This is a great tool to cover many aspects of our relationship with the Father and others, it is a tool. The author hits many of the key relationship factors of everyone at the party. This will be my second time teaching this lesson to our group - I can hardly wait!

I first read this book when given to me by our pediatrician. I was deeply touched by the way in which Nouwen guides us to a deepr look into the painting and ourselves. As the leader for the Sunday Adult Book Study I chose this book to start off our fall classes. It is a delight to share this book with the members of our study group, and to see the light shining within them as the true meaning of the parable sinks in. This is a book that you will want to purchase for yourself, not borrow from a friend or library, as you will want to return to it many times throughout your life as you move through the stages of prodigal, elder son and father yourself.

The response time from ordering to shipping and my receiving was excellent! It was as promised.

This book is soul-wrenching. A Must for everyone, regardless of religious affiliation. Brings together both priest and artist: Rembrandt's insights and those of Henri Nouwen. . .

Henri Nouwen had a truly God-given gift - the gift of explaining timeless spiritual truths in very clear, ordinary language in a conversational and deeply captivating way. His words and his explanations imprint themselves into the memory and stay in the heart, and truly help to change lives. Much of his wisdom surely comes from his own struggles, which he admits to in the book - he personally struggled with depression, pride, desire for success and fame, envy, etc. - common human ailments. He also struggled with feeling unworthy of God, and with feeling distant from God. Yet, he learned to overcome his struggles (though he admits that he is still on a journey), and he describes how.

This is the third book I have read by Neuwen. After reading Life of the Beloved I really didn't think that anything could compare, but this book, if not better, is at least just as good. It is an instantly timeless spiritual classic. The whole book is a reflection on Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. First Nouwen reflects on the younger son who came back from a foreign land. Then he reflects on the older son who witnesses his younger brother's return. Finally, Nouwen reflects on the father figure. His insights are deep and beautiful. He leads the reader to a natural and yet incredible insight: that after identifying ourselves with both the younger and older brother, we must realize that rather than being either of these two brothers, we are called to become the father!

"Return of the Prodigal Son" is a wonderful opportunity to hear the gentleness and genius that was Henri Nouwen. The book was originally a talk given at retreat when Nouwen was 57, about 8 years before his death, in the time following his famous service at Toronto's L'Arche Daybreak facility for severely handicapped adults. Nouwen's humility is on display, as are his deep spiritual and psychological insights.

The impetus for Nouwen's reflections was Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son," painted when the artist was elderly, and following multiple tragedies in his own life. Nouwen's inspiration is less the painting, though, than the parable. His lecture is split into three parts, focusing on the younger son, the older son and the father. Nouwen's take on the parable is Jesus's radical break with interpretations of God that held sway in his own day as they still do in ours. The God that Jesus defines is not angry, vindictive or retaliatory, but completely open in love and forgiveness. While many will agree with this description of the Father, fewer will agree with Nouwen that this image of the Father exists the rest of Holy Scripture (both OT and NT) as well. While many of us are willing to accept Scripture's seemingly schizoid vision of God, Nouwen does not. He is completely committed to the loving father portrayed in this parable. For those committed to the God of condemnation, hell and judgment, Nouwen will be a disappointment (or a challenge). Human beings separate themselves from a God who is always anxious to take them back, teaches Nouwen.

In Nouwen's take on the story, the younger son teaches the journey from dissolution to containment. Dissolution includes dissipation of the kind associated with the younger son in the parable -- insults to parents, arrogance, squandering of resources, immorality. But dissolution extends to other activities and attitudes that spread our energies beyond our capacities. We spread ourselves too thin, spiritually, usually out of a desire to impress those in our lives whom we want to impress or influence. But by recognizing our sonship with God, we realize that we do need to impress of fathers (whether heavenly or worldly) into loving us, allowing us to bring our spiritual energies into containment and focus. The elder son often lives in our hearts alongside the younger son. The elder son's error is in resentment and separation. He cannot rejoice that "this son of yours" has returned from death, whining about his own ceaseless and unrewarded labors. But his error also speaks to a misunderstanding of the Father's love. He feels he will be loved *because* of his obedience (evidently given grudgingly) and has missed that his gift is to have been in the presence of the Father all along.

