forgotten father...lost sons...

(Luke 15:1-3)
1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." Their grumbling triggered this story.
(the Message translation)

Lord,
You saw us…the broken ones…
I mean You REALLY saw us!
You saw us the way
No one else ever did…we were
Friends of Matthew…people
Of the street…the
Under-side…the
Ignored-by-polite-society
People.

You joined us…coming
To us…to
Our place…to eat
With us…
Staying long enough to
Hear our stories…and
To tell Your Own.

People who were
More socially correct than
You…
Pointed out exactly who You
Were hanging with.
You told them…and
Us…
Three stories…each
About things that were
Lost…then found.

A shepherd
Chases down
A wayward sheep…and
A woman
Scours her house for
The one lost coin.

Finally…You
Spoke straight to us
All.
You talked about
The forgotten Father…
Your Abba…Who
Had some lost sons.

One lost son left home
Deliberately…trying
To shed the family identity
Only
To return home
Broken…begging for
Only a slave’s wages.

The other son
Got lost…when
He could not enjoy
His brother’s return…along with
His Father…since
He too had lost the
Family identity.

Both sons had forgotten their
Father…
As did the men who
Grumbled
About the class of folk
You loved to be with.
They too
Had forgotten their
Father…the
One-and-only YaHWeH- of-the-Heavens
Who
Hung in with
A slow-believing Abraham…and
Sarah…
The YaHWeH Who
Wrestled all night with
A lying Jacob…
The YaHWeH Who
Hyper-blessed
A fear-filled Moses…
The YaHWeH Who
Forgave
A murdering, adulterous
David…

YaHWeH…
Who is perfect
In every way…
Chooses
To look for us
Until
He finds us.
Then He sits down
With us…in
Our misery…and
Swaps stories with us…
THIS…is love!