The Parable of the Prodigal Son is easily the most famous story Jesus ever told. It has inspired paintings, novels, symphonies, and countless sermons. Yet for all its familiarity, we often miss its radical edge. We reduce it to a morality tale about a wayward child who says sorry and a softhearted dad who offers a second chance. But Luke 15:11–24 is far more disruptive than that. It is a story about the architecture of desire, the bankruptcy of self-exile, and a love that operates outside the economy of merit. **The Request That Kills** The parable opens not with departure, but with a demand: "Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me" (v. 12). In the first-century world, this was not merely impolite; it was violent. By asking for his inheritance while his father still lived, the younger son is effectively saying, "I wish you were dead." He wants the benefits of sonship without the relationship. He wants the assets, not the father. This is th...
Do not make a display of your wisdom when you do your work, and do not boast when you are in need.
Better is the worker who has goods in plenty than the boaster who lacks bread.
My child, honour yourself with humility, and give yourself the esteem you deserve.
Who will acquit those who condemn themselves? And who will honor those who dishonor themselves?
The poor are honored for their knowledge, while the rich are honored for their wealth.
One who is honored in poverty, how much more in wealth.
And one dishonored in wealth, how much more in poverty!
-Sirach 10: 26-31
