It’s the prodigal story everyone knows: Son demands inheritance; son leaves home and squanders inheritance; son returns home destitute; son is received by father with joy and feasting. But do we really understand this passage? How often do we see ourselves in the younger son without realizing that the older son is an equal representation of our entitlement? We who follow the rules can also be the most resentful when grace is lavished upon those who have made a mess of things. This Sunday, we take a fresh look at this familiar New Testament parable and how much in need we are of a *true* older brother – one who doesn’t give up on us and, instead, bestows unmerited grace.
