Rembrandt: Return 

of the Prodigal Son

SHORT  STORIES 

The title of my homily for this Fourth Sunday of Lent, [C] is, “Short Stories.”

When was the last time you read a good short story?

Do you read short stories?

I like to have a paperback copy of short stories by my bed - to read at night - before going to sleep.   Right now I have one called, “The Hill Bachelors.” That’s  the title of the last short story in a book of short stories by the Irish writer William Trever. I’ve  gone through the short stories of John Cheever, Flannery O’Connor, Raymond Carver, George Saunders,  Colm Toiban and others. I haven’t gotten to Alice Munro, the Canadian short story writer yet - but plan to….

How about you? Have you read any good short stories lately?

CHAPTER 15 - GOSPEL OF LUKE

I bring this up because today’s gospel presents one of the greatest short stories ever told: the parable of the Prodigal Son.  In fact, in the 15^th chapter of Luke we have three short stories by Jesus.

Moreover we have the reason why Jesus told these 3 stories - all of which have the same plot - but with various nuances. The Pharisees - the religious righteous ones - and the scribes, the educated ones who could read and write - were complaining about Jesus hanging around with tax collectors and sinners. Terrible! Tch, tch, tch....  Terrible.... That's us.

So Jesus told them three stories which appear here in Chapter 15 of Luke: the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son.

Today we heard the 3^rd story - the longest of the 3 short stories here in the middle of the gospel of Luke.

PHILIP YANCEY

Philip Yancey retells this Prodigal Son story in one of his books - but it’s about a lost daughter. I’ve read it a bunch of times - but have listened to it on CD a dozen times. I cry every time - probably because we have a lost niece for over 30 years now - and I’ve have been hoping forever that she come back to the family.

Philip Yancey’s story is entitled, “The Lovesick Father.”  It’s in his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

The story begins like this, “A young girl grows up on a cherry orchard just above Traverse City, Michigan. Her parents, a bit old-fashioned, tend to overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, and the length of her skirts. They ground her a few times, and she seethes inside. ‘I hate you!’ she screams at her father when he knocks on the door of her room after an argument and that night she acts on a plan she has mentally rehearsed scores of time. She runs away.”

You know the story…. You just heard it.

Philip Yancey’s version doesn’t have an older brother or sister - who won’t forgive - but he ends up zeroing in on the powerful story of a forgiving and loving father - filled with unconditional love.

SHORT STORY WRITING - SHORT STORY READING

All of you would be writers, think short story writing - besides short story reading.

If you want to write short stories, short story writers tell you that you need to have a conflict - a tension - some opposition. A good short story gets the reader to say, “Oh yeah, that’s me. That’s my story.”

So it has to ring true.  It’s not a sermon. It’s not preachy. It has to have a plausible plot. Characters have to be quite different from each other. It’s not a novel - so it can’t have too many plots. In fact one seems best. Novels are a different kettle of fish. So write about opposite type people dealing with issues and ideas or outlooks that seem them collide.

I like to make a whole sermon a story at times. I’ve done that probably 50 times. And I’ve written another 100 or more short stories in my life - some of which are published.

If you want to write - and if you don’t have enough time - write short stories.

OR START WITH 6 WORD SHORT STORY

A creative - tricky - imaginative - idea is to write a 6 word short story.

I’m sure you heard that Ernest Hemingway is famous for his bet that he could write a 6 word short story. Supposedly  he won the bet. Others say this story Hemingway isn’t true and in fact there were earlier similar stories.  His short story was,  "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

If you do crossword puzzles or Sudokus, why not try your hand at 6 word short stories?  Here’s a bunch that I like. Some seem closer to a story than others. I picked ones that are stoppers - most of which say a lot more than any sermon I preached. They teach me that short is better - story is better.

Dinner for two, widower and memories.

Borders meant nothing. The birds migrated.

Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please. - Steven Meretzky

Google was invented. He stopped thinking.

They quarreled, the child started crying!

Dear God, please take me instead.

“I’m significant” screamed the dust speck.

She read her obituary. And smiled.

No one is listening. Except Siri.

“Alcohol brought us together, and apart.”

...and then they never talked thereafter...

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Short Stories.”

I pushed reading and writing them.

I said that Jesus in today’s gospel told the story of a father having two sons - two very different sons - and how each of us can play any of these 3 characters or roles in our life. We can be the one who messes up. We can be like the father -  the one who forgives and knows what God the Father is like. And sometimes we can be the righteous one. We just don’t like the message of Jesus when it comes to forgiving 70 times 7 times. We don’t like the pope and his message of mercy - forgiveness - compassion - understanding and acceptance of those who really mess up their lives.

A parable is from the Greek word PARABOLA - remember them in math. They are like a boomerang - tossed out and they hit us sideways.

And today’s gospel, can we put it in 6 words?

·        Father, two sons, avoiding being home.

·       “Dad, maybe he should have left?”

·       Second son: “What did I do wrong?”

Ooops that last one is 7 words. Please forgive me.