Nouwen's deep insight into the parable, whose subtlety and profundity become apparent the more listen, is astounding. The parable has the power to heal as well. For any who have felt conflict or hurt in family situations, as has Nouwen himself, the parable points the way toward a recognition of our true place in the world, and in God's eyes. This is not a dewy "I'm OK, You're OK" insight, but can lead to a profound shifting of our existential relationship with ourselves, our parents and our God. What false fronts and defenses we might shed if we truly believed in a God who loved us as beloved children -- no matter how far astray we had gone?

Nouwen's style and delivery belie the intensity of his own struggle and the wisdom of his teaching. Yet the insights continue rolling in, like waves following the passage of a ship, long after the book is over. A fascinating and potentially life-changing book.

This book opened up so many different ideas on the well known story of the Prodigal Son. I loved reading this book. It was my first Nouwen read, and it definitely will get me reading more of his books. If you are not familiar with Nouwen, this is a good first read.

This is an excellent life changing book. Presents the core truth of the Christian Gospel in a way that touches everyday attitudes and struggles. A book so personal and touching you may find that Nouwen is addressing your own unique circumstances. I certainly did. You may find yourself thinking about a new way to live. This book changed my life.

Everyone needs to reflect upon their life at some point. This book is excellent in helping one to see how their journey in life has brought them closer to God.

I read 3 Nouwen books at the same time. This was excellent and gave me a very new understanding of this story in the bible. This and the other two books I read (Reaching Out and Can You Drink the Cup) were excellent spiritual reading.

This is by far the best book for a troubled soul. It surrounds the reader with hope and warmth and kindness. When all is bleak, this is the book that will give the reader confidence in life.

This book was such an inspiration to me that I gave my copy away for someone else to read and now need more to give away!

Herni Nouwen does a great job on decribing the parable of the prodigal son. A great book to read for someone who has had a friend or family member who has gone astray.

This is a masterpiece! Nouwen looks at the prodigal son through the perspectives of the prodigal, the older brother and the father. It allows us to identify with each of the characters at different points in our lives. Rembrandt's imagery of the father is very moving. It gives a beautiful perspective of the desire, mercifulness, and love that our Lord has for us sinners. I highly reccomend this book. It is one of the best books on spirituality I have read.

Henri Nouwen is continues on as an insightful and enlightening thinker/writer in this work. With his reference to the parable of the prodigal son as well as his own personal encounter with Rembrandt's painting by the same name, Nouwen opened my eyes to see so many more dimensions to both the parable and the painting.
Who am I like? The prodigal son? The older son? The father?
Also, the love that is displayed through the father's hands (i.e., the left being strong and muscular and the right being refined, soft, and tender) completely blew my mind.
After reading this, the meaning of the Return of the Prodigal Son extends beyond a parable of two dimensions and much more than a painting. It is a full-dimensional story of homecoming as we return to the love of God.

Tjis book was recommended by a Friend, I took a chance and will most likely pass the word.

I love this book. I could completely identify with all aspects of the Prodigal Son and Henri Neuwen is a great writer. I have read several of his books and find they help me deepen in my spiritual path, even though I am not a "Christian" in the fundamental definition.

This is my favorite book of all time. I work with teens in a second year confirmation program and bought a copy for them. As of yet, none have actually made any headway but my hope is that it remains on their shelves as a permanent part of their library and that someday they will go back and flip through, discover its worth and wisdom and reference it throughout their lives as I have.

I turn to this whenever I need some inspiration. It renews me the way a good mass does.

Nouwen provides great insight into God's character and our walk with Him. The book is written almost like a journal and at times like a biography (of Rembrandt). This is one of my favorite books of all times.

This is my #1 pick of all Henri Nouwen wrote for the world. I have bought many copies of this book to give as gifts. It has touched the hearts of every recipient. It is a must read for everyone.

I have heard the story of the Prodigal Son all my life, but Nouwen's discussion of it has drawn my heart to the Father more than anything has for a long time. I have just ordered my second copy because I marked up the first one so badly on my first reading that my copious notes now distract me!

Nouwen takes us through his own journey of spiritual discovery that was triggered by his fascination with Rembrandt's painting of the same name. While he refers to the painting more than to the biblical text, his exploration of the story is consistent (with only one or two exceptions that I can think of) with the text and its true meaning.

