Fourth Sunday of Lent
It’s a very familiar gospel
to all of us here this morning and perhaps every time I reflect on this gospel
something new seems to come through to me.
And the reality is that if we have to be honest this morning and admit
that there is probably something of the younger as well as the elder son in
each of us. But also the reality is that
the gospel is calling to you and to me to become more like the father in the
gospel.
You know, you have to
remember too that the word prodigal means to be excessively wasteful, but also
it can mean to be excessively extravagant, to be very abundant and giving. The word prodigal means to be excessive one
way or the other. Sometimes we call this
gospel not only the gospel of the prodigal son, but also the gospel of the
prodigal father because he is so excessive in going out to forgive his wayward
son.
And the reality is too the
younger son, when you go back into the culture of that time, he was so
disrespectful and shameful to his father.
Because why? You normally only
get the inheritance after your father or mother have died. You don’t get it before. So he comes up to his father and says, “Give
me my inheritance now.” He is so much as
saying, “I wish you were dead because I want all of the goodies now.” And as Jesus shows in the story the father
says, “Okay.” He doesn’t lay any guilt
on him. He doesn’t berate him and say, “You wretched son, you ungrateful
wretch. You want me dead?” He splits it up between the two sons.
Notice in the gospel too
somehow a little bit is missing. It
doesn’t say that the elder son protested saying, “Wait a minute. What’s going on here dad?” You think he would have tried to reconcile
the relationship between his brother and his dad. It’s almost as if he said, “Well, okay,
good. I get my goodies now too.” Amazing isn’t it?
Of course the younger son
blows it all, messes it all up completely.
And perhaps there is something in our lives too. Many times each of us here has not at one
point in our life completely blown, messed it up, screwed it up, got angry at
mom and dad, our brothers and sisters, hurt people. We’ve all sinned. There isn’t one person in church this
morning, myself included, who has not sinned.
Probably still doesn’t do it.
Whatever those sins may be. So we
have to come here this morning to ask the Lord for forgiveness.
We go into that gospel text,
there is so much in there that’s beautiful.
The image of the father running.
And elder in that society would not have done that. So Jesus right away is showing that God is
running to meet you and me. God’s grace
is always bigger than our sins or our failures.
We just kind of read the words, “And the father ran out to meet his
son.” There is a lot packed in that
image of running.
He kisses him. Again the kiss is a way of publicly forgiving
his son in the midst of all the elders and all the other people of the
village. The whole village will have
known what the younger son had done. So
the very fact that the father runs to the village in sight of everybody and
embraces his son is a public act of forgiveness. He puts the best robe on him, probably the
father’s own robe. Again an image of
acceptance, of forgiveness, bringing him back into the family. Also he puts sandals on his feet. In that culture would be the symbol of a free
man. He was not a slave. The son said, “Treat me as one of your hired
servants,” and the father says, “Uh, uh, you’re my son.” Put sandals on his feet.
And as the text shows too
that the servants were involved in this.
It was the community again welcoming this wayward son, a member of the
community back. Taking the fatted calf. It would have been enough food for the whole
village. Again symbolically saying that
the whole community was involved in welcoming his son back. That’s what we are about this morning. We are the community of the Lord. We welcome each other here this morning. We may not know one another. We may not know the names and faces of each
other. You see each other but the very
fact that you are here this morning means you are forgiving each other and
asking forgiveness of each other. It
isn’t just between you and me and God, but it’s between us and God. We need one another. We are the community. Beautiful imageries.
Also the reality of the
elder son. What does he do again? He shames, he publicly insults his
father. Because he won’t even come out
for the celebration. He is so filled up
with his own bitterness. “It ain’t
fair. I haven’t gotten any recognition
for all the things I’ve done.” Let’s be
honest again. How many of us maybe feel
that at times? “I’ve spent my whole life
doing this. I go to church. I receive the sacraments. I recite all the prayers. I do all the right things, the good
things. I haven’t hurt anybody. I’ve never left the church and I get no
recognition for it. Come on God, wake
up.” God says, “I’ve always been here
with you. Everything I have is
yours. You didn’t earn it. I freely give it to you.”
So whether we’re the younger
son running away, needing to come back, or if we are the elder son, perhaps
filled up with our own self-righteousness, this gospel is for you and for me.
Perhaps a beautiful little
prayer we could use today would be something like this, “Lord, You know and You
love me and it’s not because of anything that I’ve ever done or
accomplished. I thank You Lord for Your
compassion and forgiving love every day.
And Lord as You forgive me in this Eucharist again this morning, help me
in turn Lord to be Prodigal to be excessive in my forgiving, my loving of
others as you are excessive in Your love for me.