When he came to his senses …

Cherry

By Rhiannonw

Fri, 07 Mar 2014
  • 3487 reads
17 comments
 

Rejecting the love, he wanted to be
as free as his dreams: demanded, ‘Give me … ’;
then far, far away, he squandered, and lost –
all wasted, and tasted hunger and thirst;
was cheated, defeated, grubby, unclean,
illusions were broken, deceived by a dream.
He came to his senses, remembered his home,
and got up, returned (for the thing must be done),
confessing his shame, he asked for some grace.
How pleased was the Father: warm welcome, embrace;
the deadly experience of misery and gloom,
eclipsed then by joy inexpressible known.

But someone was jealous: he thought he had earned
far more than the one who’d deserted, love scorned.

‘we had to celebrate and  be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again,
he was lost and is found.’ from the parable of the lost (prodigal) son Luke 15:11-32 ‘there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.’  (or think they don’t need to!) Luke 15:7

Certificate U
Poem
Christian, Biblical
Spiritual

Comments

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

A good take on the parable of the prodigal son, Rhiannon. A skilled rendition.

Best, Luigi

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Luigi. Nice to hear from you. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Bee on

Very well  portrayed.

Enjoyed. 

 

Bee

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Bee. i'm glad you thought so. It was one I looked out I'd done quite a while ago, after hearing someone talking about it, and I hoped my rendition of it would be approachable. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Brilliantly executed, Rhiannon.  An inspirational read.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Oh, thank you, Tina. As said above it was written a little while ago, but I came across it again, and liked it and hoped it would be a useful addition to the site. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Linda Wigzell Cress on

Brilliant and inspiring Rhiannon.  You are on a roll this week!

Linda

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Linda. I'm glad you found this one inspiring.
Sometimes the compositions that catch others' interest take you by surprise.
Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

good to see cherries now for the prodigal! Thank you. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Good storytelling                 Elsie

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Elsie. warm regards, Rhiannon

 

Submitted by jeand on

Hi Rhiannon

I've always felt that the older brother of the prodigal son got the worst of the deal. It's hard to justify working hard all your life, if you know that the slacker will end up with getting the glory in the end. I think they should have given a nice feast  and welcomed him homw - but saved the fatted calf for the good son's wedding party.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Sorry, I meant to write the below as a reply! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Hi, Jean.
I know what you mean, but I think the implication is that the older brother had problems too, though not outwardly so severe. His complaint at his father's acceptance and celebration of his son's return, seems to indicate a self-righteousness and judgmental attitude that wasn't as faithful as he claims. I'm reminded of the other parable Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector when Jesus spoke to 'some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else' and said that 'the Pharisee stood up and prayed about (or to) himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers —  even like this tax collector "' But the tax collector stood at a distance … and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Jesus intimates that the last was genuine prayer, and would be heard, and says that 'everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.' (Luke 18:9-14)
I hope that's been helpful for me to share.

Also, in this parable, his father tells the older son, 'everything I have is yours', and I expect he could have had a celebration any time he wanted to if he had asked!

regardsRhiannon

 

Submitted by Shannan on

Such a fascinating parable this has turned into for me... it was used in my Narratives lectures and in the discussion everyone present related to a different character. Everyone saw the story in a different light. Then it was used in a memorial service! Now in a poem as another story... may the discussions never stop.

Be blessed Rhiannon :-) $

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Good to hear from you, Shannan. I hope you are going on alright in the Way. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Shannan on

Hello :) I have actually just finished a 12 week course called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (an individual task), with God being the chief Artist and how we as His creations are made to create too... it's all about opening up to Him and His Awesomeness in gifts to us all :-) Thanks so much for your hopes - trusting you are loving life and your Journey too xx $