Coming home.Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Midway through the journey, we discover new life promised to those in the desert. Paul assures us that repentance brings renewal: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). And the psalmist psalm·ist n. A writer or composer of psalms. psalmist Noun a writer of psalms Noun 1. knows the joy of coining home, proclaiming, "Happy are those whose transgression TRANSGRESSION. The violation of a law. is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32:1). Conversion, however, is a long process. It is not accomplished in an instant or with one word, but it is a lifetime process of turning, again and again. The Israelites discovered this when they ended their long journey from captivity to liberation. Upon reaching the promised land, they began to cultivate cul·ti·vate tr.v. cul·ti·vat·ed, cul·ti·vat·ing, cul·ti·vates 1. a. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till. b. and eat their own food; no longer could they depend on manna manna (măn`ə), in the Bible, edible substance provided by God for the people of Israel in the wilderness. In the Book of Exodus it is compared to coriander seed and described as fine, white, and flaky, with the taste of honey and wafer. from heaven: "The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year" (Joshua 5:12). God sustained the Israelites through 40 years of hardship as the Israelites prepared for freedom, and finally it was time for the Israelites to take responsibility for their end of the covenant. It was time to grow their faith until it produced life-giving fruits for the community and for God. The prodigal son prodigal son, in the New Testament, parable of Jesus about heaven and the sinner who repents. A young man leaves home and becomes a wastrel; repentant, he returns to be received with joyful welcome. , too, took this journey from dependence to responsibility. Tim parable parable, the term translates the Hebrew word "mashal"—a term denoting a metaphor, or an enigmatic saying or an analogy. In the Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition, however, "parables" were illustrative narrative examples. Jewish teachers of the 1st cent. A.D. is unique to Luke, who emphasizes God's profound desire to welcome us when we freely return from our wanderings. Luke conveys the same message in three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin--in which God is represented by a woman, a fact virtually unknown and ignored in most churches--and the prodigal son. Like the prodigal PRODIGAL, civil law, persons. Prodigals were persons who, though of full age, were incapable of managing their affairs, and of the obligations which attended them, in consequence of their bad conduct, and for whom a curator was therefore appointed. 2. son's father, Luke portrays a God who allows us to make choices, and even to do things that may be harmful to ourselves or others. And like the father, Luke conveys God's overwhelming joy upon our return. Repayment, punishment, and justice are not mentioned, only joy and celebration. We, too, can return home knowing that new life awaits us--new life given by God, but cultivated and given back by God's people. |
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