Sometimes the lectionary gives us a series of verses, from various parts of the Bible, that are connected, like beads on a string by a single theme. The theme today is Understanding. We stand under the truth that both binds us and sets us free. We stand under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. 

– Psalm 32:9

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. 

-II Corinthians 5:16 

“There was a man who had two sons… The younger [took his inheritance] and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living. 

– Luke 15:13

There was a time in which I knew how to bridle and saddle a horse. I was never quick at it, nor was did ever forget two things: that the task would have been impossible if the horse hadn’t consented, and that, each horse I rode had been broken for many years and was no longer likely to rebel. The horse had an understanding. This understanding integrated in to its entire lifestyle. It would be a very different horse without this understanding. How integrated is your own understanding; the one the binds your daily life to the  Lordship of Jesus Christ? The opposite of this understanding is not naiveté or stupidity, it is rebellion.

So we have three scriptures. In Psalm 32, the lack of understanding leads to our being of an ill temper, undisciplined, and prone to serve only ourselves. I no longer ride horses, but recently acquired a dog that I am taking to obedience school. Like accepting a bridle, obedience is an attitude that the dog will learn to transfer. Joy, the dog, quickly learned to listen to the instructor. We have had to continue going to weekly classes to get her to transfer that understanding to me. When I became a Christian, I learned to listen to Jesus. I have had to intentionally refocus my attention on Jesus, to keep anger, lack of clarity, and rebellion at bay. Further, as I have matured, I have transferred this capacity to soulfully listen to my marriage, the missionary spirit of Christ alive in this world, the lessons the universe continues to teach in all its beauty.

So, the apostle Paul, who is so much further down this path than I am, says that he no longer understands anyone with human, or unbridled, understanding. I must choose to even understand my enemies from an obedience that is subject to Christ. I am not free to be ill-tempered, undisciplined (without discipleship), or self-serving. 

And to reach the final bead on this string, Jesus tells us of the unbridled son who forgets his upbringing and goes to live in that ill-tempered land, where no passion is denied, provided you have the money, and the human spirit lulled into an animal stupor. When this son “comes to himself,” he returns to the place where he once wore a bridle and offers to accept a more severe bit. This is denied, for God’s desire is not to punish us but to return us to a more teachable state. To understand is to be blessed.