Fourth Sunday of Lent
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus told them this parable: …
"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
The
Return of the Prodigal Son (Detail)
MURILLO,
Bartolomé Esteban
Between
1667-1670
National
Gallery of Art
Washington,
D.C.
United
States
Murillo’s great talent for dramatic painting is apparent in
this monumental depiction of the familiar parable of the prodigal son, an
allegory of repentance
and divine forgiveness. With
players and props effectively placed to underscore the drama, it is reminiscent
of a well-staged theater piece.
The artist
selected the essential elements of the story's climax: the penitent son
welcomed home by his forgiving father; the rich garments and ring that signify
the errant son's restoration to his former position in the family; and the
fatted calf being led to the slaughter for the celebratory banquet. The
larger-than-life, central, pyramidal grouping of father and son dominates the
picture, while the richest color is reserved for the servant bearing the new
garments. Murillo may have chosen to emphasize that aspect of the parable --
symbolic of charity -- because of the nature of the commission. The Return
of the Prodigal Son was one of eight huge canvases painted
for the Church of the Hospital of Saint George in Seville, a hospice for the
homeless and hungry.
Murillo’s model was the life around him; part of the appeal of this canvas lies in its human touches -- the realism of the prodigal's dirty feet, the puppy jumping up to greet his master, and perhaps most of all, the ingenuous smile of the little urchin leading the calf.* http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.34956.html
We must be more than our brother’s keepers …
we must be our brother’s brother.
~
Desmond Tutu
I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded;
not with the fanfare of epiphany,
but with pain gathering its things, packing up,
and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.
Khaled
Hosseini
Gudy
Gaskill had her 89th birthday at our Painted Toe Society
Open
Studio on Monday. Gudy has had a fascinating life!
She
started and helped to build the 500 mile Colorado Trail,
Inducted
into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame,
Mountain
climber,
Gudy
Gaskill Trail was named for her …
Numerous articles have been written about Gudy’s achievements,
and she has been interviewed on many television programs, including the Today
Show.
Judy Collins and Michael Martin Murphey have dedicated songs to her, and
she has received more than 41 awards, two from U.S. presidents.
http://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/gudrun-gudy-gaskill/
Painted
Toe members Joyce Shelton, Cameo Suto Pettis, Ellen Jones
Jack
Alexander, Vicki Hall, Carolyn Alexander, Dottie Alexander
We
had a delightful lunch at Pepi’s in Vail, Colorado, on Tuesday.
Anna
Marie Nelson and Karen Hume (golfing buddies) in front of “Over Exposed,”
by Martin Maloney.
We
had a delicious lunch at Acorn then went to the Denver Art Museum.
Evergreen
Rotarian Dr. Casey Sacks, Colorado Community College System Project Director,
was
just accepted into a program at Stanford for women interested in becoming
college presidents.
Congratulations,
Casey!!!
Mendhi
and Jenna Audlin spoke about “ The
Children and Nature Movement,”
and their involvement in local nature and kids
efforts.
Jenna
and her wildlife friend.
The gospel says you are more sinful and
flawed than you ever dared believe,
but more accepted and loved than
you ever dared hope.
~
Timothy Keller
March 6, 2016 Fourth
Sunday in Lent
* Murillo emphasizes the story of the younger son in
this painting, but there is also an important learning from the elder son!
Barbara Brown Taylor poignantly observes the ways that
"both sons are lost to the father, one to irresponsibility, and the other
to self-righteousness. Taylor describes the love of the father who, like any
good parent, gives his sons unconditional love instead of what they have coming
to them. Taylor then suggests that we who imagine ourselves in the older
brother’s place will end up on that doorstep, too, struggling with our own
self-righteousness, and will have to make the same difficult decision to join
the party, or to stay out in the cold with our principles (“The Prodigal
Father,” in The Preaching Life).”
How
do we equate? With the younger son or with the elder son?
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32