[Tuesday's Devotional] - "I will arise and go to my father"

The old 1662 service of evening prayer had a variety of possible opening sentences. The one that I remember hearing most often is Luke15v18-19. "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son."

Even in the language of the authorised Bible we instantly recognise this as the prodigal son's decision to return to his father. We also know that the prodigal is welcomed home. But consider for a moment what it would have been like if the son's father had turned out to be like some earthly fathers?:

The Prodigal Son [according to Adrian Plass]

But when he was still a long way off his father seeth him and runneth to him and falleth on his neck and pulleth his hair and smacketh his backside and clumpeth him on the ear and saith, "Where the devil do you think you've been, Scumbag? 

And the prodigal replieth, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.  I am no longer worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thine hired servants.' 

The father saith, "Too right I'll make thee as one of my hired servants, Master Dirty-stop-out-inheritance-spending-stinker-pinker-prodigal!  I suppose thou believest that thou canst waltz back in here without so much as an by thine leave, and conneth me with thine dramatic little speech?  Thinkest thou that this is "Little House on the Prairie"?  Or mayhap thou reckoneth that I was born yestere'en?  Oh, no.  Third assistant bog-cleaner, unpaid, for thee, mine odorous ex-relative.' 

Then the prodigal saith dismally unto him, 'Oh, right, right - fair enough.  So, er, just to get it straight, there existeth no question of lots of nice presents and instant forgiveness and an large celebratory meal involving the fatted calf, or anything of that nature? 

'In thy dreams, son!' replieth the father.  "The only gift thou art likely to see is the personalized lavatory-brush with which thou shalt shortly be presented.' 

….And behold, as nightfall approacheth, the prodigal's elder brother heareth distant sounds as of an bog-brush being applied, and strolleth out to the edge of the cess-pit after supper holding an large brandy, and he stretcheth luxuriously and picketh his teeth and lighteth an enormous cigar and looketh down and saith, 'Evenin', Rambo.  I see thou hast returned, then?  Likest thou thine rapid progress from affluent to effluent?'  
Adrian Plass

For prayer.. Thank God that he is not that kind of father.

John Martin-Jones