Trinity IX
Let us pray:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable unto thee, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
From the Gospel: "And (the elder son) answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf." (Luke 15:29-30 KJV)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most beloved passages in Holy Scripture.
It is one of those treasures which we would not have, were it not for Saint Luke, along with the Parable of the good Samaritan, the raising of the son of the Widow of Nain, and the story of Zaccheus, just to name a few.
Knowing Saint Luke as we do, we can understand why he chose to include the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Saint Luke is always eager to show us the loving Heart of God.
Perhaps no other parable shows us that loving Heart in a more moving and dramatic way.
The father, of course, is the hero of this parable.
He has been terribly wronged by the younger son.
When the younger son asked for his inheritance, he was basically telling his father, you are dead to me.
Legally, of course, one is not entitled to an inheritance until after the death of the testator.
More to the point, he has rejected his father's home, his values, and his authority.
He has, as the elder brother rightly points out, devoured his fathers living with harlots, bringing shame and dishonor to himself, his father, and his family.
We can well imagine that for a time, in the far country, however, the younger son had a high old time.
When there's someone buying the drinks, there are always certain people willing to be his friend.
But when the money ran out, we can be sure that these "friends" did too.
When he found himself broke, having run through his inheritance, we can well imagine that “no man gave unto him.” (Luke 15:16 KJV)
He was reduced to taking a job feeding pigs.
Now of course, as a Jew, this would be the ultimate in degradation.
The only thing that we can begin to compare it with in our own time might be prostitution or drug-dealing.
Ultimately, however, the young man did “come to himself.”
Of course, the quality of his “repentance,” is highly questionable.
He does not evidence any great sorrow for having hurt his father.
His primary motivation seems to be simple hunger: “How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (Luke 15:17 KJV)
Hunger, and perhaps a bit of wounded pride that he, a son, is hungry while his father's servants are well fed.
We have every reason to be skeptical about the sincerity of his little prepared speech: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” (Luke 15:18-19 KJV)
What a sight this wretched human being must have been, as he made his way back to his father!
Hungry, dirty, smelly, an ungrateful son heading home for a handout because he had nowhere else left to go.
And yet, the father runs out to meet him!
“But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” (15:20 KJV)
We can only speculate whether or not such love really changed the heart of the young man.
We can only hope that his prepared speech “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son” (Luke 15:21 KJV) has now become a sincere prayer of repentance.
We can hope, but of course, it is noteworthy that he omits the business about being made as a hired servant.
No matter, the father completely ignores his little speech anyway.
He tells the servants to clean him up, dress him up, and prepare a homecoming party.
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:24 KJV)
Of course, there are two sons in this parable.
Some have said that the parable might be better called the story of the loving father and his two unloving sons.
The older son, of course, is the "good child".
He is the one who never broke away, who stayed at home, played by the rules, who did the hard work of keeping the farm going.
But we are left wondering at his motives for doing so.
He was angry that his father received his brother back with joy.
He refuses to go into the homecoming.
When his father comes out to entreat him, he says: “Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.” (Luke 15:29-30 KJV)
It is curious that he says, “this thy son” and not “my brother.”
It is even perhaps revealing that he seems to be resentful that the father had not rewarded him by giving him a kid so that he could have a party with his friends, while killing the fatted calf in joy over his brothers return.
We cannot but wonder why he stayed home.
Did he stay home because he loved and respected his father, or did he stay home because he was looking for a reward?
Was his anger the product of righteous indignation, or was it simply envy that his brother had “gotten away” with doing what he perhaps would like to have done, but was too conventional or too timid to do himself?
The father, loving him, despite his anger, tries to reassure him: “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:31-32 KJV)
This story is something like the story of The Lady and the Tiger.
We are left to make up our own ending.
We can't help but wonder if the younger son has really changed.
Is he home to stay?
Does he now really love and honor his father?
Has his father's love poured out so freely, so unconditionally, really changed him?
Or once he gets cleaned up, rested, and has a few shekels in his pocket, will he be off again?
We don't know, we aren't told.
The ending we choose will probably tell us a great deal about ourselves and how we really feel about the transforming power of love.
Equally, we don't know what happens with the elder son.
Does his father's love melt his angry and bitter heart?
Does he go in?
Does he embrace his brother? Or does he remain outside, wrapped up in his bitterness and anger?
And if he does go in, and if his brother does go off again, will he say to the father “I told you so”?
Once again, we don't know, we are again left to make up our own ending, and the ending we choose will tell us a lot about ourselves.
The one thing we know is that whatever happens, it will not change the father.
If his younger son rejects his love again, he will be sad for his son, but he will not be bitter.
The father has taken a risk, in the name of love, and he will never count the cost or regret the decision.
We can be equally sure that if his son goes away and returns, he will be so received until seventy times seven.
By the same token, we know that even if the elder son stays out, it will not change the father's love for him one bit, even though the father will be terribly sad for him.
In closing, this parable gives us a beautiful insight into the loving heart of God.
It is a wonderful encouragement to us when we have been “out there” trying to run our own show and finally have hit bottom.
We know that all we must do is to turn for home, however poor the quality of our repentance, and our Father God runs out to meet us.
But it is also a profound invitation to those of us within the house of Faith to look at ourselves.
Are we here because we love our Father God? or are we here because we look for a reward or perhaps fear punishment?
Do we really believe that salvation is by grace, or do we secretly believe in works salvation?
Or is it maybe a little of both?
Do we want Grace for ourselves, and Works for our brother?
One way to get some insight into our true feelings is to look at the way we feel about, and consequently treat, the repentant brother in our midst.
All I know for sure is that the only hope, for the younger brother, and for the elder, and for us, is to be found in embracing the love of the Father.
When we look upon the face of Jesus, hanging on the Cross, dying for us, despite our imperfect repentance, despite our sometimes-calculated love for the Father, we can only pray that it will break our hearts, and open them to receive that eternal and transforming love with which God so loved the world. Amen.
And now we ascribe, as is most justly due, unto Thee, O Lord, all might, majesty, power, and dominion, both now and forever. Amen.