He directly but gently challenges us to consider in what ways we are like the prodigal son and in what ways we are like the elder brother. While I felt some pangs of recognition and remorse while I was reading it, it was never discouraging or disheartening, because Nouwen constantly reminds of us the unchanging, undeserved and undeniable love of the Father Who is always calling us home. While some sermons or books make me feel sad or guilty that I have 'left home', this one makes me _want_ to come home to the Father.

And then he adds an interpretive twist that I have never heard before: he calls us to become the _father_, to become like our Heavenly Father in loving and calling others home. too. We embark on a dual journey of becoming the beloved son or daughter of God so that we can become a father who loves as He loves.

Here is a summary passage that gives a taste of where Nouwen takes us on our journey:

"Living out this spiritual fatherhood requires the radical discipline of being home. I find it impossible to love consistently without asking for something in return. But the discipline is precisely to give up wanting to accomplish this myself as a heroic feat. To claim for myself spiritual fatherhood, I have to let the rebellious younger son and the resentful elder son step up on the platform to receive the unconditional, forgiving love that the Father offers me, and to discover there the call to be home as my Father is home."

In his warm, vulnerable and profound way, Nouwen offers this book that can itself help us hear the voice of our Father calling us home. I highly recommend it.

AWESOME! This book helped me to understand God's love for us all. Even though we are sinners he is there to welcome us with open arms. The author did an excellent job explaining the picture and the story for evryday people to relate to.

Not one of the best of Nouwen's books. I expected him to tell more about the parable and not about his reaction to the painting.

I wanted to like this book as it is so highly praised by people I admire. It was a selection for our church book club and I'm glad I had exposure to Father Nouwen's interpretation of the message of the Prodigal Son, one of my favorite New Testament passages. Unfortunately it did not arouse much spirituality in me. I felt that Father Nouwen overworked the connectedness between his own experiences and the biblical message. It was a long slog to finish the book which engendered guilt in me for not being more moved by Father Nouwen's words. He was a dedicated and thoughtful Christian who lead an exemplary life of charity and service but his message here was diminished by repetition. Prudent editing would have resulted in a more readable and inspirational book.

Buy it. I'm not a big fan of artwork, and I'm certainly not a lover of reading, but more than once I found my eyes locked on a page with jaw-dropped, seeing in words things I've been trying to voice for 51yr. I'll probably buy a few more copies, pass them around when He tells me to. Thank you Lord, for Your sons Rembrandt and Mr Nouwen.

Buy it!

In my opinion it is the best of Nouwen's works. The reader will take a spiritual journey with many stops for personal reflection and for evaluating her/his intellectual grasp of the goodness of God communicated through forgiveness. The reflective reader may also have to deal with passing emotional states that involve a deeper level of her/his central core. It's a dangerous book because it challenges the faith-love of the reader. It is enchanting! A blockbuster! A MUST read for the spiritually serious!

I found this book to be an in-depth reflection on the relationships between the Prodigal Son and his Father and the older son and his Father. Nowen presents an excellent portrait of each character. He challenges the reader to notice how he or she is like the Father, the Prodigal and the older son. This book is a prayerful, reflective and contemplative narration on this famous biblical passage from the Gospel of Luke. It is well worth reading. I highly recommend it.

This book was assigned reading for a seminary class on spiritual formation. I have often heard or read quotes by Henri Nouwen, but this is the first book of his that I've read. I can see why he is so highly esteemed, even if I wasn't completely enamored by the profundity of this particular book.

Nouwen wrote "The Return of the Prodigal Son" in response to a life-changing experience he had in seeing and studying Rembrandt's painting of the same name. He walks us through his personal applications from his reflections on the painting. As most of us do, he first was drawn to his own experiences as the prodigal son, returning from a life of complete disobedience and utter disrespect to the loving and waiting arms of the Father. He then explains how he shifted his thinking to personalize the attitudes of the older brother, often looking down upon others from a position of self-righteousness and smug piety. He concludes the book by describing the final position to which we are all called to progress, from our positions as the younger and/or older brother to ultimately become compassionate Fathers for others.

By describing how we often live as the prodigal son or the older brother but how we should be striving to become the loving Father, Nouwen is able to apply the biblical story (and Rembrandt's painting) to any reader. Its widespread application clearly leads to the acclaim that this book has rightfully received. I suspect that anyone can find themselves in the story and will surely be drawn to some of Nouwen's universal conclusions.

