The Parable of the Prodigal Daughter Lk 15:
11-32
I
am sure you have all heard sermons on the Parable of the Prodigal Son many
times, but have you ever thought about the Parable of the Prodigal Daughter?
A
man had a son and a daughter. The son
worked with his father on the family farm.
Certainly he worked very hard, but he shared in the making of decisions
about the running of the farm, its buildings, and the people, who lived and
worked there. He also shared in the
teaching of the farm workers and household servants. The daughter also worked very hard on her
father’s farm. She cleaned, cooked and
served meals, made clothes and did the mending, cared for the old, and the ill,
and sometimes also worked in the fields.
But she had no say in any of the decisions that were made! Indeed she
was rarely consulted about anything! Her
father and brother, and sometimes her mother too, simply took her for
granted. She rarely complained, or
protested, but if they ever did pay any attention to her, it was only to
denigrate her and make the situation worse.
One
day she decided, she had had enough! She
asked her father for her share of the inheritance. Her father was extremely annoyed and anxious
about her request, but she insisted, so he gave his daughter her share of his
property. The daughter promptly packed
her possessions and left home. She
travelled to a great city and spent her money studying with the best scholars
and Rabbis. She worked very hard and
became a respected, knowledgeable scholar.
Eventually she was consecrated as a priest in a synagogue of the
Diaspora and people came to hear her preach and teach.
Meanwhile,
there were more problems on the family farm.
Her mother had died, her brother’s wife had divorced him for domestic
abuse and finally the housemaids had left to work for the farmer across the
road, who was much more ethical and considerate in his attitudes. He paid them decent wages and treated them
much better. The farmhouse was now in a
state of crisis! The kitchen was in chaos and there was no food in the
pantry. What was worse, everyone far and
wide was talking about them! And needless to say, news of the daughter’s
academic and professional success had reached the farm. Eventually, the father and brother came to
realise that they would simply have to change their attitudes and take drastic
action.
So
the father packed the saddlebags of a donkey with what he needed for the
journey and travelled to the town where his daughter lived. On the way he contemplated about what he would
say to her, and decided that he would say, “Daughter, I have sinned against
heaven and before you. I am no longer
worthy to be called your father: treat
me like one of your students.” However,
the daughter saw him in the distance and ran to greet him. The father made his confession and she flung
her arms around him and kissed him. The
daughter forgave him and agreed to return home with him.
After
they arrived at the farmhouse, all the farm workers and neighbours gathered in
its great kitchen and prepared a feast to celebrate the daughter’s home
coming. Her father presented her with a
set of the best priestly vestments and sat her beside him at the head of the
table, where she presided over the Passover feast and the local people asked
her to be the priest at their synagogue, which had not had a rabbi or a priest
for several years. So they spent the
evening feasting and rejoicing, because the daughter, who had been oppressed
and rejected, had been brought home and given dignity and equality.
Morag Liebert 7/9/10
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