Reflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

 

I have never been much into creating sermon titles.  Like this one for example, I gave it the exciting title, “Sermon for Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32.”  I know, it just makes you want to run to church, does it not?  “I can’t wait to see what the ‘b’ part of verse 11 is!”

However, if I were to give this sermon a title, there are an abundance of possibilities.  “The Once Lost and Now Found Son” might be appropriate.  Or simply, “The Repentant Son,” might work fine.  After-all, this sermon is about this brat of a kid who asks his loving father for his share of the inheritance.  And, if you are asking yourself, “Hold on here, don’t we get inheritance after someone is dead?” you would be absolutely correct.  That is precisely what puts this son in the “I’m going to call him a brat, but I could have used a much more inappropriate name” category.  He is essentially telling the world that his father is dead to him.

It is a lot like the day that your mother-in-law accidentally sees on your kitchen table the remodeling designs you had drawn up for her house.

            “What is that?  That looks a lot like my house!”

            “Well…it isn’t quite your house, is it?  This one has a three car garage on it.”

            “It is too my house.  And, why would I need a three car garage?”

            “Well, I was going to surprise you…”

            “No you were not.”

            “Yes, I was.”

            “No you were not, you titled these plans: “After the old bat dies.”

And, this is exactly the attitude of this little brat.  Any self-respecting father in the ancient world would have written this insensitive, conniving, selfish, little twerp off.  There would be no inheritance for him.  But, that is not what happens is it? 

Instead of sending the child packing, empty handed, the Father actually divides his land and gives the money grabbing twerp all that he asked.  The Father shows a reckless sort of love to his son.

As you would expect, that love falls flatly on the floor as the son turns his back and walks out the door. 

And, just in case you were wondering if this is one of those stories of the enterprising young man who used his small inheritance to build up a great and thriving business, this is not that story.  Rather, this is the more typical, very real story of the kid who wasted his money on stupid things.  He is like the guy I know who spent all his money on a nice ring for his girlfriend, but forgot to the little things like buying food, and paying the electric bill, and buying gas so that he could get to work.

The son finds himself feeding the pigs, staring hungrily at the scraps of food that the pigs are eating.  It is only at this point, when he is at his lowest in life, that he comes to the conclusion that he needs his dad.  He comes up with a sneaky sort of plan to get back into his father’s good graces, but the plan is unneeded because his father is already waiting for him with an all embracing sort of eternal love that was never lost, though he was.  He was lost, and then he was found.  He is the “The Once Lost and Now Found Son.”  He is the “The Repentant Son.”  And, the song that we would sing with such a sermon title would be “Amazing Grace.”

Of course, the story does not stop there, and neither do the sermon titles.  Another sermon title could have been, “The Really, Really, Really, Really Angry Older Brother.”  Or maybe simply, “The Unforgiving Brother.”  After-all, the story continues with the older brother finding out about his younger brother’s return, and about the party that was thrown for the little slime bag.  The older brother refuses to celebrate the kid who ruined his father’s life, even if his father is willing to put that all behind.  “The Unforgiving Brother” would seem like an apt title, but, I think that I would go for “The Lost and Forgotten Older Brother.”

After-all, the older brother is forgotten.  Every single day, it seems, the father would stare at the horizon, searching for his lost, younger son…you know, the one who broke his heart and ran off.  And, every single day the older brother was the responsible one who worked hard and cared for everything in order to be a good son to his father. 

Notice that the older brother was still out, working in the field, when his brother came home.  He was still out, working in the field, when the party started and the fatted, 4H calf was prepared for the feast.  He was still out, working in the field, when the dancing and singing began.  He was still out, working in the field, and no one, even the father, thought to go and get him.  Why are the good and responsible ones always forgotten?

Once a woman sat in my office, anger seething from her lips, as she described how her entire family’s world revolved around her sister.  Her sister was a drug addict who had sucked all her parent’s attention and money.  This was so much the case that when she, the good daughter who cared for her parents and helped them out all the time, fell on hard times because of illness, there was no help left for her.  There was no more time.  There was no more money.  She, the good daughter, had been forgotten. 

After the anger drained from her face, she fell into a deep sort of sobbing as she came to the realization that she, the good one, had been forgotten.

“What does being good get you?” she asked.

If either she, or the older brother in the Bible story had their way, there would be a price to pay for being a wretch.  “Justice needs to be shown, and consequences need to be had!” they would argue.  And, part of me truly agrees.  You cannot act like a jerk and expect everyone to bend over backwards for you.  And, for those of us who feel like justice has been completely forgotten, and feel like we have been completely forgotten, we would sing the hymn, “O God, Why Are You Silent.”

But, if I were to settle on a final sermon title, I think that it would be, “Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

Because, when the father is faced with the betrayal of a son who asks for his inheritance and declares him good as dead, the father provides for the son and gives the inheritance anyway.  “Show Love and Forgive Anyway.”  And, when the wayward son shows up, destitute, the father embraces him before the son can even get out the words, “I’m sorry.”  The father celebrates his return and provides for his needs anyway. 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.”

And, when the older son confront the old fool and points out just how unfair he has been to him, the eldest son who has stuck by him the entire time and never defied him while that son of his devoured the father’s property with prostitutes, the old fool replies, “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.” 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

The older brother was not wrong.  The younger brother was terrible.  And, the father had forgotten him, the good son, and taken him for granted.  All of that is true, but it still does not change the fact that it is love and forgiveness that saves. 

“Show Love and Forgive Anyway.” 

When Jesus was betrayed, denied, and abandoned by those he loved dearly, he could have quite rightly flared with righteous anger.  The whole lot of them could have been rightly wiped off the face of the earth, along with all those who wrongly accused him and nailed him to a cross to die.  But, that was not what Jesus chose to do.  Rather, Jesus chose to show love and forgive anyway.

Do you know what I love about this story of the dysfunctional family?  I love that we do not know how it ends.  Did the brother enter into the party or did he storm away?  Did he reconcile with his younger brother, or did a destructive feud begin?  When the older brother was shown the door to the party, did he follow his father in?

I love that we do not know how it ended, because it allows us to finish the story.  So, we ask ourselves, would we follow our father into the party?  Would we choose love or would we choose hate?  Would we see that in Jesus there is a deep, deep wisdom that sometimes we just need to trust?  Would we show love and forgive anyway?

After-all, we have a God that will search for us and find.  We have a God that will embrace us with welcome arms, even before we are able to utter the words, “I’m sorry.”  We have a God that truly believes that grace and forgiveness have a healing power that is far better than any other course of action we could choose to take.  We have a God who will find us, just as we are, and show us love and forgiveness anyway.  And, the song that we would sing would be one that talks about God finding us.