I am slightly uncomfortable with several of his points, which is why I have given the book four stars. First, he goes to great length to describe God as both Father and Mother, using feminine pronouns to describe God. Though there are many who would applaud this approach, I find it to be incongruous with biblical descriptions of who God is.

Also, I found the book to be rather poetic and emotionally-driven. Though this approach will surely connect with many readers, I found myself often drifting away from his flowery language. While I know that reading this book was good for my soul, quite honestly, it was a rather difficult book for me to finish.

In any case, I know that this book has had significant spiritual implications in many lives. I am glad that I was assigned to read it, and I highly recommend it. I trust that we can all learn some new ways that God wants us to grow more like Him as we place ourselves in this familiar and timeless story.

Fresh, incisive study of the parable of the Prodigal. Everyone will find themselves somewhere in this book. Another work of word art from the heart of one who found his true self.

How can one improve on such a familiar and endearing story? By sharing an unforeseen personal "journey", Henri Nouven provides an answer that pierces to the heart. After a routine positioning of the circumstances that led to his own revelation, Nouven unveils the topic that one expects to be the book's conclusion. What could possibly be left? Quite a lot it turns out as Nouven introduces the reader to a cast of characters we have always overlooked and in whom the reader will see many familiar faces, including their own. This book offers substance for personal reflection or is suitable for family reading.

Nouwen's meditation on the Gospel parable and Rembrant's painted depiction of the Return of the Prodigal Son is amazing. Touching the heart with his honest and transparent identification with each of the three figures central to the story.

This book provides beautiful insights into the spiritual, intellectual and emotional struggles that accompany the various stages and experiences of embodying each of the three figures (Father, Older Son and Younger Son).

This is a book that is approachable and speaks to all. I highly recommend it.

I'd give it 6 stars if I could. I left the Catholic Church right after high school, and returned after being away 25 years, The Gospel reading the Sunday I returned was the Prodigal Son !

This book is short, simple and profound in helping to get over the hump of low self-esteem and not forgiving yourself for past failures. It doesn't sugar coat them - it just helps you to clearly understand that in order to love - we must allow ourselves to be loved and that can only happen by embracing the unconditional love of the Father as described in the book.

But it doesn't stop there. It goes on to explain how, in our spiritual growth, we are also the older brother in the parable, and to reach the ultimate in growth - we must strive to leave the child stage and reach the Fatherhood stage. To be able to love unconditionally as the Father does.

This book will lift you and your spirit to new heights !

JB
Dayton OH

Nouwen has the gift of openess and honesty that makes you also want to allow God to teach you about yourself through the three main characters in the painting. This much loved and studied Bible passage comes to life and helps you live your life more focused on what is important.

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON by Henri J.M. Nouwen, is a reader's journey into his own soul. When Nouwen is moved by Rembrandt's "The Return of the Prodigal", he explores the Luke 15:11-32 parable as it relates to his own spiritual journey. He searches the depths of the father, the elder son, the younger son, and the role of forgiveness, compassion and unconditional love.

Having recently experienced the original painting in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, we were reminded of Nouwen's book. Each is intense and powerful in its grip on the reader or viewer, and on our return we bought several copies of this
book to share with friends who are experienceing difficulties in addressing weaknesses that can only be resolved through reconciliation.

Nouwen brings a wonderful focus on the father as the focal point of Rembrandt's masterpiece. His face aglow with love, his hands both comforting and compassionate, the aged man welcomes the repentant son back into his fold, while the dramatic gaze of the elder brother radiates resentment. As one seeking to be a father-type to God's people, I was deeply moved by the insights that God gave Nouwen through his meditation on this painting. Like many, I have walked the journey from forgiven prodigal to self-righteous elder brother to, hopefully, a tender, accepting father seeking to model and extend the unfailing love of my Heavenly Father.

If the DaVinci Code sparked an interest in people you know....offer to give them The Return of the Prodigal by Nouwen. (but read it yourself first!) It brings in some art history....but is such a clear presentation of the gospel of grace. It brings hope and truth!!!

Attempting to grasp God's love and forgiveness is something we all struggle with. Nouwen shars his own journey and "hooks" the reader as we find out the secret - who we really relate to. Must reading for those who want a deeper understanding of this most wonderful parable.

I love the writings of this man! I am not one whit ashamed to say I weep when I read much of his stuff! Return is a sublime view of the human/Christian piligrimage. You wil be deeply moved.

