{"id":27129,"date":"2026-06-10T10:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T14:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=27129"},"modified":"2026-06-10T11:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T15:01:19","slug":"27129","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=27129","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Giving Is Receiving<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lament (Audrey Assad)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ez--BAxVmXM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wednesday, June 10, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In CAC\u2019s online course&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/email.cac.org\/t\/d-l-wlrjhil-dkgktyktu-j\/\">The Divine Exchange<\/a><em>, Cynthia Bourgeault considers one of Jesus\u2019s parables through the lens of interconnection and abundance.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Jesus, oneness is not a matter of a static return to a source. It\u2019s a dance of continual \u201cgiving is receiving.\u201d <strong>We become one because we\u2019re all changing places within a greater whole.<\/strong> We can\u2019t pull a single straw out without the whole thing toppling. Everything is wedged in this great relational field that\u2019s living, giving, receiving, breathing. The depth and breadth and force of the exchange between the parts is the measure of its health. <strong>Anything that increases the field of relationality, interactivity, and flow is going in the right direction. Anything that works in the direction of isolation, cooping things up into disconnected, separate particles is decreasing the abundance of divine mercy flowing through the system<\/strong>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s what Jesus is pointing to in his wonderful teaching in Luke 12. The parable goes like this: \u201cThe land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, \u2018What should I do for I have no place to store my crops?\u2019 Then he said, \u2018I will pull down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods, and I will say to my soul, \u201cSoul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, drink, and be merry.\u201d\u2019 But God said to him, \u2018You fool, this very night, your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus continues to heap on metaphor after metaphor:&nbsp;<em>Behold the lilies of the field, behold the sparrow, behold the hairs of your head.<\/em>&nbsp;He creates a picture of a kingdom where <strong>every single piece, no matter how humble, is known and supported. He ends the whole thing with a favorite line from Scripture: \u201cDo not be afraid, little flock. It is my Father\u2019s good pleasure to give you the kingdom\u201d <\/strong>(Luke 12:32).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there\u2019s one thing <strong>Jesus is opposed to, it\u2019s hoarding\u2014and it\u2019s not just about physical possessions. The ego is the ultimate hoarder.<\/strong> It hangs on to everything. We hoard our entitlements: I am rich, I am educated, I am a person of authority. We hoard our principles and ideologies; we hoard our self-justifications and our resentments. We <strong>use all these things to line the nest of our fragile sense of selfhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Jesus sets himself against any kind of hoarding. He teaches a path of radical non-clinging. He says in effect, \u201cDon\u2019t clench your fist. Open your hands.\u201d The world is abundant and provident beyond belief, and what flows through it is a coherence, a beauty, a life force that is a direct expression of the heart of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Jesus, the world is suffused with the glory of divine tenderness and providence. That\u2019s reason he was so implacably opposed to hoarding. Whenever we go into <strong>any kind of braced position\u2014clinging, defending, self-justifying, insisting\u2014it immediately makes us spiritually blind. <\/strong>They cut us off from the whole and we can no longer see the abundance that\u2019s flowing right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>==================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>from Dianna Butler Bass&#8230;. Summer Series.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/38d17cfc-534a-4d5b-a356-91fc6138003a?j=eyJ1IjoiMmRrajIifQ.ND0qR5RKsmVnltuWgIlyr3BY7uwq2Kt9ZzX29UJK4cg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!tTit!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F79aea26f-1775-44eb-aaba-498895badfdf_2860x1422.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>THE STORY<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The parable itself is found only in Luke 15:22-32:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then Jesus said, \u2018There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, \u201cFather, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.\u201d So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, \u201cHow many of my father\u2019s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, \u201cFather, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.\u201d<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the father said to his slaves, \u201cQuickly, bring out a robe\u2014the best one\u2014and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!\u201d And they began to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, \u201cYour brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, \u201cListen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then the father said to him, \u201cSon, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.\u201d \u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/7ef94aff-cf05-4760-bdb3-31fafb8aa69a?j=eyJ1IjoiMmRrajIifQ.ND0qR5RKsmVnltuWgIlyr3BY7uwq2Kt9ZzX29UJK4cg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!D0QS!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe34d9181-2cda-4c0b-adb5-aa133ffdf256_1229x800.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John August Swanson, The Prodigal Son. From the Vanderbilt Divinity downloadable library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT IS THIS STORY ABOUT?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How would you explain this story to someone who had never heard it before? What\u2019s the point? Is there more than one point to this parable?