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Today’s gospel tells the story popularly known as “The Prodigal Son.” Everyone knows the sweep of the story. Ungrateful brat gets bored of mooching off Pop and demands his inheritance early. Dad has grown weary of trying to motivate this kid. He signs over about a third of his portfolio, and sends him packing.

First thing the kid does is buy a fast car. Second thing he does is rents an expensive fl at downtown. Third thing he does is throws a party. What he neglects to do is get an education. Or a job. Or friends that have any sense.

And then life happens. He wrecks his car and gets a DUI. He starts missing payments on his apartment. Nobody invites him to parties anymore.

After his eviction he crashes at a friend’s house, only to discover his friend is not as tolerant as his father was for Users. His friend kicks him to the curb. And now he has run out of options. He has to find a job.

Of course he has no experience, no education, no references – exactly what the night manager at McDonald’s is looking for.

One night, at 3:00 AM while lying fl at on his back reaching up behind the hamburger machine scraping coagulated fat off the wall, as the scripture says, “He comes to himself.”

This is where the real drama begins.

How does one begin again, after failing at a new beginning? The “Prodigal Son” faces a challenge completely beyond his experience. He has never learned how to “be with” others in a way that is mutually life-giving. All he knows is how to focus on himself. And its killing him.

As we explore how the Lord is present in the New Beginnings of our lives, we have learned that the Lord always promises to be with us. To Abram he said, “I will be your shield and your very great reward.” To Moses he said simply, “I will be with you.” Jesus said to his disciples on the night he was betrayed and handed over to be crucified, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The Lord promises to be with us. But despite God’s eternal power, the Lord is limited by our selfishness. We can only experience his promise fulfilled as we learn to be with one another.

The story of the Prodigal Son relates the challenge of being with one another. The Prodigal Son learns the hard way the wisdom of humility, surrender and yieldedness in the presence of another human being. Only after he “comes to himself” does he discover the secret of how to be truly with another human being.

The story ends with the father going to the Prodigal Son’s older brother, an obedient son who has continued to work for his father throughout his younger brother’s folly. Unfortunately, the older brother now has his own lessons to learn about how to “be with” others. Hopefully, his learning will not be as hard as his younger brothers. His poor father has been through enough already.