Changing The Ending

I was brought up with Bible stories that have an unexpected ending … Noah, Joshua, David… Zacchaeus, May Magdalene, Jesus… Potentially unhappy endings become happy endings.

The selfish, reckless ‘Prodigal Son’ takes the money, leaves home, has a great time; his money and popularity end. He’s broke and broken; potentially it’s a bad ending. He heads home, Dad’s waiting and lovingly welcomes his son. The ending’s changed.

Barb Roose tells the story of a Russian boy who, on his way home from school, notices a lamb with its head trapped down a drainage ditch. He goes home and gets a strap that he loops round its hind leg. Eventually the boy frees the lamb from the narrow opening.

The lamb hops away, but immediately jumps back into the ditch from which it’s been freed.

In the Bible story the sheep’s lost and helpless. A potentially sad ending. The Good Shepherd finds it, joyfully puts it on his shoulders and returns home. A happy ending. …But at the next opportunity the found sheep deliberately runs away and becomes a lost sheep again. A different ending.

It’s as if, as the father runs out to welcome his Prodigal Son, the son turns away and chooses to return to his poverty, loneliness and hopelessness. Bad changes to good… and then to sad…

Yesterday a group of friends met at our house. We shared stories – families, friends… mental illness, recent or pending surgery, family crises, impossible choices, work challenges, anxiety, grief… situations far outside our control.

We brought our prayers to our loving father, our good shepherd, recognising that He’s able to change story endings from bad to good… but that we’re equally capable of screwing up and changing good to bad.

I recognise again that I’m pretty hopeless at solving my own problems – however hard I try to improve the ending. I rediscover the mystery of faith that trusts my loving Father, my good Shepherd – and hands things over to Him – to work out His best ending.