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do you like the story? Do you not like it? Does it puzzle you? Anger you? Make you resentful? What emotions does it stir? Be honest!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do you think it is better described as a moral parable, an example parable, or a challenge parable? It is tempting to say \u201call three,\u201d but which of these styles is most prominent?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>THE STORY AND YOUR STORY<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT DOES THIS STORY MEAN TO YOU NOW?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When did you first hear this story? How many times do you think you\u2019ve heard it? Have you heard it in other forms (film, novel, poetry, art, music) in addition to the biblical story?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Have you ever had an experience of being lost then found? Of returning home or being welcomed?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To which character do you most relate? Who garners your sympathy? Who is the hero of this story? The villain? Who do you like the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Where\u2019s the mother? What do you think she was thinking?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How has your understanding of this story changed over the years? What stands out for you differently today than at other times in your life? As you re-read it or listen to my reflections on it, what surprised you? Is there something you\u2019ve never noticed before?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>THE STORY AND OUR STORY<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>During the first week of this series, John Dominic Crossan joined with the paid subscriber community in an online conversation about the parables.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We focused on how the parables challenged empire, how they present an alternative to Christian nationalism, and how they widen our vision toward evolutionary \u2014 and revolutionary \u2014 possibilities for a sustainable, peaceable future for humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book,&nbsp;<em>The Power of Parable<\/em>, Crossan pointed out that the Prodigal Son is one of three parables in Luke 15 about things that are lost and found. He also suggested that this story is an \u201cexample parable\u201d of an episode found in Luke 5:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, \u201cWhy do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cThose who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick: I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.\u201d (Luke 5:29-32)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you read Sunday Musings, you surely will recognize this context as being very similar to<a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/736601ac-4aec-4996-b270-ead8369b4eed?j=eyJ1IjoiMmRrajIifQ.ND0qR5RKsmVnltuWgIlyr3BY7uwq2Kt9ZzX29UJK4cg\">&nbsp;last weekend\u2019s reading from Matthew<\/a>! Indeed, \u201cLevi\u201d is another name for \u201cMatthew.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like Sunday\u2019s Matthew text about an offensive dinner and two women being healed, the Prodigal Son makes a similar point \u2014 that which has been lost will receive mercy and invited to the feast.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The parable isn\u2019t only about one person \u2014 or personal repentance. The one stands for many. In my essay, I wrote,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPerhaps this story is less about personal forgiveness and more about the feast. A precursor of the supper that lies ahead? A foreshadowing of the revolutionary meal Jesus instituted at his last supper? A meal structured on mutuality and equality, based in humble service to one another and unconditional forgiveness? \u2026 The Jesus supper overcomes social divides, heals brokenness with reconciliation, and treats everyone at the table with dignity. The Prodigal Son rehearses this theological possibility in story.\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HOW DOES THIS PARABLE CHALLENGE YOU \u2014 AND US \u2014 AT THIS SPECIFIC MOMENT IN HISTORY?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What do you think about Crossan\u2019s suggestion that the Prodigal Son is an \u201cexample parable\u201d of the dinner with \u201ctax collectors and sinners\u201d? Does its example of \u201clost and found\u201d resonate with my reflection? With your experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I hadn\u2019t read Crossan\u2019s interpretation of the Prodigal Son when I wrote my essay about all the food in the parable. Do you see the similarities between his framing and mine? I primarily saw the Prodigal Son feast as prefiguring the Last Supper, but Dom drew on a different dinner example. How are these feasts all related?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The parable is more of an \u201cexample parable\u201d than was the Good Samaritan. Yet it held a challenge for the older brother! And it does challenge us as well. What is most challenging for you? For our communities? What\u2019s the challenge for NOW?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What does this parable say to the global rise of authoritarianism and Christian nationalism?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>An example parable may be good, a challenge parable is a far more importantly subversive operation. Why? Because challenge parables humble our prejudicial absolutes, but without proposing counter-absolutes in their place. They are tiny pins dangerously close to big balloons. They push or pull us into pondering whatever is taken totally for granted in our world.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2014 John Dominic Crossan<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giving Is Receiving Wednesday, June 10, 2026 In CAC\u2019s online course&nbsp;The Divine Exchange, Cynthia Bourgeault considers one of Jesus\u2019s parables through the lens of interconnection and abundance.&nbsp; For Jesus, oneness is not a matter of a static return to a source. It\u2019s a dance of continual \u201cgiving is receiving.\u201d We become one because we\u2019re all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27129"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27129"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27135,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27129\/revisions\/27135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}