As the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) is one of the main sources for “The Collar,” it is worth discussing the text in detail. This is one of Jesus’ parables, and is the story of a father and two sons. The father divides his property between his sons. The younger son goes off on his own and squanders all of his inheritance, while the older one works alongside his father. For some years, the younger son works as a servant, until he decides to go back home and ask his father to be his servant.
When the younger son returns, his father welcomes him with open arms, accepting him as his son again and refusing his offer to be only a servant. All is forgiven. Meanwhile, the older son becomes angry: he believes that his steadfast devotion should be rewarded, while his brother’s humble return is pathetic. The father tells his older son, “‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
This can be read as a parable on the nature of religious faith. The younger son has a period of sinfulness, profligacy, and even doubt, but he is still welcome to receive his father’s love as long as he returns with true regret for his actions. Although he approaches his father as a servant, he is soon given riches. Likewise, doubt does not turn God against his followers, as long as they return to the fold. This is the same parable laid out in “The Collar.”
