Story-time With Jesus (March 30, 2025) Luke 15.1-3, 11b-32

When my son Isaiah was 3-4 years old you would find us every Friday at 10 am, unless something came up that would not allow, in the children’s section of Barnes and Noble. He was seated in on one of the benches or in a chair that formed a semicircle around a stage area. An employee came back and read at least one story, maybe more, for what was known as “Storytime”. There were stories that were fun to listen to, stories that had morals, stories that were old favorites. The employees gave a good reading, often asking what the children believe will happen and engaging them in the story. Each week the children were, usually, quiet and drawn into the story/stories and many times, so were the adults.

It is interesting that when Bible knowledge is learned, most people would not be able to tell someone the doctrines of the faith that are in books. They would not be able to tell what happened in the books of the Law, in many of the prophets, or in the letters of Paul or the latter New Testament. But if you were to ask, “Who killed the giant with a sling?” or “What is the Good person who stopped by the road that Jesus was talking about called?” many would be able to give at least a bare bone outline of the story or even just tell you the names. Why is that? Because like every Friday at Barnes and Noble, people like a good story. We like to hear the lives and tales that are in our favorite stories. And a good story will many times tell more doctrine than several learned treatises will.   

Jesus was a master storyteller. He had crowds hanging on his words. In fact, if you look at the stories that Jesus told, he often shocked or befuddled those listening to him because his stories often threw in a “twist” of proportions that we only associate with movies such as The Sixth Sense, Planet of the Apes, The Empire Strikes Back, Psycho, Se7ven, Fight Club, and many, many more (if you don’t know what happens in any of these movies, well, now you have a “to view” list). Usually, the disciples were even left asking “Um…. teacher? That story you just told, uh, um, what was that all about? Could you give us a clue?” Other times, though, the meaning was crystal clear and those to whom Jesus told a story knew it.

Today I read probably one of, if not the, most famous of Jesus’ stories, the one most call The Prodigal Son. It follows the Pharisees muttering about Jesus associating with tax collectors and various sinners, his talking to them, his listening and probably (horrors!!) his sharing a meal with them. And so, Jesus proceeds to tell them two stories of outrageous math: A shepherd leaves 99 out of 100 sheep to find the one that is lost, and a woman neglects all her household duties to find one single coin when she had 9 others. Both stories end with what was lost being found and a call for celebration for just that, what was lost, was now found. Then Jesus begins by saying, “There was a man who had two sons…”[1] I believe this story has been incorrectly named through the years. It has been named, “The Two Lost Sons”, “The Lost Elder Brother” and others. The name “The Father with Two Lost Sons” I believe comes closer to the fullest impact. If I were to name this story it would be, “The Outrageous, Extravagant Love of a Father for Two Ungrateful, Whiny Sons”. But that’s just me. In naming the story thus, I believe you can see that I want to focus upon the father and not the sons as the father is the true center of the story. I am going to try to retell the story, so listen closely and you just might hear something new.

It begins, as we know, with the younger son’s demand. He basically tells his father (we will call him Mr. Jones, because everyone was trying to keep up with him) that he wishes him dead and that he wants his inheritance NOW!! Mr. Jones, taking offence to this demand, smacks the son around a few times, berates him on his insolence and ingratitude for how good he has it, tells the kitchen to give him only bread and water for food for the next few days and sends him out to work “his share of the property”. Oh, wait. That’s what those listening would have expected. Probably that is what many listening today would expect.

Instead, Mr. Jones calls his lawyer and financial advisor, figures out the part of the land that this one son would get, draws up a deed in his name, registers it at the county clerk’s office, and presents it to him with no strings attached. While he is doing this, he goes ahead and figures out the inheritance of the older son as well, thereby giving up, literally, his livelihood or his life to the two sons. Imagine the scandal this would have caused in a small village where they were likely to have lived. Tongues immediately began wagging. And then things got really interesting. Even though he had given the deeds of the property to the sons, Mr. Jones still held control until his death. But the younger one goes and sells his share and converts it to cash. It was probably a quick, short sale with a price very little of what the land was worth. Then this ingrate heads out of town to the “far off country”, Gentile lands. Now the gossip is going full force. “Did you hear what old man Jones did? ‘Yeah, gave the young boy his lot and then he went and sold it.’ ‘Who would buy someone else’s property like that?’ ‘Well, I know that Josiah Smith’s family has had their eye on it for about four generations now but couldn’t make a move because it was Jones’ land from time beyond thinking.’ ‘Speaking of thinking, what was old Jones thinking when he did this? I’ll tell you, no son of mine would EVER do something like that to me, no sir.’ ‘Hey, hey!! Here he comes! Shhhhh!!” The group of elders nods to Mr. Jones as he takes his seat at the gates (or entrance to) of the village to discuss with the other elders the business of the day. But he really is only half listening. Each day he can be found looking every so often at the road out of town, the road where his younger son walked away without nary a glance back.

He has not heard a word from his son since he left. Oh, there have been rumors: How his son was on a spending spree, how he was eating at lavish restaurants, staying in fine hotels, buying rare, signed, first edition books, living the high life. But there have been more troubling rumors lately: a famine, money gone, maybe even having to hire himself out to (Lord have mercy) feed pigs!! And each day, Mr. Jones, sits at the gate and keeps looking down the road.

