Dave Hop 
It struck me recently that the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) is such a defining story that it could be a really useful template for exploring a whole mixture of experiences and responses around God and faith. So for the latest 50/50 series (50 reflections in 50 words) I’ve taken that story and woven it with other Biblical tales. Hopefully you may see yourself in some of them, or folks that you know. Certainly our real life stories are up and down tales. We have good days and bad. Days when we come home and days when we wander off again. Days when we see others going home and have various reactions to that. Days when home is where we long to be and days when home seems a long way off.
Parables are intended to engage us in discussion and debate. When Jesus told his other parable about two sons and a father, the less popular one about words and actions (Matthew 21 vv 28-32), he began by asking what his audience made of it. ‘What do you think about this?’ he said, inviting feedback and debate. We’re invited to find ourselves in these stories and our place may vary from day to day. One day we might be the younger son, the next the older one. On another day we might be the father, or the unmentioned mother. Or the next door neighbour.
So I hope that these 50 retellings will help you see yourself again in this timeless tale. We live in a prodigal world, and every day someone somewhere runs away, while someone somewhere else comes home.
Here are the first two, more to follow each day on the Facebook page here:
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