The Prodigal Father

https://www.mosaicpgh.org/sermons/sermon/2025-03-30/are-you-the-younger-or-the-older-brother

Pre-Sermon

You all will need your Bibles this morning. If you need one, raise your hand, and one of our greeters will gladly give you one. If you have a cell phone, you can download a free app — to match the version I will be using, you can download the “ESV Bible” from your App Store.

Opening Prayer

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

(Thomas à Kempis, Collect 77 ACNA BCP 2019)

Introduction

(SERIES SLIDE)

As you know, during this Lenten season, we are pondering Daily Dilemmas, those everyday choices that we make that either take us down

the path that leads toward Christ

or the path that leads to death apart from Christ.

As I’ve been reflecting on our parable for this morning, I couldn’t help recalling my childhood.

Most of you may not know this, but I grew up with an older sister. She was eight years older than me. We didn’t share much in common. She was adopted out of an abusive family, and those scars and age differences were a barrier between us.

We had very different outlooks on life. All she wanted was to go and explore and try risky things. On the other hand, I preferred to stay (mostly) quiet and follow the rules. Though we started on the same road, our paths diverged when she turned 17.

She moved out on her own before finishing high school and made many poor decisions. She tried to pursue her own version of happiness, but it led her down a path that did nothing but hurt her in the long run. For many years, she separated herself from our family.

I stayed and tried to be the “good son.” Don’t get me wrong—this wasn’t out of my loving devotion to the family or even God (though there was some of that), but most of it came from a sense of fear: fear of what following my sister’s path might lead me to. I did the right things, said the right things, and didn’t try to rock the boat. Over time I became judgmental, hardened, overly critical of others, and fully embraced my own delusion of self-righteousness.

My sister and I were very much like the two sons in our parable. She played the part of the younger son, and I, the older one. She was reckless, and I was arrogant and judgmental. She walked away while I remained and fulfilled my “duty.” Neither of us fully lived into our roles as sons or daughters to our parents.

There is a happy ending to my story. Several years ago, my sister reconciled with our family. Though she passed away two years ago, those last few years together were precious, and I cherish them to this day.

Thinking back on your life, I’m sure you can see times where you resembled one of this parable’s sons. I know I have been both at various points.

This morning, I want to challenge you to find where you fit into this story.

Are you the younger son, trapped by self-indulgence?

Are you the older son, shackled by the chains of self-righteousness?

Have you abandoned your birthright as a son or daughter of God for the pleasures of the flesh or the false righteousness that comes through deeds alone?

Regardless of which son you most relate to, I pray that as we work through this parable, we will all see the lavish grace and mercy of God. For our loving Father promises that, when we return to him, he

runs to us,

enfolds us in his loving arms,

and reclaims us as his children.

(BLANK SLIDE)

The Two Sons

Our reading this morning comes at the climax of three parables. Jesus directs these stories at the Pharisees and scribes, who scoffed when he dined with “sinners.” The first tells of a man with 100 sheep, who loses one and leaves the 99 to go after it. The second tells of a woman with ten silver coins who loses one and searches until she finds it. Both tell a story of how God reaches out to sinners in his desire to save those who are lost.

But, these parables don’t just tell about God’s passion for seeking after those who are lost but also the joy when they are found.

Jesus was telling them that these sinners he dined with — tax collectors and prostitutes, the lowest of Jewish society, the dirtiest and most unrighteous people — when they returned to the fold, the Pharisees and scribes should rejoice, not judge.

Both, in their own ways, sin against the father. To explain this further, let’s first look deeper into these two sons.

Please open your Bible to Luke chapter 15, beginning at verse 11.

The Younger Son

Our parable is often labeled the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” This name comes from the younger son. Prodigal simply means “wastefully extravagant” or “living lavishly.”

The story begins as the younger son asks for his share of his father’s inheritance. In the cultural context of Jesus’ time, this was a profoundly disrespectful and dishonorable request. It was essentially a way of saying to his father, ‘I wish you were dead’ (Wright, 129). Jewish fathers would have disowned their sons for much less.

Though the father was allowed to divide his inheritance before his death, there was also a catch.

Those to whom the inheritance was given were then responsible to care for their entire family until the father’s death (Van Harn, 407). As we can see in verse 13, the younger son did not do this. He sold his inheritance, took his money, and ran away … far away.

Continuing to verses 14-16, we see that things didn’t go well for him. He spent all his money, a famine struck the land, and his party-time friends abandoned him. To survive, he took the most degrading job any Jewish person could ever take — feeding pigs for a Gentile master. He had sunk to the lowest low in Jewish society. There was no way he could return without being shunned.

In verse 17, he finally comes to his senses. He knows that his father’s slaves have plenty of food and that his father was no slave driver. Surely, he thought, at least he might be able to come back as a slave. It would certainly be better than what he had right now. He prepares a speech and begins the long trek home.

But, as the son returns, most of his carefully crafted speech goes unheard. Before he finishes, his father cuts him off and embraces his son. The father clothes him with new robes and places a ring on his hand — he is restored back into the family. They throw a huge party and invite the entire village to celebrate.

The Older Son

Turning to the older son, we see he is livid! “Angry” is not a strong enough word. He does not want to celebrate his younger brother’s return. He wants no part in the party. His father comes out to beg him to come in. Verses 29 and 30 record his complaint, as he says to his father

Luke 15:29–30 ESV

29 ... ‘Look, these many years I have served you [I have worked like a slave for you (NET)], and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

I imagine the Pharisees and scribes thought the same thing when they heard this story. They could easily relate to the older son. The Pharisees weren’t the only game in town, but unlike most other Jews, they thought that only they had been faithful to God.

They had slaved for God.

