THE PRODIGAL SON (Luke 15). WHO AM I?

ARRESTED, HANDCUFFED, KEPT APART, HELD IN POLICE CUSTODY.

SAW MY SOLICITOR, THE PROSECUTOR, THE MAGISTRATE AND THE BACK OF A VAN - AND HERE I AM IN PRISON, LEFT ALL ON MY OWN.

What 's happened to  me? How did I end up here?
I don't know what I'm doing here - or mayby I know only too well. I'm in denial. I deny everything. I'm ashamed. I feel so guilty.
What have they got against me? Punish me, OK, but why so harshly? Why is it all so humiliating? Other people might deserve this, but surely I don't!
Is what I did as bad as all that? How can they be sue I'm the guilty one? Perhaps I am, but I prefer not to see things that way. I had good reasons for doing what I did.
Whatever - am I really not worth anything anymore?
Am I just a con artist? a thief? a junkie? a thug? a sex offender? a murderer? - or a victim? Is that all my life adds up to?
Is that it?  Am I on the scrapheap now for ever? Will I ever be able to change? How?
I need to get myself sorted out, find peace with myself...
I will go to my father and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you' (Luke 15:19).

WHY CARRY ON LIVING WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ALL OVER?
The story of Job (Job cap 3) is the story of a bet between God and  Satan.
Satan thinks Job's devotion to God is insincere. God agrees to put Job to the test.
Job loses everything he has, and finds himself at rock bottom - and with a terrible skin disease.
With nothing left but his suffering, Job ends up asking himself two really basic questions: why was I born? And what does it all mean?
Think: How can we go on living in the face of loss and injustice?
How can we draw on happy memories to get through tough times?
What difference does it make whether we believe in God or not?
What role do you think God plays in what happens in your life?
How should we respond to people who are in the grip of suffering?
How would you pray if you found yourself in Job's position?

SEEING - AND BEING SEEN
Zachaeus, a tax collector (Luke 19) and his colleagues are traitors, in charge of raising taxes for the Roman occupying forces.
Think: Do we simply want to 'see' Jesus - or actually meet with him?
Which affects our life the most: the way we see ourselves, the way others see us, or the way God sees us?
In modern times, who do people generally not want to be seen with?
Can we really see the truth about ourselves? How? What might that chamge in our lives?`

A LIFE- CHANGING LOOK (Mark 2).
Levi was labelled a traitor too.
Jesus stops - and looks at him. He talks to him and shares  a meal with him. Jesus is ready to eat with those nobody else wants anything to do with. Jesus upsets the status quo imposed by the religious leaders. He ignores the barriers that create divisions in society! Conflict is inevitable.
Think: What  does 'sinner' mean? What can I do if I know I'm a 'sinner'?
How does Jesus look at each individual?
What kinds of people does our society avoid looking at? What can we do about that?
Which person in the story do you identily with - immediately, and after thinking about it for a while?
How can we know if Jesus is calling us and how can we follow Jesus?
What does Jesus say about his mission?
Jesus doesn't discriminate. What are the implications for each of us? For those around us? For our group? For society?
( "Words of Freedom", Brice Deymié, chaplain general).

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