Coming Home

On Sunday, I will continue with my series of lessons based on Eric Butterworth’s book, Discover the Power Within You. In the fourth chapter of the book, entitled “Jesus’ Unique Concept of God,” Mr. Butterworth explains that the story of the prodigal son from the Gospel according to Luke is a metaphor for our own process of remembering our Divine Nature and reclaiming the “Power Within.” In this article I will expound on his interpretation so that we can more clearly see ourselves in each of the main characters in the prodigal son story.

The master teacher Jesus often taught using parables, short allegorical stories intended to illustrate a spiritual truth. In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells the story of a son who after receiving his inheritance from his father, left home to go in search of adventure. When he had used all he had been given in pursuit of worldly pleasure and possessions, then destitute, he returned to his father asking for forgiveness, thinking that his father might at least give him a position as a servant in his household. His father, rather than chastising him or punishing him, instead welcomed him home with open arms, celebrated his return, and shared all that he had with him. This did not sit well with the older brother who chose to stay at home and had continued working with his father the entire time his brother had been away. He felt angry because he had never been celebrated by his father in spite of his dedication and hard work. The father assured the older son that everything was his as well, and encouraged him to celebrate the homecoming of his brother who was lost but now returned.

As I recall, in the Baptist tradition, this story was used to illustrate God’s love for all his children, even for those who go astray, provided that they return, confess their “sins” and repent. It is, as are many parables in the religious tradition of my youth, used as a morality tale to teach right from wrong and invoke “good” behavior based on the fear of judgment and punishment.

Unity co-founder, Charles Fillmore, taught that the Bible is the story of the evolution of human consciousness and that each character in every story in the Bible represents an aspect of each of us. Interpreting these stories metaphysically helps us to understand these aspects of our own consciousness and assists us in working with them for our own conscious spiritual evolution.

In the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, Mr. Fillmore’s interpretation of the story of the prodigal son says that the two sons represent the “departments of the soul.” The older son who stayed at home with his father is the “religious or moral nature,” and the younger son who squandered his inheritance is the “human in which there are appetites and passions.” He seems to imply that the older son is the virtuous one, while the younger son by going in to a “far country” separated himself from the father who represents the Source. In his metaphysical interpretation Fillmore, too, seems to present the story as a morality tale.

I wholeheartedly admire and respect Mr. Fillmore and am grateful for his enlightened and inspired discernment. I would also like to offer a slightly different metaphysical interpretation, one that does not infer that one of the sons is righteous and the other wayward. I see this story, not as a morality tale, but as a story of Self-realization. Rather than the sons being two aspects of the “soul,” they instead represent two aspects of the mind; the mind of humanity that is founded on misconceived beliefs derived from a perspective of separation. Such a mind is constantly seeking its identity in some aspect of the world of form, rather than knowing itself as Source, the “Father” in the story. The younger son represents the aspect of mind that attempts to identify itself through seeking sensual pleasure, worldly possessions and adventures, while the older son represents the aspect of mind that seeks its identity in status, pleasing others and doing what is considered “right” in order to be admired, appreciated and valued. Both aspects of mind serve only to further a false sense of separation.

Luke 15:17-18 says, “When [the younger son] came to himself” (Lamsa), he decided to rise and go to his father. When he came to his ‘SELF’ he had a realization of his truth. While not expounded upon in the story, I believe his realization was the culmination of his own process of self-awareness and Self-discovery. As Mr. Butterworth says in his book, like the flowering of a bud, it is a process; one that each of us must go through. This realization of truth is demonstrated in the story by his decision to return to his father. It is further demonstrated by his father’s embrace and the showering of abundance. When we understand that all of this occurs, not in the physical, but in consciousness, we see that as we awaken from the dream of separation, we recognize that, in truth, we have never been and can never be apart from the Allness of God expressing as us. As in the metaphorical story of the prodigal son, we “come home” to the kingdom of God consciousness, represented by the “Father.” The “Father” is the “Power Within Us” which is the One Source of all that we could ever truly desire. It abides here and now and is ours as we open to accept and receive it. Likewise, the older brother was also “embraced by the father,” not because of his outer expressions of dedication and obedience, which were his attempts to prove himself worthy of what was already his, but because of his openness and willingness to accept that he already possessed all that he had been seeking. He did not have to “do” anything as is often taught in traditional religions. And, while we are not told how the elder son responded to his father’s invitation, I like to vision that he openly and lovingly accepted what was already his. I enjoy believing that he too accepted the kingdom of God consciousness as his truth. For everyone, in this acceptance of the Kingdom of God as our abiding and sustaining reality, the seeking ends: We realize that all we have been seeking is already ours as that we have been seeking with. We realize as Jesus said, “the Father and I are one.”

The story of the prodigal son is not a morality tale, nor is it a story of the power of confession, repentance and forgiveness. It is the story of awakening to the truth. Each of us is, has ever been, and will forever be - abiding in the Father’s house, the kingdom of God consciousness, the Garden of Eden, Heaven. It is already ours, by whatever name we choose to call it. It is up to us, and only we can decide, to stop seeking it and open ourselves to the realization of it. When we do so, we, as did the prodigal son, awaken to our true Selves, arise in consciousness and realize “home.”

I hope you will join us on Sunday at 10:00 as we explore this idea further and Discover the Power Within You.