Fourth Sunday of Lent
Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
I would guess that most of us are familiar with today’s parable which is traditionally titled, “The Story of the Prodigal Son.” One commentator expressed his opinion that it’s so well known that if you asked a stranger on the street, “What’s the gist of the story of the prodigal son?”, that person probably could come up with it. I doubt that’s true in this day and age, when one in three Americans (or more) are religiously unaffiliated. That’s why it’s so important for us to not only hear the parable again, but to in one way or another share its message, which is the very heart of the Gospel.
There are several things we must know, though, in order to understand what that message is. First, this is one of three stories, told one after the other, which describe celebrating when something lost – a sheep, a coin, a person – is found.
Second, Jesus is telling these stories to the Pharisees; they are religious leaders who emphasize avoiding contamination by sinful people and things. Those who did not meet the Pharisees’ standards – the sick, the lame, the blind, who they believed were being punished for sin, along with prostitutes and tax collectors, who were outright sinners - are outcasts in their world. Jesus, however, reaches out to include them and says that God’s love is available to such individuals. And he even eats with them, a visible sign of acceptance which angers the Pharisees.
In response to their outrage, Jesus tells them parables about the lost being found. So it is that we are introduced to the younger son, a lost person if there ever was one. He wants what he wants, and he wants it now. His request is shocking in that culture; by asking for his share of the estate while his father is still alive, he’s saying that he wished him dead. One commentator puts it this way. “This is what the son says: ‘Dad, you are dead to me. And since once you’re dead your last will and testament kicks in, I’ll take my share now.’ It’s a truly awful thing the son did, and it makes him, properly, a loathsome character. He’d be easy to write off….” (1)
If the inheritance included land and he sold it for the cash, which would have been totally unheard of in that culture, the son would also have brought shame on his father. No doubt the neighbors, to whom the son would have gone with a sweet deal on the property, wondered what kind of father would allow such disgraceful behavior. Quoting Pastor JoAnn Taylor, “The younger son sees only the present moment. He has no memory of the past or vision for the future. He does not see who came before him and made his inheritance possible. He does not see who might come after him, depending on the inheritance he should pass on to them. This is how sin works. It situates itself in the center of the cosmos.” (2)
Predictably, given what has happened thus far, the younger son squanders the inheritance. He’s out of money in a foreign land, with no friends or family to help him. Add to that the fact that there is famine in the land and the younger son ends up with what was, evidently, the only work he could find. He’s feeding pigs, an unclean animal and abhorrent to an observant Jews. He’s so hungry that he’d even eat the pigs’ food if he could. Desperation leads to a plan; he’ll go home, he’ll repent, and even if he’s treated as a hired hand at his father’s home, he won’t be hungry.
Now, if the story had ended there, the Pharisees would have been satisfied, especially since the younger son is finally showing sorrow for his sins and the desire to make amends, as all good Jews should do. That’s what the sinful people hanging around Jesus should do, they might have been thinking.
The problem is, though, that while the younger son is sorry, it seems likely that he’s sorry about the mess he’s in and just wants a way out. He doesn’t really want or expect grace; he wants to save himself.
Now we meet the father, the true prodigal – which means to behave in an excessive or extravagant way. The father turns the Pharisees’, and probably our understand of what should happen, upside down; he shows unpredictable, unexpected and extravagant love. Before the son has a chance to repent, the father is filled with compassion; he runs to his child, embraces him, showers him with kisses. When the lost one proclaims that he is no longer worthy to be called a son, the father gives him the signs of sonship – a robe, sandals and a ring. Then, the celebration begins.
This story reveals the heart of God, a heart that is broken by lostness, but sings for joy when the meanest of sons, the one easily written off, comes back again.
That, however, is not the end of the story. We are introduced, finally, to the older brother, the father’s elder son, who describes himself as “working like a slave for his father”. He seems to find no joy in his work or in his relationship with his father. For him life is a duty, he’s suspicious of those around him and he just plain resents his younger brother who, it seems, is being rewarded for bad behavior. What about me, the elder brother cries.
Were the Pharisees asking the same question as they watched Jesus welcome the ones they rejected? What about us? The problem is that they, and many people today, do not serve a prodigal God who shows extravagant love. Commentator Scott Hoezee describes the situation this way, “Indeed, when you serve a stingy and joyless God, you assume that this is a God who has to work extra hard just to love YOU. It’s a cinch to assume that this same God hates people “out there” in the world who don’t even look remotely religious. And since not getting caught up in their ways – or contaminated by their spiritual germs – is your primary goal, you avoid, you shun, you judge from afar. What you most certainly do not do, however, is sit at a table with those greasy characters.” (3)
But Jesus does. The fate of the elder brother (the Pharisees) is left up-in-the-air; he has (they have) been invited the join the celebration, but will he (they)?
This, my friends, is a parable about God’s overwhelming grace; it’s our job to tell the story in whatever way we can. We have the privilege of inviting those who are excluded, ignored, judged or self-judging – which may include ourselves - to join the celebration of unconditional love. Remember the words of the father to the elder son? “But we HAD TO celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” We all were dead in sin and are now alive in forgiving grace. So, join the party! (Blow a birthday whistle.) AMEN
- “Luke 5:1-2, 11-32 Commentary” by Scott Hoezee, March 6, 2016, www.cepreaching.org
- “Listen to Him: Lost and Found” by JoAnn Taylor, March 31, 2019, www.apastorsings.org
- Same as #1