Scripture Reading
Luke 15:25–32
25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.
30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.
32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Devotional Reflection
Who do you struggle to rejoice for?
Who, if God showed them extravagant mercy, might make you fold your arms and say, “That’s not fair”?
The elder brother had never left home—but his heart was far from celebration. He measured grace. He kept score. He compared.
This parable isn’t just about how we come home.
It’s about how we respond when others do.
The Father leaves the feast to come out to him too. That detail matters. The same mercy that ran down the road for the younger son now steps outside to plead with the older one.
The Father’s heart is always open—
but so must ours be.
Let us be people who don’t merely tolerate grace—
let us celebrate it.
Closing Prayer
Father,
Help me to see through Your eyes.
When my heart grows cold or bitter, soften it with Your mercy.
Teach me to rejoice in grace, not resent it.
Remind me that all You have is already mine, and that Your mercy is never diminished by being shared.
Make me a person who enters the feast—and invites others in.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.