The Gospel of Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So, Jesus told them this parable:
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe–the best one–and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 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.'”
Let us Pray: Father of mercy, like the prodigal son, we come before You with humble hearts. Forgive us for the times we have wandered from Your path. Teach us to return to Your loving embrace, trusting in Your boundless grace. Amen.
This Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) is a Sunday to take some time and be joyful. A chance to put aside the constraints of Lent. There are flowers on the Altar, the music is less of a dirge and Spring is in the air. Remember the word “Lent” itself comes from an Old English word simply meaning “springtime.” We can almost look at the world through rose colored sunglasses. The lessons for this Sunday have the Joy of God’s promise in them. In Joshua 5:9-12, The safe arrival in the land meant that the disgrace associated with Israel’s slavery in Egypt had been undone. Joy to the Israelites. In Psalm 32 the first two verses express happiness: 1. Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away! 2. Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, and in whose spirit, there is no guile! The Epistle 2 Corinthians 5:16-21: “All this is from God “sets the stage for the Gospel of the prodigal Son.
This Gospel expresses the joy of the father when his son returns home. But is this gospel about the father or the son. Maybe it depends on your perspective, it can be either depending on which one you associate more closely with. If we look at the three main players in the parable, there is the father who represents God, there is the prodigal son who represents most of us sinners and the eldest son who represents the Pharisees and the scribes.
I bet many of us have played the role of the prodigal son to some extent, we have gone our ways and were foolish until we finally decided that we needed to change. Were we afraid to come back home and face the family, express our shame and humbly and beg for forgiveness. How did that work out?
And how many have played the role of The elder son. It probably would have been expected that as the elder son you would join the party. hug your brother, and accept the congratulatory statements from the guests for his safe return Instead, he exclaims, “You have never given me even a kid to celebrate with my friends!” In an honor-and-shame based culture, it would have been expected for the father to chastise his older son for this behavior. What we see instead, for the second time in this parable, is that the father comes to his son with love. The father’s love for the older son is just as intense and profound as his love for the younger son. Unfortunately, we don’t see any gestures of repentance in the older son. In fact, the story ends quite dramatically with the father’s words, “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.”
Fortunately, in life when we face these situations the father figure is there to welcome us back home with open arms. In the background is the eldest son who feels that all his being the son who has done everything that he felt gave him the upper hand is jealous of the attention being paid to his younger brother. Can you see the Pharisees and the scribes in his character, jealous of Jesus who has upstaged them several times. Jesus has many followers and that makes the Pharisees uncomfortable. In today’s world this probably is duplicated many times, a family member who goes out to rebel and then finds out he needs to be back home. Our lives can be just like this we can rebel against the teachings against God and eventually we realize that we need to come back home to the arms of God. Fortunately, God’s arms are open to us, he welcomes us home and wraps His arms around us and celebrates our return to the security of his loving grace. The parable reminds us that God is always waiting for us to return to Him, and that He will always welcome us with open arms, and it challenges us to examine our hearts and to rejoice in the grace and forgiveness that God offers to all, not just those who are “deemed worthy”. Finally, it encourages us to be like the father showing compassion and forgiveness to those who have strayed, and to celebrate their return. And that the celebration is necessary because having been lost we now have been found.
Let us Pray: Creator God, as we see the brokenness of our world we pray for healing among the nations; for food where there is hunger; for freedom where there is oppression; for joy where there is pain; that your love may bring peace to all your children. We especially pray for all who have to raise their children in places where there is war, famine, terrorism and great uncertainty. For those who have had to flee conflict to a different country or are far from their homes and their relatives. Soften our hearts to show compassion. This we pray in the name of God the Father who forgives us. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 