Lent: A Journey to Hope in Uncertain TimesSample

Little in life brings us more frustration than unmet expectations. Yet, as people of faith, we’re promised the possibility of a life of hope. But the line between hope and expectations can seem awfully blurry. Even the most commonly used dictionaries aren’t much help because they use the words interchangeably!

But there is one small caveat. In biblical times, expectations specifically referred to “one's prospects of an inheritance.” So when the prodigal son (today’s reading) goes to his father and demands his half of the inheritance, he goes with expectation and a sense of entitlement. But when he returns—empty-handed from squandering his inheritance—he does so with zero expectation. Instead, he humbly approaches his father, hoping he can come back as his hired hand. Hope that there would still be a place for him in the household because of the kind of parent his father was.

What does that mean for you and me? It points to the fact that hope is found in who God is, while our expectations (and frustrations) are often in what we think God should do.

REFLECT

• What is different in the approach the son takes with the father when he asks for his inheritance versus when he returns for help?
• Verse 17 says the young man “came to his senses” or “came to himself” and realized his father’s servants were better cared for than he was. What does this say about his hope in returning home?

RESPOND

• What does this passage mean to you?
• How can you cultivate hope in who God is rather than expectations of what you think God should do?