As I went into a Filipino store and heard some American music, I became aware of my thoughts concerning my own culture. I have always felt like Filipinos have always tried to be American (In my childhood days, our English teacher would have us fined for speaking in our native language, and the only place we can speak tagalog was in Filipino class. I chastise my sister for always speaking in English and with an American accent. I rarely hear Filipino music in any gathering of Filipinos). I actually wish sometimes that I could just get rid of my accent, since I sound "strange". In my thinking, my sister and I are both not living up to some expectation (being a true Filipino or being like the good others, whichever seems more important at the moment). 

     You might be wondering what this has to do with the idea of the Prodigal. When we think of Jesus' parables, we have a tendency to think about categories as static. For example, enemies are those different from us and friends are those we have natural affinity towards, or the Prodigal is the sinner while the older brother is the righteous. However, I believe that thinking of identities as dynamic would really enrich our study of scriptures. The spouse or child you deeply love becomes enemies when they get in the way of our agendas and expectations. The person who is a different race from us becomes our friends when they are agreeable to us. As far as the prodigal son, a person can both be a prodigal and the older brother at the same time.

     As I grew up, my parents, by their behavior, inculcated in me the idea of a hierarchy. People who make a lot of money and have a nice house are looked up to. My parents would make comments that they are lower since they don't have a nice house and not a lot of money, but some people are lower because they are usually poorer. In this system, moral values are not the standard of "respect" but money is. This reminds me of Donald Trump, in an episode of the Apprentice, told a contestant that he needs to respect another contestant because the other contestant had made more money in her life.

     Now think of a woman in that family coming into the human services field, not making a lot of money and not living up to her family's expectations of the "good" life. Imagine, she has a sister who did live by his family's expectations, becoming an accountant and having lots of money. The woman in this scenario may see herself as the older brother, as it relates to her human services culture, where people are valued for their being good helpers. She may see her sister as the younger brother, as it relates to her human services culture, where people who don't make a living serving others are considered out of the group. However, in their family's eyes, the tables are turned. It is the woman who is considered the prodigal as she lives in a way that defies her parent's expectations. The sister is the older brother in the family's eyes because she is the one who fits their expectations.

    How does this insight of the dynamic identities help us in our application of God's word? As the case of the Parable of the Prodigal son, it helps us examine our attitudes in the light of both brothers. The younger brother probably thought that he was better than his older brother at first, more adventurous and free-spirited (willing to flaunt expectations). The older brother, as we know, thought himself better as the one who sticks loyally by his father, following his expectations. However, in the end, this older brother showed that he has resentments towards his father, as the grace of the father towards his brother reminded him that he did not seek more out of life. He wished that he could have more of the things of the world, while the younger brother understood that life with the father is much better than having anything else out of life. The younger son began the repentance process, while the elder brother is called to repent. He is called to follow his gracious father's heart and rejoice in his brother's repentance.

     As you think of yourself as the younger son, in whatever world you are part of (family, vocation, etc.), remember that there is a heavenly father that calls you to turn to him. His only expectation is that you find comfort in being in his family, not in anything else. As you think of yourself as the older son, have a more accepting attitude towards others. In God's eyes, which is the most important, God's expectation is only that the younger brother come back to him. We tend to place other burdens on people- be as helpful as us, be as put together as us, but the heavenly father only wants one thing- that everyone find comfort in being part of his family.