Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
1 Now
all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2 And
the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes
sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 11b “There was
a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father,
give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets
between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and
traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute
living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout
that region, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to
one of the citizens of that region, who sent him to his fields to feed the
pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the pigs
were eating, and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to his senses he
said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but
here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say
to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer
worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 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. 21 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.’ 22 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. 23 And get the fatted calf
and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate, 24 for this son of mine was dead and
is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his elder son was in the field, and
as he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called
one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has
come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has got him back
safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came
out and began to plead with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who
has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’
31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is
mine is yours. 32 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.’ ”
Reflection
The
doors of God’s party are wide open! It
is true. The unworthy are welcomed in
and clothed with garments of forgiveness; and the worthy rejoice at the return
of those who were once lost. The book of
Revelation paints for us this very picture. Revelation paints God’s party as a city, a new
Jerusalem, whose “gates will never be
shut by day—and there will be no night there.
People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations”
(Revelation 21:25-26).
Of course, outside the gates, outside of the party, there seem to always be those who have no desire to come in. Revelation points out that, “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:15).
But, that does not mean the doors are shut to them. The doors are still wide open, and like that father in today’s gospel story, God searches the horizon every single day for those lost children: searching for us all to return. A clean robe is in hand, waiting for those who return. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates” (Revelation 22:15).
The doors of God’s party are wide open!
To the son who calls his father dead to him, taking his father’s wealth, taking his future inheritance and storming out the doors; those doors are still wide open.
To the one who wastes their potential, who wastes their lives and their personal gifts; the doors are still wide open.
To the one who has descended into the dirtiest places that culture provides, literally dirty and endangering one’s health, sinking into filthy living and addictions, and morally dirty, living a life of lies, false promises, and broken relationships; to that one, the doors are still wide open.
To the one who find themselves in the mud with the pigs, praying to eat their scraps; the doors are still wide open.
To the one who has allowed their body to waste away to nothing; the doors are still wide open.
To the one who has nowhere else to turn, having burned all of the bridges of help along the way, Jesus has a door open.
And, to anyone who is lost, wandering outside of the doors, outside of the gates, Jesus says things like:
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you” (Matthew 7:7).
“The Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
“I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).
And, much later the Apostle Paul reinforces the idea with this little gem: “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
And, all of these verses lead us to envision Jesus as a parent who has lost his child and would do anything physically possible to have the beloved child that he once snuggled and rocked to sleep, back home in his arms. The door is open, and he stands there, looking out to the horizon, searching until he finds.
And, then it happened. After wasting the money; after living in filth, after losing an incredible amount of strength and much needed weight, the lost child is seen returning on the horizon.
Jesus tells the story like this:
“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” (Luke 15:20-24).
The doors of God’s party are wide open! The unworthy one is welcomed in and clothed with garments of forgiveness, and those who are worthy rejoice at the return of the one who was once lost!
Well, almost all of the worthy rejoice.
Just a hand-full of years ago some parents invited me to talk with them, stress filling their clenched hands and now wrinkled faces. A daughter who had fallen off the face of the earth had suddenly come back. She was in rough shape, both physically, emotionally, and mentally. The parents welcomed her into their home, taking her in with love, and also allowing her problems to become their problems.
But, she was not the source of their stress as one might expect. The stress came from the fact that the family Christmas celebration was quickly approaching, and their other children (all of whom were adults), made in clearly known that they would not offer any sort of celebration in the same room as she. She was a disgrace. She had hurt them all. She could hardly even be considered a sibling, she had written all of them off, and now they were returning the favor. And, to top it off, they could not believe that the parents were now giving money and attention to this disaster of a human being, who was likely going to just squander it all again. They, the good siblings, had been nothing but devoted to their parents. Why was not attention being showered on them? If she was at the party, they were not coming.
“What should we do?” they asked.
The doors of the party are open, but they are not willing to enter.
I am not certain that people quite realize how easily it is to become one of those love starved creatures that wander outside of the gates. We always assume that it is the mess ups, the “fornicators and murderers and idolaters;” those who only care about themselves who are wandering out there beyond the doors (Revelation 22:15). And, they are. But, heartbreakingly, so are those who see themselves as so, so good. They are so good that they refuse to even be near those who have failed in life. The sad thing is that they do not even realize that they too have become love starved creatures, choosing to wander outside of the gates.
The doors of the party are open, but some refuse to go in, engulfed in their anger.
Jesus continues the story:
“Now his elder son was in the field, and as 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 assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’” (Luke 15:25-30).
What do you do with this good child who refuses to enter into the divine party of grace? What do you do with this child who would rather find a home built out of anger than one built upon the strong foundation of forgiveness? “What should we do?”
I guess that you do the same thing that you would do for the sinful, lost child. You remind them that they are loved. You remind them that they have always been cared for. You remind them that the doors of the party are always open to them. You go out the door and find them; and then you say:
“‘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’” (Luke 15:31-32).
The doors of the party are wide open, and Jesus is standing right there, seeking, finding, and rejoicing. Jesus will find us. The only question that remains is: will we step through the door and celebrate with everyone else at the party?