Some observations about the Parable of the Prodigal.
One thing to note in the three parables in Luke 15 (the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son) is they are addressed to teachers and Pharisees. But Jesus began the stories by saying "How many of you...?". Indeed, how many of the teachers and Pharisees would have been shepherds or women - the least likely classes with which any self-respecting spiritual leader would have identified. In using shepherds and women as the protagonists, Jesus immediately distanced His hearers, making their inability to identify with the Father that much more difficult. After all, Jesus was not asking them to put themselves in the place of the lost sheep or son, but with the Seeker. He was asking them if they valued the "least of these" enough, if they loved the "least" enough to pursue them.
A subtext of all three stories is the value Jesus places on Life - not riches - which were lost in all three scenes, and whether lost or found were immaterial to the point. The son lost his own riches; but that he was "dead and is now alive" is the cause for rejoicing.
The wastrel son returns to the Father with only one - rather self-centered, though penitent - thought in his mind. "I have no other place to go." That was all the Father wanted to know - that, in the end, he could trust the Father's love. That was the only fruit of repentance the Father wished to receive.
Jesus never calls the elder son self-righteous or compares him to the Pharisee. He doesn't end the parable with a nudge to the hearers as to say "Feeling a little guilty now?". The elder brother is trapped in a sense of responsibility for everything. he is not relying on his goodness necessarily. He is struggling with the apparent meaninglessness of doing his duty for so long that he cannot enjoy anything in his father's house. He doesn't say "Haven't I been good?". He says "Haven't I worked hard?". He is more a pitiable character than an antagonist. The father does not rebuke him. He assures him of his place and invites him to joy.
