Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
The Parable 3
1 The People Around Jesus: "All gathering around to hear him." 9
Two Kinds of People 9
Why People Like Jesus but Not the Church 13
2 The Two Lost Sons: "There was a man who had two sons." 20
The Lost Younger Brother 20
The Younger Brother's Plan 24
The Lost Elder Brother 29
3 Redefining Sin: "All these years I've been slaving for you." 34
Two Ways to Find Happiness 34
Two Lost Sons 39
A Deeper Understanding of Sin 43
Both Wrong; Both Loved 51
4 Redefining Lostness: "The older brother became angry and refused to go in." 55
Anger and Superiority 55
Slavishness and Emptiness 65
Who Needs to Know This? 74
5 The True Elder Brother: "My son, everything I have is yours." 82
What We Need 82
Who We Need 89
6 Redefining Hope: "He set off for a far country." 101
Our Longing for Home 101
The Difficulty of Return 110
The Feast at the End of History 114
7 The Feast of the Father: "He heard music and dancing." 118
Salvation Is Experiential 119
Salvation Is Material 123
Salvation Is Individual 127
Salvation Is Communal 139
Babette's Feast 143
Acknowledgments 150
Notes 152