Fourth Sunday in Lent (2025)

Scripture

Luke 15:1–3 NIV

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable:

Luke 15:11–32 NIV

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

Sermon

I will confess to you that when I read this text this week, I thought to myself, “again, already?” I mean this was a part of the text Rev. Nathan Covington shared with us during our revival on the first Sunday of March. Of course he covered the entire 15th chapter and today our verses locate us only in the parable of the lost sons. It’s often called the parable of the prodigal son because of the actions of the youngest but I think Nathan was right to call it the lost sons. In fact, the title of this message came to me yesterday morning after the bulletins were printed but the title of this morning’s message is “Where are you?” In other words, where do you find yourself in this story.ll

Let’s begin this morning agreeing. Who does the father represent? I’ve always thought the father was a picture of God or Jesus Christ. I don’t really believe that even the best of us would respond to these two sons in the same way this father has. He runs to the younger son and He goes to see about the older one. It seems to me that if you or I were in that position we would let the young son come begging and leave the older son out in the field pouting. So I don’t think any of us, even as good as we might be have any claim to be the Father.

But I want to suggest to you that there are a total of 4 places you and I can find ourselves in this story. Or maybe it would be better to say 4 positions. Two of these positions are represented by the oldest brother and two of these positions are represented by the younger brother.

Position 1 - Out in the field. When the younger brother returns after rebelling, we find out the older brother is out in the field. And the reason why he is out there is because he is doing the same thing he has alway done. He is doing the work of the father. He is doing what needs to be done. He is performing an act of service. But the reason he is doing it is because he has to. Now he may also want to, in that, when he works, he is improving the financial status of the farm. He is earning his pay. He is able to cover his bills. He is able to spend some and save some. But his work is all done as a means to an end. There is no joy in it. There is no happiness in it. He does what he does for what he can get out of it and because someone has to do it.

Some of us think when we do what God asks, we do it for what we can get out of it. Perhaps we even think by working we will somehow earn God’s approval. We might not like it but we are doing it because we have to. We are doing it because we believe we will get something out of it. Is this where you are?

Position 2 - Angry and pouting. When he comes near the house and hears the laughter and the party, he asks the servant what the cause of all this is. He finds out it’s a celebration for his younger brother. And in his mind this is all wrong. In his mind, his brother doesn’t deserve a party but rather a kick to the curb. He made his choice. He decided to leave. He doesn’t get to come back. He’s no longer welcome. There are no second or third or fourth chances for him.

Some of us are here. We see people who are out in the world. Lost, confused, on drugs, addicted to alcohol. They always seem to mess up, make mistakes, get in trouble. These are the names we see regularly in the news for trouble with the police. Or we know their past. We know what they were like when they were younger and we think to ourselves, “there is no way God has any grace for them. There is no way there is any place for them or anyone like them to find a place in the kingdom of God.” Let me ask this morning, is this where you are?

Now, let’s look at the two positions of the younger son. Position 1 - is what we will call the “son returned”. This may be our favorite part of the story, though not so much for what the son does, but for what the father does. The son decides it’s time to go home. He doesn’t know what will happen or how his father will respond but he is prepared to simply be a servant in his father’s household. He is not expecting any warm reception. He is certainly not expecting a party. He is expecting to work his way back into his father’s favor. But his expectations don’t match up to reality. Now, often that’s a bad thing. When our expectations and reality don’t line up. But not for the younger son. He experienced the grace of his father. His dad saw him coming and said “welcome home”. He returned him to a place of belonging.

Some of us are here. We did our own thing for a while but found that we were a mess. That we were not happy living the way we wanted and felt the Spirit inviting us to turn to God. And when we did we found peace and hope. We discovered that God loved us and accepted us. He forgave us. The song “When God Ran” by artist Benny Hester gives a great picture of this. It says, “The only time I ever saw Him run Was when He ran to me. Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest. Said “My son’s come home again”. Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes. With forgiveness in His voice. He said “Son, do you know I still love you?” Let me ask, is this where you are today?

And position 2 is what we might call the rebel. The older son isn’t wrong. The younger son made a choice. He had asked his father for his inheritance before his father died. He had chosen to break the ties of his relationship to his father and leave home. He left the family business. He had gone away and squandered everything. When he had money he found friends he didn’t know he had. People who wanted to be with him, people who said they liked him. He did what he wanted when he wanted and no one was there to tell him no. No one was there to order him around. But soon the money was gone, followed by the friends. And we find this son empty and alone. And I want us to really focus on this image of this son feeding the hogs watching them get their fill while his stomach rumbled with emptiness. Notice, it doesn’t say he ate the pods but that he wanted them, but no one gave him anything. He was totally and completely alone. He was broken.

And some of us might be here. Like the rebel son, we have decided to turn away from our Father. We have declared our independence and affirmed we want to do our own thing and go our own way and no one is going to stop us. We have shaken our fists at God and said, “Leave us alone”. And we may have found others who say they are our friends. People who say they like us. But when we find ourselves in the pens of pigs, when we find ourselves in the muck and the junk and the struggle and the pain, they are nowhere to be found. Yet, we stay here. That’s a part of what scares me about this story. Yes, Jesus concludes it by telling us the son goes home. But what if he hadn’t. What if he had decided to stay where he was. What if he had refused to return to his father and seek to become a servant? What if he thought that he was in the only spot he could ever be. I need to ask if there might be someone who is here. Someone who is in a place of hurt and pain. Someone who has turned their back on God and said, “I don’t need you”. But now, you look at life and see a mess. Please don’t stay there. Nothing you have said or done is so bad that God won’t accept you right here, right now because that is the kind of God He is. He’s the kind of God who runs to accept His children. He’s the kind of God who extends grace even to those others might imagine would never be good enough.