MONDAY MEDITATION: The Unexpected Value of Grace (April 10)

Then the older son was furious and didn’t want to enter in, but his father came out and begged him. — Luke 15:28

The unexpected encounter with grace is life transforming, such as when the young (“prodigal”) son returns home and discovers unconditional acceptance–and a party–when he meets his dad.

But grace can also be transforming for those who witness such an encounter and are repulsed by it at first, such as the older son in this story by Jesus. His anger and refusal to welcome his younger brother says it all.

I wonder, in the years ahead, if he would look back at that incident and finally get it. Perhaps after he comes to terms with his own faults, seeing the painful times when he hurt someone. Perhaps after he lives with his redeemed younger brother and sees how truly he has changed after he came to himself and what a good, caring, lovable young man he has become. Perhaps after eventually seeing his dad in a new light, as someone who loves his children for simply who they are (regardless) and not for what they do or don’t do.

One of our human tasks is to grow and deepen our souls. Become wiser, more compassionate, more courageous, more open, more humble: in other words, the standards Jesus set in the Beatitudes. Grace, even when we just witness it happening to others, can be transforming–when we let it move us to see God, ourselves, and others in a warmer, kindlier light.