The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by the Dutch Catholic Theologian Henri J.M. Nouwen is a book based around a painting by the Baroque master Rembrandt. It is the final of three works of arts inspired by the parable of the Prodigal Son, and is entitled The Return of the Prodigal Son. According to Nouwen, the painting is a representation of three stories; Rembrandt’s, humanity’s and God’s.

Through exploring these three avenues the painting ‘becomes a window into the Kingdom of God’ and the source of a great spiritual journey. Nouwen’s thesis is that the aim of our spiritual journey as Christians is to ‘become the compassionate Father’, but that to get there we first need to understand and overcome the struggles of the younger and elder sons in ourselves. It was a journey Nouwen himself undertook after a chance encounter with a poster of the painting and it changed his life.

Nouwen’s inspiration, discovered through artwork and by using his imagination to place himself into the minds of the characters in the painting seems to draw its roots from Celtic Christianity and their love for metaphor, symbols and images. Whilst Nouwen was a Roman Catholic, and so would have an appreciation of the use of icons in worship, his experience and writings based around The Return of the Prodigal Son go beyond what would be expected of the Catholic tradition. It also draws strongly upon the Celtic tradition of faith as a pilgrimage and journey, walking in the shoes of others to ultimately come closer to God. However it would be unfair to limit Nouwen’s sources of inspiration to simply the Celtic tradition. There are clear links with Orthodoxy’s use of icons as a ‘window of perception’, the Desert Father’s desire to share deep intimacy with God, through rejection of worldly riches and desires and Ignatian Spirituality’s techniques of empathetic projection and imaginative engagement. This range of sources is why The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming makes a valuable contribution to the wider topic of Christian Spirituality. By drawing widely on different Christian traditions and combining them into one book, Nouwen opens the eyes of the reader to concepts which may be alien to them. In doing so he expands their perception of what it means to become more like God and to experience his unconditional love.

For the evangelical culture that I am part of, the use of a painting to discern such deep spiritual truths would be an uncomfortable challenge. This is because we largely base our spirituality around the written word and the preaching and teaching of that word, whether that is the bible itself, or the work of Christian scholars, leaders and authors. There can be a suspicion of the use of art in worship because it is too open to individual interpretation and misrepresentation.Therefore Nouwen’s call to experience the grace and love of God, and share it with others, through a painting would be a difficult one for many to accept.

There is also a tendency within Evangelicalism to place emphasis upon Jesus in terms of worship and of aspiration, i.e. ‘we want to become more like Jesus’ and in absolute commitment to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nouwen argues that the ultimate destination of our spiritual journey should be that of becoming like God the Father, with Jesus being our model of how to achieve this because ‘all the fullness of God the Father dwells in Him.’ For many in my church culture this focus on becoming like God the Father would be a novel thought, and one which would challenge their understanding of the Christian journey.

It is a book of spiritual discovery and journey which draws upon many different forms of Christian spirituality as it develops and unfolds. Ultimately it echoes Jesus call for Christians to "be compassionate as your Father is compassionate" (Luke 6:36) through drawing near to the father heart of God.

By Graham Smith