“But his [the prodigal son's] father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. [Luke 15.22-24]
Question: Why was a calf being fattened anyway?
Was the father expecting the son to return?
Was the calf being fattened for some other event? Maybe an event in the other son's life?
Was it customary just to keep a calf fattened for any random occasion to celebrate?
I realize I could get almost endless speculation on my questions from non-Biblical studies of Biblical times. And, some of that speculation may indeed be fact. However, maybe the question itself is what we are to learn from the story. Maybe it is quite enough that we realize there is an element of the story that we do not (and cannot, with one hundred percent assurance) know for certain.
Maybe, there is no lesson in why the calf was being fattened in the first place. But then again, maybe there is. Regardless, that calf's fate became clearly evident when the prodigal son returned home.
Father, I understand that there are no explanations for many questions that I might ask. I am okay with that. But I am also okay with the fact that You take whatever circumstances are available at the time to orchestrate Your plans.
No comments:
Post a Comment