The Prodigal So by Henri Nouwen
Week 3: Part One — The Younger Son (II)
Read the remainder of Part One (chapters on the younger son's return and the father's reception). Primary Scripture: Luke 15:17–24.
Previewing Week 3 of The Prodigal So
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 9-week guide when you’re ready.
The son rehearses a speech, but the father interrupts it — and in that interruption, Nouwen finds one of the most startling revelations of God's character in all of Scripture.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.The son prepares a speech: "I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants." Nouwen suggests this speech reveals that the son still does not fully understand who his father is — he is proposing a transactional relationship rather than a filial one. Do you think his desire to be a hired servant reflects genuine humility, or something else? What does the difference matter?
2.The father sees the son "while he was still a long way off" — which means the father was watching, waiting, scanning the horizon. Nouwen finds in this detail a portrait of God's longing for us. How does the image of a father who watches and runs change your picture of what prayer, or returning to God, actually is?
3.Nouwen describes Rembrandt's rendering of the father's hands as one of the painting's most theologically significant details: one hand is larger and more masculine, the other softer and more maternal. He sees in this asymmetry both the fatherly and motherly dimensions of God's embrace. What does it mean to you that the God of the parable holds us with both strength and tenderness?
a.Which dimension of God's love — the strong, steadying hand or the gentle, cradling hand — do you find easier to receive? Why?
b.Which do you find harder to trust?