Luke 15:1-3,11-32
Now
all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the
Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes
sinners and eats with them.’
So
he told them this parable:
Then
Jesus said, ‘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 travelled 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.” ’
A quick break from the Baptismal Covenant to
pop in a sermon on the Gospel from the Fourth Sunday in Lent. We’ll return you to the last two (or three)
segments of the Baptismal Covenant soon.
When I was on the committee to interview
prospective priests to join our church, one of our standard questions was: “Is there a particular parable that you’re
influence by, or is a favorite?” I
think, out of all the priests, only one didn’t say the parable of the Prodigal
Son.
This gospel reminds me of two things. Thing one is a scene from the film “Godspell”
where they discuss the prodigal son.
Thing two is my relationship with my own father(s).
The importance of this parable cannot be
understated in what it teaches us about God’s love and acceptance and
forgiveness. How after all we’ve done,
after how we’ve squandered our life, there is someone waiting for us.
In the film “Bedazzled” (the original, not the
remake - yuck), Peter Cook plays the Devil and Dudley Moore plays a young man
who’s soul the Devil wants to take (seems Dudley’s soul gives the Devil a
certain amount and then he can go back to Heaven). As they interact over the time span of a
couple days the Devil at one point laments to Dudley how much he can’t stand
last minute converts. “I spend all my
time making them slothful, lustful, prideful, angry and then, just before they
die, they repent and boom! God gets
another one!”
Certainly I hope I don’t wait until the bell is
about to toll to recognize my own failings and seek out the comfort of a
loving, caring God.
As for the father part, I’m reminded of
something that happened when I was a teenager.
My step-father and I didn’t get along
great. As Step-Father relationships go
it was kind of your standard push-pull.
I wasn’t the worst teenager to walk the earth but I, certainly, wasn’t
the best. And he spoiled his daughter
(my step-sister) something awful while we were tossed scraps (at least that’s
how I remember it - it probably wasn’t that bad).
One night, my mom was off to church (like most
nights) or had something to go to that was going to run very late into the
evening. I wanted to go to a movie and I
had gotten a bus to the Crest theatre that is, probably, three or four miles from
our house.
After the movie I wandered to the bus stop only
to find that the next bus was going to be quite a while. I found a pay phone (this was WAY before cell
phones) and called Leland up and asked if he could pick me up.
Using this as an opportunity to teach me a
lesson he said: “You got yourself
there! You can get yourself home.”
Sighing (he would have picked up his
daughter...), I hunkered down in my coat and started the long walk home. It wasn’t five minutes before the sky opened
up and the rain started pour down.
As I slogged home, I thought of calling him
again. Certainly the situation had
changed and now the weather had turned and it was pretty disgusting out and I
was getting soaked to the bone with every step.
But, he told me to walk home and, by God, that was what I was going to
do.
When I finally made it home I found Leland
pacing in the kitchen, worried about me.
He wouldn’t say he was worried about me and I don’t think he said
anything about giving him a call when it started raining. I’m sure his response to me was something
akin to: “Oh, you’re home.” But I knew he worried about me and I smiled a
bit knowing that.
He didn’t show love or affection much to me,
but I knew, deep down he cared.
Those times where I feel like I’m a bit on the
worthless side, or feel like I’ve gone a bit too far, or done a bit too much,
or said the wrong thing - I know there is a “Father” I can return to that will
run to me with open arms.
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