"The Return of the Prodigal Son" tells several stories of Homecoming. You will gain much by joining the 'prodigals' and giving yourself over to acceptance. Henri Nouwen, the writer, tells of his long struggle deciding to move from a U. S. college teaching position to one of ministry to adults with Downs' Syndrome in Canada.

Realization came that he was now the recipient of THEIR ministry. Along the way he encountered for the first time Rembrandt's painting of "The Prodigal Son" - - as a poster, and then the oil painting that hangs in *The Hermitage* of St. Petersburg RUSSIA. Nouwen continues with the story of father and his two sons from the Gospels, the story of Rembrandt's life struggles, and the inter-relatedness of all these stories.

Reconciliation is one theme in this beautiful book that should be read time & again. Readers will always find challenges to be met and illumination to ponder. When Henri Nouwen encountered the painting in St. Petersburg he experienced changes in daylight, and the bright afternoon sun made Rembrandt's background figures seem "to step out of their dark corners."

That reminds mcHAIKU that we readers are also part of this drama of questioning and discovery, and have a need to emerge from our 'dark corners.' Nouwen is a writer whose guidance is gentle and who shares in our struggles as we search for the Light. He has written a book of many journeys, including that of Christ and His Father. It is a powerful book to read during Holy Week 2006.

this book is amazing; it goes straight to the heart, and touches your innermost being. highly recommended.

A very good friend gave me this book as a gift. Like others that have written here, I couldn't put the book down once I started.

I have read this book now 4 times, and each time I've picked up something new. Nouwen has a passion for the painting and story of the Prodigal Son, and he brings a fresh look into this parable of Jesus. His writing style makes you feel that he has written this just for you.

I have now given this book to many of my friends, and would heartily recommend it to anyone wanting a book that will get them thinking.

This is the third time I ventured outside the evangelical / protestant circles, and I was amazed at the simplicity with which this author was able to present some pretty deep material.

The key to this book is that he does not merely check out the younger son (am I the sinful one ?) and the older son (am I the goodie two shoes but resentful one ?) no, he goes all the way and tells us that in the end, as we go though life, we must end up being the father. While this book will be helpful to anyone looking for meaning in life, it will be of particular interest to someone going through mid-life crisis, and having experienced perhaps one, two, or all three stages in this parable. Heartily recommended, yes.

The good author is gone now, but his many books are available for us all. A very good alternative the usual a,b,c ... 1,2,3 stuff I was used to.

The book leads to a deeper appreciation of the parable as well as the art work. Something that will have to be read more then once to absorb all the nuances.

There have probably been more sermons written about the parable of the prodigal son than any other passage in the Bible. This seemingly simple story is full of truth and meaning, and it seems that every such sermon I hear brings out something entirely new, fresh, and instructive. The best such sermon I've ever heard came only a year ago - by focusing on the elder son, the preacher gave me a completely new perspective on the parable. It was that sermon that convinced me to pick this book up when I came across it.

Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son is basically a lengthy meditation on the famous parable in conjunction with Rembrandt's portrait of the same name. It is a very personal story, as Nouwen relates how the painting and its subject matter have inspired him and facilitated his focus on God over a number of years. One could say that Nouwen is in fact obsessed with Rembrandt's painting, but it's definitely the healthiest of obsessions. In times of struggle and self-doubt, Nouwen describes the strength and inspiration he has garnered from The Return of the Prodigal Son. The truly remarkable thing about his narrative is the level of raw honesty he confesses about his own weaknesses and temptations. Few men of the cloth would confess to the inner struggles Nouwen discusses at length, and that makes this book much more meaningful and instructive for Christians than most other books on the Christian bookshelf.

Nouwen relates how his focus on the painting shifted over the years. Originally, he was drawn to the image of the prodigal son himself, and he could see many ways in which he himself strayed from his true Father for worldly reasons. It's easy for anyone to relate to the prodigal son, but Nouwen transcends the common perceptions to examine the spiritual depths of such prodigality. He expresses in quite elegant terms just how difficult it is to allow ourselves to accept God's unconditional forgiveness. Like the prodigal son, we find ourselves retracing our steps back home, hoping to receive only a minor punishment for our transgressions. Our guilt and sins lie heavy on our hearts, and it is hard for us to understand the nature of God's unconditional love and forgiveness for us. Just permitting ourselves to accept complete forgiveness goes against our human nature, and Nouwen speaks eloquently on this point.

