"The Prodigal Elder Son" - Sermon for Lent 4 2016

Sermon:

Text: Luke 15:1-3,11-32

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who runs to welcome us in.

            We call this parable the parable of the Prodigal Son. Prodigal meaning wasteful, reckless spender, wastefully extravagant. And we spend a lot of time then looking at the younger son, who does take up the greater part of the story.

            He goes to his Father, and while not the words he says, the meaning behind them. You, father, are dead to me already, so, give me my inheritance now, don’t hold it back until you really die, I’m labelling you dead in my mind already.

            His Father does just that, he divides the property between his two sons, one third for his youngest and 2/3 for the eldest. And the younger son heads out. He spends his money in extravagant ways. And after he spends the money, he has a further problem come up, a famine occurs in the land, and he has nothing. He gets a little work watching pigs, and even though he would accept even the slop the pigs were eating not a single person would help him. It’s sort of interesting to note this. We think that all of his problems are through his own fault, and yes he spent all the money, but he didn’t cause the famine to happen, and the others people around him do not show any hospitality or care for someone in need in their midst.

            So, faced with this situation, partially his own fault, partially the fault of the famine, and partially due to the inhospitality of others, he makes a hard decision. To return to his Father who he had told was dead to him.

            He even practices what he will say to his father. Father, I know I dishonored you, mistreated you, pretty much spit upon you, I’m not worthy to be your son, but could I be one of your hired hands who work in your fields?

            I imagine he spends the whole journey back home running this over and over in his head. We do the same thing, we think to ourselves, if I practice it enough it will go just as I imagine it will. We run through scenarios in the shower, while driving, while trying to sleep. Ok, if they say this, I’ll say this. In his head I’m sure he is thinking, ok, this is the best case scenario, I get to at least survive. Worst? His father could simply turn him away, and he certainly would have the right to do so, the dishonor and disrespect shown to the father is so large.

            And what his father does instead is incredibly shocking. He runs out to meet him.

            Now, I didn’t really think much about the running when I’ve read this before, beyond he loves his son so much that he wants to reach him as fast as possible, and that’s the case. That is the reason why he runs, because of his love. I learned something this time through this parable though, in the culture of Jesus’ time it would be incredibly improper for an elderly man like the father to run, especially since it would have caused his robe to billow up and maybe show off his legs. He brings embarrassment or worse upon himself because of how much he loves his son.

            Before the son can get his prepared lines out, the Father grabs him, hugs him and kisses him. He tries to blurt out his words, “Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son.” But, his father doesn’t hear him at all, “Go, get the best clothes! Get the best lamb and prepare it for a feast! This son of mine was dead and alive again! He was lost and is found! And they begin to celebrate.

            That’s where we usually end thinking about the parable. The prodigal son has returned. The Wasteful son has been forgiven and restored by the Father. When we waste the gifts God runs to us before we can even get out the words of our repentance, before we can even start to change our ways, God runs to forgive us, welcome us back, love us.

            But, the parable still continues. The older son finds out what’s going on back home, how his father is being extravagant towards his brother, his father is being the prodigal one right now, celebrating the return of the one in the elder brother’s eyes shouldn’t ever be allowed to return. He comes back home from the fields, but he doesn’t come inside, his father comes out to beg him to come in. But, all he says to his father is, you give away things that are mine to this one who should be dead, who we shouldn’t care about, he wasted his life on such things, and I’ve never received a goat from you to have a dinner with my friends.

            The father responds as our parable ends, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we should be glad and celebrate! Your brother was dead, but he is now alive. He was lost and has now been found.”

            The parable is called the parable of the Prodigal son, but after we look at it, we really have to ask ourselves, who is the prodigal one. Is Jesus talking about the son who wastes this earthly money in excess, but then comes back for forgiveness? Or is it the one who wastes his spiritual wealth in thinking that no others are worthy. The one wasteful in handling money, or the one wasteful in handling grace.

            God, the father figure in our text, is excessive in spending money, but even more so in the giving of grace and forgiveness. Willing to risk embarrassment and the respect of others in order to run to welcome back his son who was lost.

            Part of the problem that we have with the elder son, is that he could have had that goat, could have had a party any time he wanted, but he never asked for it. Because he never understood himself to be a son.  While it took the younger son losing everything to stoop to asking to be a hired hand, the elder son just made himself one of his own work, giving up all that his father gave him, not through his wastefulness, but through never accepting it.

            We are often the younger son, spurning God’s gifts, turning away from God to things of this world, and then turning back in repentance, changing who we are, and being welcomed back into the feast God provides. But, we are just as often the elder son, who may say he follows all the rules, but can’t bring himself to acknowledge that he is worthy of the great grace that God has given to him.

            God welcomes you to the feast, God runs to you to bring you in. Are you a younger son who realizes that he is a sinner lost in the world? Or are you an elder son who can’t bring himself to realize that that feast is exactly what he needs.

This week know that you are indeed in need of God’s grace and forgiveness, and then know that God’s arms are already welcoming you into the great and promised feast.

Amen.