Then one day, during a discussion about where to put the new Torah stand that had been donated by the Smith’s in the synagogue, Mr. Jones catches a glimpse of some dust coming from the road. He turns and stares hard into the distance. Could it be him? Is that his silhouette? Yes, he recognizes the walk. The figure in the distance stops and wavers for a minute, like he is contemplating what to do, that he might turn around, but then continues. And while all the elders of the town are watching him curiously and then in disbelief, Mr. Jones hikes up his robe above his knees and sprints down the road. As they watch in horrified fascination, this pillar of the community abandons all decorum and runs to the figure coming down the road. When he reaches the one walking toward them, he throws himself around the figure and is clearly weeping. Now that they are closer the figure coming toward the village is clearly the Jones younger boy; dirty, half starved, barefoot, what a sight. He is trying to say something, but Mr. Jones cuts him off. And to the astonishment of the elders (and the other villagers who heard something was happening and have come to gawk), Mr. Jones calls to his servants: “Sam! Aaron!! Jim! Go and get the best suit from the house!! Not the one from J. C. Penny or even Belk, but the one I had hand tailored in Jerusalem! And a ring! And the Florsheim shoes, the brand-new ones! For my son, my boy, has returned! He was lost and is now found!” As they are running to do their master’s bidding, Mr. Jones turns to the shocked elders and says: “Because of this great day, you all are invited to my house for a big shindig! We’re going to kill the calf I’ve been getting nice and fat and we’re going to have a barbeque! Come on, let’s celebrate!”

Now the elders are flummoxed. They had expected Mr. Jones to berate the son and make him show just how contrite he was. They wanted to see the repentance this boy felt. Instead, they see him welcomed back, they see his father call him, the one who wished him dead not that long ago, his son, they saw him be dressed in the best and now there is going to be a party. The discussion might have been something like this: “Well, that was unexpected.” “No kidding. I would have made him grovel, had him walk through the village just to show what becomes of wastrels like that.” “So, should we go to the party?” “Are kidding? That’s the finest calf around. No way I’m missing that, even if I think Jones is a fool” “Whew. Then I’ll see you all there.” And so, the party begins with good food, a cover band playing tunes to dance to and the whole village turning out to see this spectacle.

Except one. The elder son was in the fields, and no one alerted him to what was happening. He found out because the noise of the party alerted him of something as he was coming in from working and a servant boy told him all that was going on. He is, as can be expected, put out by all this hubbub. And so, he stands across the street from the house, able to look in the open door at the party going on in the garden, pouting, glowering and stroking his beard.

Mr. Jones looks out and sees the elder son there. Instead of sending a servant to go and tell this son to get in here now as he could have done, he breaks etiquette again by neglecting his guests and going out to his son and asking why he is not inside. The son looks at his father with contempt and with villagers surrounding them, explodes. “Listen here old man!” he says, without giving the honor due to his father. “I have been working my tail off trying to make sure I support you and the rest of the household, trying to hopefully save enough to buy back the land you so stupidly gave away, and you have never even given me a goat, a tiny, measly, little kid to have a party with my friends. And then this….this….son of yours who used up your money on prostitutes and other things, things I can’t even mention, comes back and you have a great big party. What gives and why do you favor him instead of me, the one who has worked and done what you asked? I get that he can come back, but where is the contrition, where is the repentance? Why give him the calf when he should be given bread and water? Again, what gives?!”

Mr. Jones looks at his elder son for a moment. He does not call the son ungrateful and shallow and that he had better not take that tone with him. He does not say that he is correct and that he will make sure there is a party for him as well. He looks at him and says, according to the REB translation: “My boy (a term of affection), you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. How could we fail to celebrate this happy day? Your brother here was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found.”[2] Mr. Jones is reminding his son that ALL that he has is now the elder son’s. That he has always been with him, and he loves him with all his heart. See, he even came out here to bring him into the party to, damaging his social standing even further, and not even caring.

And with that Jesus ends the story. Those standing listening may have asked, “Well, did he go in? And what happened after the party with the younger son?” Jesus, with a smile, might say, “What do you think? I’m going to go have something to eat with my friends here. Would you like to join us? And by the way, grace abounds.”

You know that those listening to the story knew who the younger and elder sons were as well as who the father was. And you can bet that the shock and anger worked through that group. But you know that we are still like this today. A good number of us are like the elder brother. We want to see some contrition, some good ole fashioned pleading, some kind of work to prove that those coming back are truly repentant. And when we realize that God welcomes those back with open arms, then we pout. And the Father comes to us and says, “I love you just as much as this one who has returned. Guess what? He or she does not get any more than you. In fact, all that I have is yours. So, come on in. There’s a party going on.”

We are also like the younger son. We want things on our own and when things get bad, well, what do we do? We turn to God without much thought of real repentance. Our backs are against the wall, we have nowhere else to go and we are hungry. We decide it is better to go back to God where there were good things. When we return however, we are overwhelmed by the mercy and grace of God and we realize what we have missed and become part of the family again.

Did you hear something different in this old story? Did you hear the grace that was offered to both sons by a loving father? It is amazing what one sees in a familiar story once you step back and take a look at it with different eyes. What do you think that Pharisees did? Did they follow Jesus to his meal or were they standing outside looking in? What did they do? What would you do? Amen.

[1] New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition. Friendship Press, 2021. Print.

[2]The Revised English Bible. Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; Madrid; Cape Town; Singapore; São Paulo; Delhi; Dubai; Tokyo: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print.