The Sanctuary: a Vision
The parable of the Prodigal Son is familiar to us. A young man leaves home, squanders his inheritance, and loses himself in a foreign land. Coming to his right mind, he returns home to beg his father for a job as one of his hired servants. His father, who has been watching for his son all this time, sees him coming from a distance, and runs to him. Before the son can recite his carefully prepared speech, his father embraces him and immediately restores to him everything that he had. He welcomes him back into the house and throws a feast in his honor. Imagine a different ending to this well-known story. Imagine that the son comes home, but his father does not come running to embrace him. Instead, the son arrives at the door and finds it closed. He knocks and eventually, one of the servants comes to the door to find out what he wants. Perhaps, in the end, the father offers his son a job, and the young man goes about his menial tasks, while the rest of the family go about their live