3-30-25                Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

By The Rev. Maxine Gray

1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 11b “There was a man who had two sons. 12 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. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 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. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 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! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 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. 21 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.’ 22 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. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 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.’ ”

Turn around and head toward home, there is someone waiting there for you, our Lord.  Amen

This parable follows two others that also highlighted something that got lost. The lost sheep wandered away from the flock and the shepherd went in search of that one, even though it meant leaving the rest of the flock without his constant protection for a while. Then there is the woman who had ten coins but one got dropped, so she turned on the bright lights to search every nook & cranny until she found it. In both stories there was a great celebration when the missing item was found. It was said that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over those many that did not need to be rescued. We can readily appreciate that we are being taught that Christ loves each and every sinner and does not want anyone to remain lost. We are reminded that Jesus cares and is searching for us when we are taking a direction that leads us away from him, when we get lost. 

Then we come to the story of the father and his two sons. This parable is more complicated and takes a different tact than the other two. Because the characters in this story are human, rather than a sheep or coin, so more aspects come into play. The father doesn’t misplace his younger son, he doesn’t get lost in the shopping mall, with dad looking up and down every aisle to find where he is. Because we hear that this son announces his desire to receive his inheritance early, we can readily imagine that there was some interesting dynamics going on within that family. We might like to have the details so can determine who should receive our sympathy! We might end up taking sides, particularly if their situation has similarities to our own. As a parent you may identify with the father, who is being dissed by his son. It certainly was an insult to have the young man imply that he no longer cares enough about you, his only concern is your money and he doesn’t want to wait any longer to get it, for you are taking too long to die. Then perhaps that son didn’t feel appreciated around the farm, probably disliked that life style, and didn’t get along with his brother, who was Mr. Goody Two Shoes. Then there is that older, hard-working brother, who was loyal to their property and father; who wanted to make the most of what they had. He could have seen his little brother as a sluff off, a bum, a wild child, who didn’t carry his own weight. They don’t seem to have been close friends, so maybe they are better off with him gone. So good-riddance to him.

You may want to ask which son was the lost one? Or were they both lost? And then ask; from what were they lost? That younger son became lost from decent behavior, values, and morality when we hear: he squandered his property in dissolute living.  and he had spent everything. He became disconnected from the way he had been raised. So, he gets lost to his true self, lost to his heritage, and lost from his real home. You might think of other ways in which he was lost. The older brother was lost to his relationship with his sibling and with his father, too. Communication between them must not have been clear and open. They became lost to their roles within the family when they didn’t feel as if their contribution was being appreciated. How often does that happen within families, within work places, in organizations and communities?

Of course, we can over think this story. If we try to make it say too much, we may miss out. It is after all a parable, which means it concentrates on one main lesson. We need to recall the reason Jesus told these parables – he had a specific and primary message to give. Yes, there were his interested listeners, - the tax collectors and sinners. They were usually there to see if there was a way for them to be changed and to find a welcome from the community and from God. Or maybe they came to challenge Jesus, to see if he would reject them. Then the religious establishment was also listening, always examining Jesus’ message and evaluating his ideas. We hear that they were grumbling about his approach on this day. “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  It is kind of hard not to make a comparison between them and the older brother. We see that they didn’t want to be involved in the same activity if those sinners were going to be part of it. They seem to be rather like the brother who refused to attend the party in celebration of the younger brother’s return.

The most important point then is going to rely on the father. Both the younger men are related to him. One has turned away from the father and the other continued to be obedient to his ways and will. The amazing and up-lifting aspect of this parable is the father’s actions. 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. The father didn’t wait to hear that son’s story or his confession of guilt. His actions did not rely on the new promises from that son to change his ways. Meanwhile the older son is left out of the loop and when he learns about the father’s response to his brother’s return, he is incensed. He probably was feeling that which is akin to what I hear all the time about situations that irritate people: ‘It’s not fair!’ Very true, that is the reality in life, being fair is not a guarantee and probably should not be on your expectation list at all. The father did not use fairness toward himself to balance out his response to his sons.  The father was inspired by love to go after both his sons. He ran to welcome his young son and when the party was underway we learn that His father came out and began to plead with him, that older son. He reminded him that “all that I have is yours” so the older brother need not feel slighted or less important than the younger son.

Each of us are both the younger and older brother at the same time. We become lost in the attractions of the culture and consumerism, we get impatient to experience what we think is the good stuff and fun times. We also spend time in the drudgery of the work a day world and the burdens of creating and maintaining a place to live. We get overwhelmed at times, trying to be the good child, the responsible citizen, the neighbor who helps and watches out for others. At such times we may get lost to the joy of life and the privilege we have been given to be a part of the community around us. So we are called to remember the extravagance of the father, who wants all his children to be a part of the celebration of life.  The father accepts us as we are.  We have a God who shows us the love of that father, as He sent Jesus to forgive each of us, who let nothing get in the way of desiring to have us involved together. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, in our second reading, All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. Lost and found, that’s us; and in Christ we are returned to the family again. Then we can welcome others.