Presbyterian Pastor Says The FATHER In Parable of Prodigal Son is Who Needs to Repent

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living… Luke 15

Reginald Avant is the queer senior pastor of Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA. In a recent sermon, he claimed that the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 never sat right with him, and that while the prodigal shouldn’t have wasted his inheritance on prostitutes and wine, there was nothing wrong with asking for his share of the estate in the first place. The father, he says, shares some blame in how and why the prodigal son squandered his wealth, and for this reason needs to repent as well.

I have always felt this parable concluded with a lot of leftovers and unfinished business that needed to be done. Why was the father not more reluctant in this decision with his son? Why did he give in so easy and not hesitate about what he felt or thought in this situation? Maybe the father did not want to discourage his son, maybe he did not want to be thought of as a dream killer for his son’s dreams, or to take this opportunity away from his son.

…The son returns to his father, he does repent for what he has done. I think there is more than just the son that needs to repent here. I think the father needs to repent as well. I think the father needs to apologize to his son for letting him go, for not fighting for him, for not being reluctant in that moment and pausing to think (unintellegible) and ask him ‘Why do you want to go?

The father has had the opportunity to not blame just the son, but he can also take it on and say, ‘I hold some responsibility in this as well.’

He continues to blame the father for the way he reacted to the younger son as well, saying:

The father responds in my eyes and gives him a speech about him always being there, whatever belongs to him is his and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But one thing the father does not say to his son is, ‘I am sorry. I am grateful for you. I am thankful for what you have done for all these years. Son, I love you. Forgive me. Yes, yes, yes, yes. We should have a special celebration for you. Son, I love you. Thank you.’

The son here is not asking for a party. He is not asking for a celebration. He is simply asking for his father to say that, ‘I love you, I appreciate you. Son, thank you so much for what you have done. I recognize all that you have done and I want you to know that I love you for that.’

It is hard for fathers to say those words at times.