They were keeping the Sabbath holy. (Mt 12:1-14)

They were tithing on the smallest grain of spice. (Mt 23:23)

They were keeping the people of Israel in line.

They were resisting the idolatry of Rome.

They were following the Law of God!

And yet, in their self-righteousness, they had become jaded and could not rejoice in the redemption of these fallen people. The Pharisees had traded a loving relationship with their heavenly Father for the work they did for the Father. Like the older son, they saw themselves as slaves to God’s law rather than as the Father’s beloved children.

The Heart of the Sons’ Sin

Though choosing separate paths, both sons share one common sin against the father: they both abandoned their relationship with him. They forgot that they were also his children.

The younger son flouted tradition and responsibility - neglecting his father’s welfare.

The older son clung to tradition and responsibility - neglecting his father’s joy and delight.

The younger son wasted away his father’s riches.

The older son clung to his father’s riches and felt threatened when they might be taken away.

The younger son became unclean by wallowing with pigs and Gentiles.

The older son became unrighteous by not honoring his father with all his heart, soul, and mind.

Both sons sinned against their father. Both abandoned their relationships with him and forgot they were his children.

God’s Welcoming Embrace

When we look at the father, you might notice that this story really has two prodigals: the younger son and … the father. His response to their abandonment … was lavish grace.

Let me provide some examples:

The father allows his sons to divide his estate, an almost unthinkable act. Roger Van Harn notes that, in doing this, the father was “setting aside his rights, giving up his freedom, and risking his future” (Van Harn, 408). He entrusted his life and livelihood to his sons. What would have happened if both sons decided to sell off his property? What if both sons had abandoned him? He would have become a beggar and died in poverty.

This is lavish trust!

In verse 20, we see that he ran to his son. According to many scholars, no respectable Jewish man would ever be seen running (Wright, 129). Knowing that his younger son faced dishonor upon his return, the father incurred his own dishonor to cover his own son’s shame. The father abandoned himself to the moment, picked up his robes, and ran!

This is lavish love!

In verse 23, the father throws a party for the whole village. In doing so, he declares that everyone should ignore his son’s shame and dishonor. In his eyes, his son is restored to his rightful place as an honored child, and nobody can tell him otherwise.

This is lavish joy!

In verse 28, we see the father coming out to the older son when he refuses to enter the party. The father had a place set for both sons, and people would have noticed the older son’s absence, dishonoring the father. The father humbles himself and reaches out to his older son, begging him to join in the feast. Like the younger son, the father takes on the dishonor of his elder son upon himself.

This is lavish sacrifice!

You have probably realized by now that the father in this story is God, our heavenly Father.

God has lavished the goodness of heavens and the earth upon us. He grants us all we need to survive and thrive. He bound himself to the whims of humanity as he made a covenant with ancient Israel to become his chosen people. Through the person of Jesus Christ, he expanded that covenant to all people, and sealed it in his blood on the Cross.

He has cleared the path through his own sacrifice to return to him. He did not have to do any of this. And yet, he did.

This is the lavish grace of God!

Application

This morning, I am asking some hard questions, but there is hope for sinners like us. Christ’s death on the Cross opened the path for our return to the Father, if only we will accept his gift. Responding to God’s lavish grace takes only two steps.

Our own dishonor

First, we must recognize our own sins. I must ask myself, who am I really?

Am I the younger son who recklessly takes my Father’s gift and wastes it on my own wants and desires? Do I neglect to think of others and worry only about myself? Do I buy new cars, houses, clothes, and other trappings of wealth without acknowledging the one who gave that wealth to me in the first place? Do I run away from the loving embrace of my Father for the idols and cares of the world?

Am I the older son, so focused on doing the right thing that I neglect to spend time with my Father? Am I trapped in the cycle of following the rules, honoring their word but not their spirit? Do I busy myself with putting on the appearance of faith without relying upon the one I profess to follow? Am I, like the Pharisees, a “whitewashed [tomb]” who “outwardly appear[s] righteous to others, but within … [is] full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt 23:27-28)?

Run into His arms

Once we have come to terms with our sins, all that remains is to repent. It’s as simple as turning around, walking away from our sin, and taking a single step into the waiting arms of the Father who loves us so much. When we do this:

The Father will run to meet us where we are.

He will fall upon our necks, kiss us, and embrace us despite our filth and messiness.

He will take our dishonor and uncleanness upon himself.

He will shout to the heavens above and the earth below, “This is my beloved child!,” regardless of what others may think of us.

He will take your face gently into his hands, look into your eyes, and say, “For this my [child] was dead, and is alive again; [they were] lost, and [are] found” (Lk 15:24). “Everyone come! We … must … celebrate!”

Conclusion

(SERIES SLIDE)

If you have walked away from the Father, he is waiting for you. Every day, he anticipates your return — not with judgment but to welcome you into the feast, to clothe you in royal garments worthy of the child of a king, and bring you back into his family.

This morning, consider which path you are walking. Are you walking toward the Father or away from Him? Are you walking toward the light of his love or away from it? Will you, this morning, repent and reclaim your place as a son or daughter of God and rest in Him?

Prayer

Please pray with me.

Most gracious and loving, Father,

we confess that we have not loved you with all our heart, and soul, and mind.

We have wasted the bountiful gifts you have given us for our own pleasure.

We have focused on our work rather than spending time with you.

Forgive us by your mercy as we turn back to you.

Run to us and embrace us in your arms.

Help us know and love you forever more.

In Jesus’ precious name, who with you and the Holy Spirit, reigns. Amen.

References

Van Harn, Roger E. “Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year C,” in The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday’s Texts, Volume Three, ed. Roger E. Van Harn. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.

Wright, N.T. Jesus and the Victory of God, Christian Origins and the Question of God. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1996.