Early on in this study of the parable of the Man Who
Had Two Sons, I suggested reading the parable and inserting yourself into the
story as one of the characters, the one with whom you are most able to relate
or identify. Since then I have intimated
that it might be good to move into other characters of the dramatis personae. Today I
want to explore the role of the hired hands, sometimes called servants, and
slaves, and see if I can discover something about myself and this tale of woe
and redemption.
Hired hands in New Testament days were not so different
from today. They work for a wage, which
we might infer from other parables was paid in those days to some day laborers
each day. The workers in Father’s
household may either be of the day laborer variety or of the permanent staff
sort. When Younger Brother comes to his
senses while he is slopping the hogs, he speaks of the hired hands who dine
sumptuously, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to
spare….” It may be that Father is paying
his servants more than the usual going rate, indicating a generosity of
spirit. Of course, perhaps from the
starvation situation of the pig sty, even a day’s wage would seem more than
abundant.
A linguistic difficulty is that there also appear to be
slaves in the household. Both the Father
and Older Brother call slaves (douloi)
to do their bidding. Father orders a
slave to bring a robe, a ring, and sandals to dress Younger Brother; Older
Brother demands from a slave an account of the music and dancing. The Greek is quite explicit in these two
cases that these are slaves and not hired hands. Nouwen’s translation of the parable ( The Return of the Prodigal Son, pages 1-2)
calls them servants, as do some other versions, perhaps to soften the
relationship of the family with their workers.
Whether day laborers, servants or even slaves, I believe
Jesus is offering us a picture of workers that are well cared for by the household. There is nothing intrinsic in the story, save
the comment of Younger Son in the piggery, that indicates a close relationship between
any of the family and any of the servants.
From that one comment, however, I infer that he might have had conversations
with some of the workers. It may well be
that as he was growing up, he got to know hired hands and played with their
children. It is even likely that the
slaves and servants were involved in the rearing of the boys and that Younger
Brother had some affinity with them as well.
I have to admit a bias:
I am guessing that Older Brother, although raised by servants and
slaves, always saw himself as “above” the hired hands and slaves, and even
their children, as he was to be the one to inherit the majority of the estate,
including servants and slaves. Could it
be possible that part of Younger Brother’s departure was to get away from the
insufferable arrogance of his elder sibling?
Who knows?
It is easy to read an excitement in the slave’s relating
the story of the return of the profligate son to Older Brother. The excitement might simply be the joy at
having a feast in which all might have a portion, but I read a deep relief that
the lost child has returned, perhaps a friendship to be rekindled even with the
slaves/servants.
I am aware that I am eisegeting (eisegesis: reading into
the text what I want to read, as opposed to exegesis which is reading out of
the text what is intrinsically there) but I believe that the parable from Jesus
offers me the opportunity to see myself in His words.
The hired hands-servants-slaves of this household are a
part of the community. If the parable is
about the Kingdom, if this entire chapter is about lost and found, if for Jesus
absolutely everyone is invited into the Kingdom, does this not also include the
least of the household? I can see the
joy of the hired hands and the slaves as a relief, not just for the grieving
Father, but for themselves as well. They
have lost a friend, and now he has returned.
Yes, they will dine well, even if it is only the leftovers from the
feast they have slaved to prepare. They
too are partakers in the revelry, the feasting, the elation that one who was
lost is found, one who was as dead that is now alive.
I encourage you to make the remainder of Advent an
opportunity to engage with those who serve us without much thanks: store
clerks, public servants, even the Salvation Army bell ringers, some of whom are
homeless and earning minimum wage by working at what may seem like a menial
task. Thank those folk for being present
in your life. Remember the Baptismal
Covenant question, “Will you seek and serve
Christ in ALL persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” (emphasis
added). Help me find ways to live that
promise daily.
Wow. I had not considered the story from the point of view of a servant/slave in the household before. But I do know from encountering those who work on the grounds, or who clean the offices or bathrooms at the college where I work that many of them are ignored by faculty. Imagine this: a strike on the part of the most menial of the workers would soon show us how important they are to the wellbeing of us all. Truly, all workers ultimately serve the same end; however, when we lose a campus president it affects us less directly than when we are short on service staff. Imagine if nobody cleaned the bathroom for a week! How long has it been since we thanked someone for doing that job?
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