The Prodigal v. the Faithful Servant

It is hard to say how, as a Christian and near life-long Chicagoan, I feel about the Int'l Olympic Committee's in-your-face rejection of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid. (For those who have been asleep, Chicago was the 1st of 4 cities to be rejected.) Whether this is some cosmic justice being meted out for Chicago's well-deserved reputation for corruption (the parade of ex-city officials who have been convicted of serious crimes is long and growing) no one will ever know. But the city, though outwardly beautiful, has been rotten inwardly for as long as I can remember (and I go back to the 1950s). The Christian in me says that the parable that most applies is that of the talents: the faithful servants are rewarded with more; he who simply returns what he has been given is thrown into the place of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Left for another day is the parable of the Prodigal. Can anyone see Oprah, Daley and Obama telling the Father that they have sinned and are no longer worthy? Two of the three have re-election prospects, and the third is the unappointed PR director for the other two.