Revenge and Redemption - Luke 15

Luke 15:11-32 and Luke 20:9-19

With 5 seconds left on the clock, the quarterback dodged a tackle, rolled out to his right and threw a desperate pass toward Jaime Alejandro. Jaime launched over two defenders to make a one-handed catch in the end zone.
The stadium erupted! People rushed to the field celebrating the amazing catch which earned the Fighting Falcons their first State Football Championship in history. Everyone was caught up in a wave of euphoria - jumping, shouting, crying, hugging.
Everyone - except Jorge. Jorge Hernandez was the other wide receiver. Jorge was sitting in the other corner of the end zone, seething in jealousy. “That pass should have been to me. I was wide open!” As Jaime was carried of the field by cheering teammates and fans, Jorge brewed alone about his long-standing rivalry with Jaime Alejandro. Somehow, although he was just as talented, just as smart, and - in his opinion - better looking, Jorge was constantly coming up short of Jaime.
As the two fastest high school athletes in their city, both Jorge and Jaime qualified for the Regional Tournament in the 400 meter dash. Before the race, Jorge cut Jaime’s shoelace on one shoe. Jaime never noticed until the shoe started coming off around the the second turn. Amazingly, Jaime just kicked it off and finished the race with one shoe. Jaime still finished first and earned a photo in the front page of the city newspaper for the escapade.

After high school, Jorge studied law, and Jaime studied for the ministry. Both were smart and successful, but they took very different paths.
Jorge started his own practice in real estate law and acquisitions. He made his money by buying up foreclosed properties. Jorge slowly became a slumlord, owning half of the worst houses and apartments in the inner city. Jorge developed a reputation for being a ruthless landlord. If you couldn’t pay, you were out - immediately. He accepted no excuses and gave no mercy.
Jorge ventured into dirty real estate deals, bribing bank managers and city land officers. Slowly, Jorge began to develop connections with organized crime. Drugs, gangs, car theft rings, prostitution, gambling - everything from the underworld - had to pass through the back office of Jorge Hernandez. Jorge had his hands in every dirty corner of the city.

Jaime had graduated from seminary and returned to his home neighborhood, which was racked by poverty, crime, and hopelessness. Jaime established a small church and ministry center. Jaime worked with compassion, integrity, and wisdom, so he was able to gather a wide range of partners and resources. His little ministry center slowly grew to address nearly every problem plaguing their community. There was an after-school program, a drug rehabilitation center, a job training center, an adult literacy program, a single mom’s support group, a neighborhood watch group, and a community advocacy program.
It was this last program that stirred the most controversy. ...

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