Among the Swine

“The Prodigal Son Among the Swine” by Albrecht Durer (1494-1498), Rijksmuseum (Accession No. RP-P-OB-1185), Amsterdam, Source Rijksmuseum, (PD)

In his print “The Prodigal Son Among the Swine” the artist Albrecht Durer chose to show the headstrong son at his lowest ebb, kneeling in prayer in a pigsty. This was the beloved son of a wealthy father, who squandered his inheritance on loose living (Luke 15: 11-32).

“The one who prays in the midst of his sin already sees beyond his sins, even if he believes he can see nothing else.  Dignity, which is reborn in the redeemed sinner, is here in its embryonic stage.

That’s the moment Durer chose to depict.  Not the celebration of the son’s return.  Not the father’s embrace.  But the instant when someone broken by his own choices turns toward home.  Prayer amid the wreckage.  The first stirring of hope in the heart of the lost. The prodigal hasn’t cleaned himself up yet. He’s still in the pigepen.  But he’s already being transformed.”

–Leonard J. DeLorenzo PhD, McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame

We are all, in a sense, among the swine; all struggling with sin, of one kind or another.  Recognizing that is an essential step toward repentance.

“And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15: 20).

—

[1]  The Dialog, 1/9/26, pp 4-5, “Viewpoints – Personal connection can be lost in an age of diminished human closeness” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo.

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse and More
https://avoicereclaimed.com