Great doubt: Great enlightenment Little doubt: Little enlightenment No doubt: No enlightenment — Zen Maxim From the stained-glass window of a church in Charleston, South Carolina: The father greets his younger son upon his return home. The Book of Luke, chapter 15 , with its three parables, concluding with the Parable of The Prodigal Son , is surely the most preached-about chapter in the Bible at the Union Gospel Mission. This is understandable since the prodigal son in the story easily serves as a representation of the typical congregant at the mission: someone who has left, or lost, his life to a period of waste and self indulgence. In the middle of the story, the son reaches his nadir. All the money has been spent and he is left in a terrible job and is destitute. He has an epiphany: I can go back to my father, not as his son (since I am shamed and sinful), but as one of his humble servants. 1 The story concludes with the son returning home, his father...
The fearless blog about homelessness that serves the city and county of Sacramento, CA. Written by Tom Armstrong