teacher who kept insisting that I attend “this meeting” with her! It was the 70’s, the meeting was a Catholic Charismatic gathering of around three hundred and the rest is history, as they say! There was the brand new priest my teacher hooked me up with and another year of private study that culminated with my first ever confession, followed by acceptance into a Church that I found I had actually been baptized into. Needless to say it was a nervous making time that caused me to be full of hesitation. No worries, though, the young priest was wise and in tune with the Spirit. Before my first confession he began that final session with a slow and loving reading of the Prodigal Son. That experience was liberating in ways that I had never experienced and every time that reading comes up in the Cycle of the Church year I am privileged to recall those circumstances that happened almost forty years ago.
No scripture is ever old. Because the readings of the Gospel are the “living word” every re- hearing teaches me something new. This year was no exception. The study of scripture is a life work and we gain different things by reading it ourselves and/or hearing it read to us. Those are different experiences.
Every time I re-hear this scripture that has been profound in my life I re-live the circumstances around it and it tweaks my heart with reminders of joy, struggle, triumph, love and how we have the inexpressible power and privilege to form each other whether we know it or not. Each time I hear someone else’s comment or thoughts about what a scripture means to them I am reminded of gifts I have received but haven’t discovered and healing, waiting for me, that I hadn’t noticed.
Our able Music Director has the lovely habit of giving us her personal thoughts about the readings of the Sunday that we will be singing for. It’s a great way to call attention to our real function as “ministers” and setting our thinking as to what the word of God means in each of our lives. I am sure that you have heard similar reflections on the Prodigal Son, umpteen times. Those who preach and teach usually zero in on the sons. Recently the trend has been to focus on the son who stayed home. In the past, people have focused on the prodigal himself. But here’s the train of thought from our director: The Story of the Prodigal is about:
“Finding what is lost, returning it to the place where it belongs and celebrating with joy its return.”
In our director’s heart, this really is a story about belonging and who we belong to. When this reading prompts me to think about thirty odd years ago, I find this perspective to be telling. Neither I nor the Prodigal were in the places we were meant to be. Spiritual unrest is really rooted in being out of place. Both of our returns home were occasions of great happiness as reflected by the Father preparing an immediate celebration. I AM God’s and was never meant to be in any place that was different from that. This is true for all of us. The comfort for everyone that happens when we realize that we are God’s comes from winding up in the place that God has reserved for us all along. It is a spot that is secure, protected, ordered, covered with joy and always celebrated by God with no hesitation or caveats. It does not matter what we have done. A place for everyone and everyone in their joy-filled place!
©2016, Kathryn M. Cunningham, All Rights Reserved
Kathryn M. Cunningham
Kathryn holds a Master’s in Education from Saint Xavier University. Most recently she completed Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. This recent degree was part of a “retirement project” after teaching for 35 years. She has also worked as a spiritual director, music minister,council member and prayer team warrior. Kathryn has a deep interest in catechesis for the people in the pews. As a “sort of” convert she finds the wisdom of the Church a source for encouragement, joy and survival in a world not sure of anything. Her writing has appeared in diocesan publications and on-line sites, most recently for Zenit. To learn more about Kathryn check out her thinking at: www.atravelersview.org">ATravelersView.org.
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