Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

All of today’s readings follow the theme of repentance, but I'll focus on the Gospel Lesson, Luke 15:1-2, 11-32.

The appearance of the Prodigal Son parable allows me to return to a piece of music, the St. Luke Passion by Eriks Ešenvalds, which I discussed briefly a couple of weeks ago. 

Part 6 of the the St. Luke Passion begins with the soldiers parting Jesus’ garments, but then shifts sideways into a retelling of the parable in question, following a free adaptation of James Weldon Johnson’s poem ‘The Prodigal Son’. This monologue, spoken to the Father in the story, is delivered freely in a singsong manner by a jazz and pop vocalist, Daumants Kalninš.

After an abrupt segue to the crucifixion scene, the story melts backwards into a past episode, when Jesus calms a storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat. After the storm ‘blows itself out’, the final section, Part 8, brings the Prodigal Son back to his home. Kalninš, who charged off the stage earlier in the performance, returns slowly, singing the opening stanza of Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘A Prodigal’s Son’.

All of this is pure description, but the work as a whole creates a fascinating narrative arc for the listener, who travels through a liminal pastiche of disparate scenes, arriving finally at a moment of integration in Part 8, as the Prodigal Son and Narrator sing the Rossetti poem together.

In short, the music and texts draw the individual listener into the story, encouraging a kind of integration between the Passion story and one's own experience.

I hope you can find some time to hear this work. You can start at Part 6 and listen to the last three sections (starting at 18:25 in the video below) to hear this sequence.

Yours in Christ,
Justin