Ernest Hemingway published a heart-wrenching story back in 1959 he called “The Capital of the World.” In it, he told the story of a father and his young teenage son who were estranged from each other. The son – Paco – had wronged his father and in his shame had run away from home.
The father searched all of Spain for his son but to no avail. Finally, reaching Madrid, the father placed an ad in the local newspaper. The ad read: “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana – noon Tuesday. All is forgiven. ~ Papa.”
The hurting father prayed that his son would see the ad and then just maybe he would come to the Hotel Montana for reconciliation. So – on Tuesday, at noon, the father arrived at the hotel, and when he did, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Police officers had been called out in an attempt to keep order among eight hundred boys – all named Paco. Each one had come to meet their father and find forgiveness in front of the Hotel Montana.
Think about it – eight hundred boys named Paco had read the ad in the newspaper and had hoped it was for them. Eight hundred Paco’s had come to receive the forgiveness they so desperately desired.
Sound familiar? Think ‘Prodigal Son’ in the Bible. Such a familiar story – a young son took his inheritance ahead of his father’s death and left home for the high life. He squandered his money in wild living and, long story shortened, ended up feeding swine. Dirty, hungry, and miserable, he finally ‘came to his senses.’ He knew his father’s hired men were a thousand percent better off than he was so he headed for home thinking of begging for forgiveness and getting a job as one of his father’s well cared for servants.
The Bible tells us that while the son was still a long way off his father saw him, gathered up his robe and ran to his son, embracing him. The totally fascinating thing about this story is that in Middle Eastern culture, running like this was considered shameful.
For an honorable man to pull up his robes and run down the road would be similar in our day to a dad running down Main Street in his boxers. Picture this early morning scenario: people are out on house porches, drinking their morning coffee, and now they’re watching quite a spectacle as their neighbor madly runs down the street in his undies! It just doesn’t happen!!
And, we tend to think of a very private father-son reunion, but not so. The village would have known and they would have kept watch to see the son return – as sooner or later he would – as a beggar. The boy would have been taunted, physically abused, possibly even lynched, as he tried to re-enter the town. The people would have had nothing but disgust for a son bringing such shame on his family.
But this father loved his son and seeing him – forgave him. He called for the best robe in the house – which would have belonged to the father himself. He gave him a ring which would have been the family signet ring – a symbol of the son’s reinstatement to sonship in the wealthy household. And finally, slaves did not wear sandals – they went barefoot. So, the father, in putting sandals on his son’s feet, is
saying that he will take him back – not as a servant – but only as a son. It’s an amazing story for sure!
The son left because he wanted the material benefits of sonship, but without the obligations and responsibilities of relationship. Unfortunately, that’s often the world’s attitude toward God. People want all of God’s blessings but they don’t want a true relationship. Someone once wisely declared: “Treasure your relationships, not your possessions.” That applies to our friends & family as well as to our Creator!
That famous ‘philosopher’, Bob Marley, once made this profound remark: “Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.” The other truth is that this is exactly what Jesus did for us! He was betrayed and died a horrific death on the cross for our sins. Apparently He thought we were worth suffering for! Selah!
