There is really no place to look in the Chapel of the Prodigal at Montreat, NC other than toward the altar wall, for it is covered with a fresco depicting the return of the prodigal son to his father. The permanency of the art of fresco itself says, “look this way… this is a forever thing.” The pigments have been absorbed into the plaster. The fresco has become the wall. For as long as the wall of this altar stands, the message of the Scriptures of the return of the prodigal is embedded in the plaster and will forever be seen.
This is truly a beautiful work of art by a man who may or may not have heard “this is a forever thing” whispered as he sketched and painted. But in his detail, others have heard the words of this parable.
It is a mere portion of what the parable is about, for sure. But it is a “forever thing”, this longing by a parent for the return of a wayward child. The father watched for his son with the sharp, keen eyes of love. He watched for him with such intensity that he saw his beloved son while he was still a long way off. And as the artist depicted by painting a robe thrown over the railing of the rooftop, this father was so filled with compassion and joy at the first glimpse of his son returning to him that he ran toward him, leaving his robe behind. It would have been a disgrace in itself for a father to run, much less run to a son who had all but wished his father dead in his desire for the share of his inheritance.
“It is a forever thing”, God whispers to us. “I have seen who you were before you turned to me…and I have loved you in my waiting. I have seen you look my way…and my heart leaps for joy. From far away, I will see you take your first steps back to me, and I will run to you. Before you take a breath to confess your sins, I will smother you with kisses of forgiveness. It is a forever thing, this love I have for you.”
Human hands sketched the father holding the weak and filthy son. Human hands painted onto the wet plaster the figures of the father and son collapsed in the dust of the road…the father’s arms wrapped around his son…the son’s fingers clinging to the thumb of his father. But it is God who reaches out for us all as we turn around and return to him.
Turning around is part of our Lenten journey. So, this day, why don't we turn around from all that separates us from God and truly hear God say, "It's a forever thing, this love of mine for you."
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