Retrieving Earth’s Voice: An Ecological Hermeneutic Reading of the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) through Habel’s Framework

Abstract

This paper employs Norman C. Habel’s threefold ecological hermeneutic – suspicion, identification, and retrieval – to reinterpret the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom and the kingdom framework provide an exegetical opening. It emphasises the intricate link between the parables’ socio-economic, spiritual, and ecological dimensions and offers a holistic vision of restoration that aligns with integral ecology. The six ecojustice principles ground the threefold hermeneutic process in contemporary ecological concerns and articulate the need for an ethical and relational re-evaluation. Identifying the silenced Earth’s agency in traditional interpretations, it portrays the son’s departure and wastefulness as symbolic of humanity’s rupture with and exploitation of the Earth community, manifested in the famine as Earth’s cry and resistance. Habel’s third step, retrieval, recovers Earth’s voice, which is often overlooked in traditional exegesis. The younger son’s homecoming signals repentance and reconciliation with the father while simultaneously symbolising humanity’s call to ecological conversion and the restoration of right relationships within the entire Earth community.