Later on in the author's life, someone suggested he had more in common with the elder brother than the prodigal son, and this opened up a whole new level of spiritual understanding for him. The elder son is often overlooked in the parable, but it is important to see that he has also strayed. Having lived a life of servitude and faithfulness, never giving in to the appetites that consumed his younger brother, he is upset to see his father heap love on the lowly brother who rejected the father and squandered his inheritance. The elder brother represented the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus' times, men who thought themselves fully invested in the service of God. Thinking they alone should be favored by God, they unknowingly rejected His unconditional love in their self-righteousness and resentful treatment of those they considered beneath them. Just as sinners will do well to look at the prodigal son, many a Christian should examine the elder son in a course of self-examination of their own life. God loves and forgives all of his children equally.

The final and primary emphasis of Nouwen's book, though, is the Father. Having seen aspects of both brothers in his own life, the author eventually came to realize that the real challenge of the parable is the need for the Christian to become more like the father. He expounds with great insight on the incomprehensible love that God has for all of His children. God loves us so much that he lets us choose whether or not to accept Him, even as He waits with open arms for each of his prodigal children to come home; He loves us so much that he sent his Son to die on the cross to save us from our sins. The key to becoming like the Father is compassion, and Nouwen closes the book by suggesting several ways in which we can try to develop the divine gift of compassion.

The Return of the Prodigal Son is a truly inspirational, instructive read that will help any and all Christian readers enhance their relationship with God.

I found this book to be one of the best Christian books I have ever read, bar none. I facilitate the Adult Bible Class at my church. I read it in April or May and then we studied it in the class in June and July. I am still reflecting on it after all this time!

I cannot describe what I liked about the book. I can only say that Nouwen writes to me where I am. So much of what he said seemed to be written just for me.

If nothing else, Henri Nouwen takes the reader on a methodology of how to appreciate a painting, in this case Rembrandt's specifically. He takes us on an observation tour which transcends into our very hearts as we realize that there's much more to the painted story than the son; there's the father; the other brother; and other people watching. At some point in time we are all one or a combination of the characters diplayed. Nouwen brushes his words as Rembrandt brushed his oils. A wonderful experience, and a book to keep and reread.

Henri Nouwen had the well-deserved reputation as a man of many spiritual gifts, which he directed toward ways of healing and enlightenment. Beyond working with communities and groups in various spiritual discernment and support kinds of ways, Nouwen shared his gifts with the wider world through his public speaking and his writing. Author of many books, perhaps few are as moving as his meditations on the famous painting, 'The Return of the Prodigal Son' by Rembrandt.

One of the most impressive aspects of the painting, given that Rembrandt was a Protestant artist, is that it incorporates elements that go beyond the basic story of the bible. Quite often, artists of the Protestant side in the first few centuries after the Reformation stuck very closely to the biblical text. Rembrandt's picture of the scene had other members in attendance, members of varying prominence (from the very present man in red robe and headdress on the right, to the vanishing images in the shadows centre and left), and the costume somewhat mixed between contemporary and ancient.

Rembrandt's choice of scene here from the parable is significant. `Rubens portrayed the youth among the pigs, at the moment of degradation; Rembrandt paints the reconciliation. The youth knew he was no longer worthy to be called a son; he hoped to be accepted as a servant.' Author Helen de Borchgrave identifies the prominent man standing on the right as the elder son, but there is some ambiguity in the painting. Nouwen finds the figure to be the elder son, and significantly, points to the same pattern with the elder son that was present with the younger son - he leaves and then returns, albeit in a less dramatic way. `Rembrandt is as much the elder son of the parable as he is the younger,' Nouwen wrote.

Nouwen writes of the God who never stops waiting for us, just as the father never stopped waiting for his wandering son. Nouwen also reflects upon the various other figures around the painting. Nouwen wrote that he had increasing awareness of the others in the painting over time. What are they thinking? Nouwen speculates. 'These bystanders, or observers, allow for all sorts of interpretations.' Nouwen is not just the older son, or the younger son, but also an observer, to this scene, and to more in his life.

