'The Prodigal Son' - Coaxed Back or Free Will Return?

I'm back from Scotland, and yes, yes it was incredible.  Wonderful.  Relaxing.  And especially spiritually enriching.  Iona is without a doubt a thin place, but I argue is the most well-known thin place in that area of the world as opposed to the only one.  The standing stones of Calanish, the ruins of the village on Hirta, St. Kilda, and the landscape of the Trossachs and Loch Lommond also are just a few of the physical spaces where the connection between humans and the divine is tangible.  But these comments relate nothing to the title of this blog post.  And I promise to discuss the trip more and post some pictures later.  Here's one just for a teaser:

For now though, I want to discuss an interpretation of the Prodigal Son parable that I have heard now supported by at least three different ministers.  An interpretation I cannot understand.  This parable - the story of two sons, one who stays home with his dad and one who takes off and basically becomes a homeless beggar, is popular enough that even those that aren't that religious know that the phrase "prodigal son" refers to someone who comes back to something they once rejected.  Personally, when I hear the phrase, I frequently think of this Rembrandt painting, a print of which hangs in my grandparents' house:

Where these particular ministers and I agree is the cast of the story.  It is generally understood that the father in the story is to represent some kind of religious/spiritual life.  The son that stays represents those who never stray from their faith.  The prodigal son represents someone that rejected the importance of faith in their life, realized how difficult life can be without it, and returned.

The difference between my understanding and these ministers' descriptions lies in the reasoning behind why the son returned.  The ministers explained this story as an example of just how far God will go to bring a person back to faith and religion.  I mean no disrespect if that is how they read the text, but it is not how I read it, and this particular passage is especially resonant with my spiritual journey, as I see my story as very similar to the prodigal son's story.

For me, this parable is one that tells people God has given you free will to choose what you do with your gifts and talents and possessions.  For me, this parable is about free will.  (I know.  That's very Baptist of me.)  I get this interpretation because, according to the NRSV translation of the Luke 15 passage, the father does not act while the son is gone.  He acts before the son leaves when he divides his property between his sons (v. 12) and re-enters the story upon seeing his son walking home from afar, being filled with compassion, and running to hug, kiss, and greet him (v. 20).  Verses 13-19 are when the younger son is out squandering his assets, and no where does the parable mention the father is out looking for him.  Now, the parable of the Lost Sheep, which begins Luke 15, does describe a shepherd who will go to great lengths to find that one errant livestock that just keeps wandering off.  That parable would lend to an interpretation of God (if you make God the shepherd) doing whatever was necessary to bring you back in.  But these interpretations that I have heard before do not acknowledge that combination of parables when exegeting the Prodigal Son.  I find that problematic.

Maybe I shouldn't, but I need the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son to be separate stories.  I have written before about the distance that I put between myself and religion in high school and college; about the first anger then the apathy I had toward religion.  During that time, I never felt the Holy Spirit searching me down or chasing after me or coaxing me back to religion.  Rather I always knew I could return, but I also knew I shouldn't return until I was ready.  There were times when I didn't know if I'd ever be ready.  There were times when I was happy not giving two figs about faith or God or praying or going to church or being in any kind of religious community with others.  And once I was through with my anger and apathy, I thought I'd been out too long and done too much "unChristian" stuff to be respected by anyone in the Christian community anymore.  It's part of why I considered non-Christian traditions.  It's part of why I've gone to non-Baptist churches for periods of time.  Because while I knew -- from this story in particular -- that I was supposed to be able to return and be lovingly embraced by any faith community, I also felt that I had hurt the particular tradition of my upbringing.  That last sentence reads as such a silly statement.  But it's true and it's part of why I didn't really return to church until I moved 2000 miles away to a state where no one knew me during my years away from my faith.

I may not have returned to the same specific community but I believe in all faith communities being linked.  Therefore I believe God - because I believe in a Christian God, but also believe this story is applicable regardless of tradition - saw me as a prodigal daughter.  Not because the Holy Spirit chased me around Massachusetts trying to convince me to return, but because the Triune God is patient and respectful of each individual's decision to or not to be in relationship with it.  I do (now) believe people live fuller lives when their spiritual side is acknowledged and nurtured just like their physical and mental sides.  I believe that nurturing can take a variety of forms, but that one's spiritual self must be acknowledged as existent, valid, and worthy before a person can successfully begin the nurturing process.  So yes I think it's possible people may feel legitimately pulled from religion and faith and that they will return if and when they are ready.  And yes I think the Prodigal Son parable supports this understanding.  But I'm always happy and welcoming of other viewpoints.