THIS is the story of the Prodigal son told in rags. Have a common rag
bag brought in, and its contents emptied on a table. This will make
quite a display of rags. Heap them up a little so the audience will
see them all. The ragman's bag is going to preach a sermon. Among
these rags is a bunch of rags fastened together with a pin to keep
them separated from the others, which you will not use in this lesson.
Take out the pin. Spread out these rags which you have thus kept
together and arrange them in their proper order. Now say, "I will tell
you the story of the Prodigal son as the ragman sees him. I will tell
the story of the _LOST SON IN RAGS._" Now put up a rope across the
back of the pulpit, or before the meeting have one put there, and from
the pile of rags place upon this line the following:
I--_A yellow cloth,_ a square piece of cloth as the Prodigal has not
yet come to rags. The yellow stands for the home he left,--the land of
plenty. Yellow stands for the rich grain fields, and is also the color
of the bread he found on his Father's table. Full and plenty and for
the fields, ripe for harvest. How often he had sung the harvester's
song in the field when working with his dear old father when they
lived together on the good old farm. Now from the rag table pick up
II--_A piece of red._ This should be cut in the shape of a heart. Red
stands for love and the heart of red for the loving heart of his
father. It should not be forgotten that the big point of this parable
is "The Loving Father," not the wayward son. It teaches how kind is
the great heart of the loving heavenly Father and how sweet is His
welcome to the wanderers who seek His face and favor. The son in rags
knew this and no matter how far he got away from God, he never got
away from the memory of the fond old father at home, yet he left it
all for rags. Now pick up
III--_A blue piece of cloth._ This stands for the dissatisfied heart
of the boy. He had "the blues." Tired of home; longed for excitement;
unhappy in his father's house. So he thought of the big town where he
thought he would be happy, and told his father so; he asked for his
share of the estate because he wanted money. He must have money to be
happy. So his father granted his request. Now pick up
IV--_Gray cloth._ The color gray was the color of the silver coins
which his father gave him. (Make this cloth crooked.) This was a
crooked step. He was crowning his own will. He was turning from the
wisdom of his father. That alone was crooked. The misuse of money is
often the first crooked step the youth takes. So often they leave home
for larger wages, not because of the privilege of saving, but the sin
of spending. After the estate is settled, the youth, with his new
inheritance, gets the crooked foot, forgets God and His counsels. In
one of our great high schools a prize essay was to be written. This
was the subject: "If you had ten thousands dollars, what would you do
with it?" In discussing this question, most of the boys had selfish
answers. One would spend a year in traveling, another would make
investments which yielded large returns quickly, etc. One lad said he
would give it to his parents to save for him. This boy won the prize;
he would never be a prodigal because of the misuse of money. The
Prodigal wanted it for self use, and he got a handful of rags in
return. Now pick up
V--_A gay rag of several colors,_ or a cluster of gray colored ones
(cut crooked). This represents the gaieties of the far off country
into which he had plunged. The sins of the far-away country seemed
tipped with gold; he fell for it at once. Satan whispered here is joy,
let loose; you are away from home; no one knows you; plunge in; and he
did. Here pick up from the table
VI--_Short pieces of gay ribbons tied together in various lengths._
This represents the kind of friends he had found. Some long, some
short, some were his for a few days, others for longer time; all tied
together, representing friendship. They were purchased friends. They
were his so long as his purse was long and full. When he had spent all
they all left him. No man gave to him, not even the friends to whom he
had given. Now he was poor, down and out and under. A man down in the
world,--a Prodigal son in rags.
VII--Now pick up _the gay cloth of colors in rags._ This represents
the Prodigal poor and forsaken, ragged and dejected. This is the
product of sinful companionship. This piece of rag should be the same
pattern as the one used representing his home garment but torn in
strips. A famine strikes the country. He is in need of bread. "The way
of the transgressor is hard," and the end thereof is harder still. He
has but one last resort. A tender of swine.
VIII--Here pick up _brown rag._ This represents the color of the brown
earth and the dried husks which he used as his only food. As a Jew,
this was bad business. It was the only business left. Satan drives us
to the bad. This is what happened to the Prodigal. Satan clothes us in
purple and fine linen, then tears it to shreds, and we cannot help
ourselves. Sin has a swift descent. There are no brakes for this
decline. Bad, worse, and then some more. That describes this man in
rags.
IX--Now pick up _yellow cloth._ This should be of the same shade as
used in the first story as he now thinks of the bread in the father's
house. Misfortune stirs up memory and we think; this is just what he
did. He thinks of home, of bread, of servants in the old house and
land of plenty. Sometimes we think of the better life too late. We
cannot retrace our steps and begin over again, but that God does: When
we repent and come to God, we may begin all over again.
X--Here pick up _purple cloth._ Make this a perfect square. This color
stands for repentance. It is the penitential color in the church
world. So he said, "I will arise and go to my Father, and say unto
him, 'I have sinned.'" This is the quick way home. It is a short cut
to God. The forgiving father is at the end of this road. So he goes
back in his rags. That is the way to go home. This is coming "Just as
I am, without one plea." Don't take off your rags. The Father alone
must do this and He will.
XI--Here pick up _red cloth._ This represents the long love of the
loving father. Red stands for love, a flaming love which causes the
father to run to meet him. This is the only time when God is said "to
run," and He does it every time when he sees the sinner coming.
XII--Here pick up _a striped cloth._ This represents the new robe just
like the first robe used when he went to the far country. He now looks
just like he looked when he left home. The past is all covered up with
Father's forgiveness, and when the neighbors come in, they don't see
rags but the garment beautiful. Perhaps they don't know of his
misfortune. They only know he was lost and found and lost so long to
the Father that they thought him dead, but he is alive again, and they
began to be merry.
XIII-Here pick up _green cloth._ This represents the jealous anger of
the elder brother who knows all about his downfall, and stayed outside
and grumbled about the past sins of his brother, and the fact that
never was a fatted calf slain for him that he might make merry with
his friends also. His Father pleads with him, and since we hear
nothing about this elder brother again, we would conclude that he went
in and joined in the festivities of his brother's return. The Father's
love had conquered both of his sons.
XIV--Here take _red cloth,_ and cover the green with it for the
Father's love (red) had conquered the jealousy (green) of his son's
heart.34
XV--Here pick up _white cloth_--the white stands for peace, which was
now in the dear old home. Peace which we believe was also in the elder
brother's heart. Peace which we know was in the Father's heart, and in
the heart of the Prodigal, who had exchanged his rags for the glad
robe of eternal salvation. As they all hang upon the line, remember
the lesson, and ask the class to tell you what each rag stands for.
You can, if you so desire, in place of hanging them on a line, place
them on the furniture of the pulpit. The matter of using cloth, muslin
or silk or any other substance, is left to the convenience and
judgment of the teacher. Even colored papers can be used in place of
the rags. In that case name the lesson "The Prodigal Son in Scraps of
Paper." Place these scraps in a waste basket and from that place of
cast-off things, produce them as you desire.
=CHAPTER XX
WHAT CAN TAKE AWAY MY SINS?=
_Objects used: Large transparent jar of clear water; a small quantity
of oxalic acid; some powdered ox gall; a quantity of tincture of iron;
a small cluster of flowers; a few coins; a dictionary, It is a lesson
with chemical effects._