Of course, Nouwen had a much longer and more intimate time to spend with the actual Rembrandt painting that most of us have had or will have (I got to see the painting some time ago, back when St. Petersburg was still Leningrad). The idea of the observers making their own interpretations, and the whole scene being subject to multiple interpretations is a very Protestant concept - no magisterium pronouncing what one must think, and, while Protestantism has never been devoid of party-lines to which one should adhere, there is no infallible sense of human response.

The idea of luminosity for the central act, the embrace of the father and son, is also a key element - God receives each of us on individual terms; there is no priest or church intermediary here, but a simple father-son unit, tapping into the key Protestant idea of God-with-each-of-us as individuals, and we are brought into the light. However, there is also a sense of the importance of community, and the `cloud of witnesses' that surrounds us as Christians is also shown here in the figures surrounding the pair.

Perhaps the most significant passage of Nouwen's reflection on the painting for me is this: 'It might sound strange, but God wants to find me as much as, if not more than, I want to find God. Yes, God needs me as much as I need God. God is not the patriarch who stays home, doesn't move, and expects his children to come to him, apologise for their aberrant behaviour, beg for forgiveness, and promise to do better. To the contrary, he leaves the house, ignoring his dignity by running toward them, pays no heed to apologies and promises of change, and brings them to the table richly prepared for them.' Nouwen came to see how different his spiritual journey would be when he no longer thought of God as hiding from him, making things difficult, but rather when God was the seeker, and Nouwen was the one in hiding.

Professor Frank Burch Brown described Rembrandt as being seen as the prime Protestant artist of grace, showing fallibility and suffering human beings who can only rely upon God's grace. Rembrandt is a religious artist, working (in Tillichian terms) to show the ultimate concern that the viewer then approaches. Rembrandt not only has religious material, but approaches it spiritually, religiously. Rembrandt's search for God in the loneliness of the world could have been depicted in the parable of the Prodigal Son, but rather finds expression in the painting of the Good Samaritan, a small-ish painting but a large landscape image, in which the key elements are a darkened world with light coming from the son, and the figures of the story are miniature in comparison to the whole cosmic scene. Again, Rembrandt focuses upon a key point - the point of rescue, similar to the Prodigal's point of reconciliation.

All of these paintings demonstrate symbolic images, which include key virtues, ideas or attributes of God and humanity; they demonstrate narrative images, in which the stories of the parables or biblical events are told; they demonstrate representative images that can be means of meditation, reflection or even devotion - while Rembrandt and other artists of his time would not see their work in the same respect as Eastern Orthodox icon painters would, still their images become the object for work such as Nouwen's book.

For millions of people of many faiths, the story of the Prodigal Son resonates with something deep within. Which of us in the human family does not long for faithful love? Which of us does not crave reconciliation?

Because the story is so familiar to so many, it requires an artist not with a brush but with a pen. In "The Return of the Prodigal Son," Henri Nouwen paints from the palette of Scripture, Rembrandt, Church history, his life, and his soul-telling the story as if it had never been told before.

In his masterful hands, it becomes the Parable of the Forgiving Father, then the Parable of the Pharisaical Son, then the Parable of His Life, and then the Parable of My Life. Rarely has anyone so poignantly revealed so many shades of meaning from a painting or a passage.

Don't worry, you need not be an art connoisseur or a lover of Scripture to savor Nouwen's story telling. Being human will suffice.

Reviewer: Dr. Bob Kellemen, author of "Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction" and "Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

If one was only going to read one book about Christianity, I would recommend Henri J.M. Nouwen's "The Return of the Prodigal Son." It's sounds terribly cliche, but this really is a life changing book. Nouwen's reflection on Rembrant's painting The Return of the Prodigal Son and the parable itself is the most powerful testament to what the Christian life -- our relationship with God -- is suppose to be about. Not only does he help place us as both the younger and elder son in the parable needing to return to the Father and accept his love, but he also explains how we are suppose to become the Father, living lives of compassion. This book is our spiritual journey.

Rembrandt's power through art to express the soul's varied journeys to or through choices that mirror the work of God's Grace, accepted or rejected, is explored in unique depth. The authors perceptions of the painting of The Return invite introspection that helps one to realize God's Love for all is immence and unconditionally available no matter wise or unwise the paths we choose. A journey of hope for the reader who comes to understand that accepting that immense love is a process, as is the process of growth. Thrilling reading in that the captivating love of God becomes as visible through the author's words as when he viewed and studied and saw, deeply imprinted, each clue and message of the artist's own emotional journey with God.