ALL IS FORGIVEN

I hadn’t heard this story before listening to “A Minute with Maxwell.” this morning.

The story reminds me of the Prodigal Son story found in Luke 15:11-32.
I must admit when growing up; I didn’t like the story of the Prodigal Son. I felt like I was being punished. After all, my mother taught the children’s Sunday School class.
But, throughout the years, I have grown to love and embrace the story of the Prodigal Son. I understand what I did not or could not know as a child.
The following story by Ernest Hemingway resonated with my spirit. The story is powerful, and disturbing because if this played out in real life today. How many people would show up after reading an ad ________ “All is Forgiven?”
I hope you enjoy the story.
forgiveness

ALL IS FORGIVEN

Ernest Hemingway once wrote a short story called “The Capital of the World.”¹ In it, he told the story of a father and his teenage son who were estranged from one another. The son’s name was Paco. He had wronged his father. As a result, in his shame, he had run away from home.

In the story, the father searched all over Spain for Paco, but still, he could not find the boy. Finally, in the city of Madrid, in a last desperate attempt to find his son, the father placed an ad in the daily newspaper. The ad read: “PACO, MEET ME AT THE HOTEL MONTANA. NOON TUESDAY. ALL IS FORGIVEN. PAPA.”

The father in Hemingway’s story prayed that the boy would see the ad; and then maybe, just maybe, he would come to the Hotel Montana. On Tuesday, at noon, the father arrived at the hotel. When he did, he could not believe his eyes.

An entire squadron of police officers had been called out in an attempt to keep order among eight hundred young boys. It turned out that each one of them was named Paco. And each one of them had come to meet his respective father and find forgiveness in front of the Hotel Montana.

Eight hundred boys named Paco had read the ad in the newspaper and had hoped it was for them. Eight hundred Pacos had come to receive the forgiveness they so desperately desired.

¹The above is one of the short stories written by Earnest Hemmingway in the book “The Capital of the World.”
Found at – https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/1232/the-story-is-told-by-ernest-hemingway-of-a-by-bruce-howell
Personal Struggles and Suicide Ernest Miller HemingwaySee the source image
The author continued his forays into Africa and sustained several injuries during his adventures, even surviving multiple plane crashes.
In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Even at this peak of his literary career, though, the burly Hemingway’s body and mind were beginning to betray him. Recovering from various old injuries in Cuba, Hemingway suffered from depression and was treated for numerous conditions such as high blood pressure and liver disease.
He wrote A Moveable Feast, a memoir of his years in Paris, and retired permanently to Idaho. There he continued to battle with deteriorating mental and physical health.
Early on the morning of July 2, 1961, Ernest Hemingway committed suicide in his Ketchum home.
Legacy Hemingway left behind an impressive body of work and an iconic style that still influences writers today. His personality and constant pursuit of adventure loomed almost as large as his creative talent. Biography of Ernest M Hemingway

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Introducing Darlene Janice Harris "I do not want Christ's death to be found vain in me. Therefore, each step I take must count and be purposefully forged for someone's growth toward God's desire and His glory." Experience: Ministry Development, Public Speaking, Workshop Creation.

4 thoughts on “ALL IS FORGIVEN” Leave a comment ›

  1. Darlene,

    This is a fabulous story that I would like to repost on our website with full credit to you and your website as I’ve done in the past. Do I have your permission for that?

    Thank you for considering this.

    Dennis

    Like

  2. Pingback: “All is forgiven. . . .” – international forgiveness institute

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