Last week, we heard the parable
of the barren fig tree. For three years,
the tree was not bearing any fruit and the owner of the vineyard was ready to
cut it down. But the gardener intervened
and asked that the tree be given another year, a year with intentional work of
tilling the soil and nutrients added to the soil. The parable of the barren fig tree is a
parable of grace, of mercy, and of second chances.
Today, we hear another parable, a very different parable,
but once again, a parable of grace, of mercy, and of second chances. This parable is probably best known as the
parable of the Prodigal Son, but for some, the name has been changed to the
parable of the Prodigal Father, or the parable of the older brother.
In a quick summary, this parable is about a father and
two sons. The younger son asks his
father for his share of the inheritance.
This is unheard of, one does not receive their inheritance until after
the father dies. So, basically the
younger son is saying, dad – you are dead to me, and I want my share of the
family estate. For some reason, the
father gives him his share and off the son goes to live his life the way he
wants to. Although I don’t watch reality TV – my best guess is – he is off to be
a part of the caste of Jersey Shore. He
can stay up as late as he wants, eat and drink whatever he pleases, and he no
longer has to get up early and help do chores on the family farm. He can sleep in, hang out with his new
friends, relax and do whatever he wants to do.
Well, that is, until the money runs out. And the money does run out. So, he goes back to the trade that he knows,
farming – and seeks a job in order to survive.
As he is feeding the pigs their slop, he has an awakening, he sees that
the pigs are eating better than he is, and he remembers how well his father
treated their hired help back at the family farm. Hmmmm.
Well, if I have to work, maybe good ol’ dad will hire me to work, and
then I will at least have better food than what I have here.
So, out of survival, he heads home, and practices what he
will say to his father. But while he was
still far off, his father sees him and runs to him, filled with compassion. And here is where the story is filled with
grace and mercy and compassion. There is
no lecture, there is no I told you so, there is no yelling and calling of
names. The father does not send his
hired help out along the road to tell the son he is no longer welcomed. The father, himself, runs to meet the son,
along the way. And as he does so, he
already begins the preparation for a celebration party.
What? A party? But he took his share of the family inheritance
and squandered it. What, he turned his
back on his own family and treated them like they were dead to him. What? A
party? Shouldn’t there be
judgement? Shouldn’t there be
consequences? Shouldn’t he at least be
grounded for a year? What kind of
parenting is this? This child is
spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. How is he
ever going to learn to be a mature adult?
But the father runs to meet him, gives him the best robe, places a ring
on his finger and makes sure that he has sandals for his feet.
Let’s celebrate, let’s have a party. Today is a day to remember because this son
was lost and now he is found. This son
was dead and now he is alive. Let’s have
a party. This is the third parable in a
series of things that are lost and then found.
There is the lost sheep, where the shepherd leaves the 99 to go out and
find the one. There is the lost coin,
where the women turns her house upside down to find it. In the first two, the lost thing is found
because the one responsible for it goes and looks for it. But in this third parable, no one goes to
look for the son. He is out there on his
own, doing his thing, and it is not until he decides that he needs to come
home, not until he is already on his way, that he is met on the road and
brought back to the family estate.
Jesus uses a variety of examples to teach the same
lesson. God does not let us get lost
without a fight. Whether we have just
wandered off, whether we have misplaced our lives, or whether we have
intentionally squandered our inheritance, God’s grace and mercy are there. And as we are found, Whether someone comes
and gets us, or our hearts feel the tug, the pull to be in God’s presence,
there is rejoicing in heaven.
I wish we could just stop and listen. Listen to choir of angels singing in
heaven. I wish we could listen, listen
to the place in which there is no judgement only compassion. As Jesus uses parables to teach, he tells
these stories to help us understand what it is to truly be in God’s
presence. As the father rejoices, we don’t
know how the son is feeling. Perhaps he
is so hungry he is only focused on the enjoying the fatted calf. Perhaps he is still stuck on his sinful life
and is wondering when the real punishment is going to come. We no longer know how the younger son feels,
all we know is that the father is celebrating, he has his son back.
Worship, celebrating, embracing our true purpose in life,
living out a life that reflects God’s grace and love. What does it mean to worship? What does it mean to acknowledge that as we
gather together, there is no judgement there is only love? And yet, and yet our silly humanness often
gets in the way. As a youth pastor in
Charlotte, NC – I heard constant criticism of what the youth were wearing to
church. And my response was – let’s
celebrate that they are here. At another
church, we had a beautiful tea, and yet, and yet there was criticism, well –
they really should have used the real silverware instead of plastic. Everyone has an opinion, but in this parable –
we see that with God there is no judgement.
Celebrate the hard work of others in putting together an event. Celebrate the time and effort of people as we
seek to explore what worship is. But
there will always be the older brother, the one that just doesn’t get it, that
is filled with resentment, anger, and has a hardened heart. The older brother is like our root bound fig
tree, holding it back from producing fruit.
I get it, I would be angry and resentful too. What do you mean you are having a party for
that person? He cut himself out of the
family, didn’t even send a postcard, and left me to do all the work. And you are celebrating him. There is no room in God’s kingdom for
judgement or resentment and yet, we know it is scattered throughout our
lives. And so we come, we come to
worship, we come to a place where we seek to hear God’s word for us in our
lives and to be renewed, or restored, or even transformed.
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