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Henri Nowuen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son was recommended to me by my dad. Nouwen describes his interaction with the Rembrandt painting Return of the Prodigal Son and its impact on him over a period of about 10 years. Nouwen starts with a detailed description of the painting and the details he observed when he was able to spend an entire day observing it on display in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Then the book is broken into three main sections, corresponding to the three main characters in the story from Luke 15:11-31, the prodigal son, the elder son, and the father. Since first seeing the painting, Nouwen has seen himself in all three roles - and has progressed in his self-identification from one to the next.

This is the first book that I have read that provides a detailed look into one piece of art. I enjoyed the background information on Rembrandt and how his lifestyle and life tragedies affected his work. But what really sticks out is how Nouwen opens up about his own life and the humility he shows. At this point in his life, Nouwen was moving from a professorship at Harvard to a position caring for those with mental handicaps. His initial reaction to the painting was to see himself as the prodigal son, welcomed home by his father, forgiven of his terrible sin and selfishness. This is a comfortable place to be as a Christian, I think, and is definitely the place where we all start out, and in some sense, the position we always have when we consider our sin. But we can’t stay there forever. A friend pointed out to Nouwen that he felt he was the elder son, the one who had always done the right thing and deserving of preferential treatment, jealous of others who had not done what he had. He eventually came around to see this as truth. The final step for him was to be the father, caring for the spiritual needs of those around him at Daybreak, the community he joined.

This is a book that will probably be worth reading again. It would also be interesting to be able to see this painting in person. I would like to see more books like this - going into such depth on a single story and piece of art.