The Citizen

The story of the Prodigal Son is another story I’ve read, heard, been preached to, name it, a million times. Sunday probably made it the million and one(th???) time and it’s one of the stories I never ever get tired of. You know, usually the emphasis is always on the fare-thee-well see-you-later-alligator son and his father. Sometimes, we talk about his pissed clean-as-a-whistle brother and that’s it. Everything and everyone else in the story don’t really seem to matter. They’re all jus props, part of the setting. However, there might be just one character in this story who deserves a bit of a closer look. He gets just one mention (probably just about three words in most Bible versions) but he just might be one of the really important characters in this story.

In Luke 15:15, the prodigal son “went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his field to feed swine.” We don’t know anything about this citizen guy other than that he gave the broke, out-on-his-luck son a job in his field. Hey, we might even say he was a great guy who at least gave him a bit of a break during a bad time. Then we just skip on with story, painting elaborate pictures of the reunion to follow. We don’t pay that nameless, faceless guy any attention and that in itself might be a huge mistake, it might be dangerous even. Let’s look at this guy beyond his being the good-Samaritan-citizen. Is he really one of the good guys in this story?

First off, this guy give a Jew a job feeding pigs. Pigs. This is probably one of the very worst things you can do to a Jew. In fact, it is a great insult and the prodigal son, had he not been as desperate as desperate gets, wouldn’t have taken the job. As one Jewish writer puts it, there is no animal more disgusting and repulsive to a Jew’s sensitivities as a pig. Taking the job must have meant that the prodigal son was in a bad place, as in he’d reached the very bottom of his barrel and then even that had fallen right from under him. I can’t imagine how demoralizing it must have been for him. He hadn’t just lost all his money, he’d lost all his values and the very fabric and foundation of who he was. He’d lost everything. Why on earth would the guy even offer him such a job in the first place? Why not “Go and plough my field” or “Go and do some back-breaking work cutting stones.” Or even “Go and feed my cows or chickens or whatever!” it had to be pigs! Now, this Jew became even more desperate to the point of wishing for the pig’s food. I mean, how much lower could he fall? With every moment that passed, it would have become harder and harder to even consider returning home. Not only had he insulted his father in the worst way possible (asking for his inheritance was as good as telling his father he was dead to him), he had become defiled and an outcast to his people. I’m sure he would have figured that staying with this Mr Citizen was his only choice because he’d reached the point of no-return, he’d passed it by a mile.

There have been times in my life when I’ve felt like the prodigal son must have felt, like I’d messed up too much to even think of talking to God. There are those times when I don’t feel like I could even show my face, those time I’ve thought how can I expect forgiveness for that? Even I wouldn’t forgive me. And even when I know deep down that I’ll be forgiven and accepted, shame, deep, self-loathing shame, keeps me away. I’ve learned that the longer I wallow in this place, the harder it gets to approach God and accept His forgiveness. And you know what Mr Citizen says in those times? Yeah, you’ve messed up real bad this time. You can’t possibly go back now.  Stay right where you are, I can help you. You can even snag the pig’s food once in a while if you want…

I don’t know what it was that got through the thick fog (more like thick skull) and prompted the son to go back to his father and take his chances, but I’m guessing it couldn’t have been an easy decision. Who knows how many versions of that famous speech he discarded before coming up with the final draft. Who knows how many times he changed his mind. Who knows how many times he got to the bus stop (or donkey stop) and turned back? But there was that turning point when he realized taking Mr Citizen’s help wasn’t well, helping. He upped and said to his angel-in-disguise-not, “Thanks, but I think I’m gonna be on my way.”

A lot of times, we really are blind to who the real adversary is and until we can see him clearly for what he is, it is impossible to get away and return to our Father. The devil will rather have us live in ignorance of the ways he manipulates and ensnares us. He’ll rather have us believe we’ve messed up too bad to return. Sometimes, he’ll even plant the fear of failing again and doing the same thing all over, in our heads (I think I’m class captain here!) because he knows that if and only if we can just come to our senses like the prodigal son did, then we can have life, “the best robe, a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.. and…the fattened calf…”.