God's Forgiveness: The Prodigal Father

Today the reading comes from Luke chapter 15.

All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling saying this man welcomes Sinners and eats with them. Jesus told them this parable. Suppose someone among you had 100 sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn't he leave the other 99 in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? And when you find that he is thrilled and places it on his shoulder. When he arrives homie calls together his friend and the neighbors thing to them celebrate with me because I have found my lost sheep. In the same way. I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and our lives. Or what woman if she owns 10 silver coins and loses one of them won't light a lamp and sweep the house searching her home carefully until she finds it. When she find it she calls together her friends and neighbors saying celebrate with me because I found my lost coin. In the same way. I tell you Joy breaks out in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life. Jesus said certain man have two sons. The younger son said to the his father father. Give me my share of the inheritance. Then the father divided his estate between them. Soon afterwards the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to land far away there. He wasted his wealth through extravagant living. When you get used up his resources a severe food shortage in rows in that country and he began to be in need. He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his field to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from what the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said how many of my father's Hired Hand have more than enough food, but I'm starving to death. I will get up and go to my father and say to him father. I have sinned against heaven and against you I no longer deserve to be called your son take me on as one of your Hired Hand. So he got up and he went to his father. While he was still a long way off his father saw him. It was moved with compassion. His father ran to him hugged him and kissed him. Then the sunset father I have sinned against heaven and against you I no longer deserve to be called your son. But the father said to his servant quickly bring up the best robe and put it on him put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. That's the fatted calf and Slaughter it we must celebrate with feasting. Because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and is found. And then began to celebrate.

Now he's older son within the field coming in from the field. He approached the house and heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. The server replied your brother has arrived and your father has slaughtered the fatted calf because he received his son back safe and sound.

Then the older son was Furious and didn't want to enter end. But his father came out and begged him. He answered his father. Look I've through view all these years and I never disobeyed your instruction. Get you never given me as much as a young goat so I can celebrate with my friend. The wind this son of yours returned after gobbling up your estate on prostitutes. You slaughtered the fatted calf for him.

Then a father said Son 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 he was lost and is found.

here in 3D

as some of you might have heard me say before I was not originally raised in the church. I was raised. Non, religiously I take spiritually but not really just leave. How my family had been Kevin Catholic for many generations, but Roman Catholics, but I never really was part of that tradition. I remember when I was in Middle School. Iris one day after school. They were giving up Bible. There was a a group and they have these little bit little tiny bibles. If you're in the US maybe you're familiar with them. They're there may be the size of a deck of playing cards. and that a box of the money was giving them out to people and I took one this cuz I was walking by and I got myself and didn't think much much of it King James Version. And then years later when I was in in high school, I never read that. I never read that one at a time with shelf you later when I was in high school. I went on a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch House in the Boy Scouts. And we do that two-week backpacking trip through Philmont. And when I was there I took with me I was given I should say a Bible. Stick with me. Probably can game for so I don't I don't remember. And I decided I was going to read it while I was gone. And if I could read the Bible in 2 weeks while also trying to backpacking the other thinks it's the way I took it with me. And I remember I read it. I read a little bit every night. and you know, I asked one of the one of the leaders on the on the trip was a Methodist Minister and I asked him, you know. How should I do that for should I start whenever and he said just started the beginning a man read through it. So I started Genesis and I started to read through it. and I think I made it through about the mid part of numbers.

Before we do the best that you know, that's two and a half books and write it before I finally give up. Put it down and never read it again. That coffee.

And this is still questioning the people come to me and others with what you how do I start? I'm new to Christianity. I was maybe I was raised in a culture where Christianity is kind of the norm until I have some some general idea but Christianity, maybe I was raised in the church, but never took the time to actually read the Bible and believe it just was just just took what I was told at face value. For whatever reason this is my first time reading the Bible. Maybe I'm I'm a teenager. Maybe I'm young person and I'm reading the Bible for the first time. Where should I start? What version should I use? What should I read? Where order? Is there a reading plan you suggest All of these things certainly depending on your situation they are different. I have different suggestions for this but I think that if this is what I told your brand new To Christianity in your in your searching your questioning and you really want to understand the core of the Gospel message gospel just means the good news the score of the good news that Christianity brings. Going to take the best way into that core is to read the Gospel of Luke, which is really my favorite of the four gospels and the book of Acts because the Gospel of Luke in the book of Acts were written by the same author and they were really meant to be a pair. They were meant to go together. The Gospel of Luke of course is what we've been working our a working through in our lectionary readings and it's the story of Jesus's life through his crucifixion and resurrection and his descendants in into heaven and then the book of Acts picked up from there and tell the story of of the the church and the early the early church and and the light of the Apostles and such The other book of the active back of the apostle. I think those two books are really the core. But if you're going to add to that, I would actually stay the next thing maybe to add would be the Epistle of James. Which is as far as you can tell one of the oldest books if it's not the oldest book in the New Testament and then then I would say probably Paul's letter to the Romans be a good I got in the fall with that. But I mean, that's probably a good set and then once you've read that maybe go back and read Genesis and exodus Witcher, of course important backstory to a lot of things but

One of the reasons why I like Lou the one the reason why I suggested like this is that it really gets Luke really gets to the heart of of the story and you don't really know. Who wrote the Book of Luke like we we don't we know it hard to know for sure. But but tradition says that it was Luke who was a physician and a companion of Paul and do what we're really getting. Is Paul's version of The Gospel reading in the gospel as it was transmitted through Paul to Luke? And the thing that Paul is really focused on and why are you going to suggest Roman? It's a good example after that it in plug. It's a lot of bad rap and even buy me maybe even up until maybe two years ago. I really gave Paul a hard time. I really felt like like Paul is was a not not the best represent representative of Christianity and largely because I misunderstood what Paul was trying to say in a lot of places. I stand corrected my understanding in a lot of ways, but Paul was really focused on equality of the early Church in a way that that many of the other Apostles baby born on it has focused on many of the other apostles were focused on reaching out to the Jewish Community reaching out to the to the

The actively and religiously Jewish community and bringing them in to the message of Jesus and then to the Jesus movement if you will. the Paul being both a Jew by birth of your mom and also a Roman citizen and and well-educated and in Greek and Latin was really interested in Bringing in the Gentiles that the non-jewish people the Romans and the and the people of the Greek world and making them equal Partners in this Jesus movement.

And we can see for the way that Luke gospels written that there's an emphasis on this even if it says both on talking to the the the Jewish Christians that those Christians part of those members of the of the Jesus movement. If you will who were raised Jewish and also both the same time speaking to the Gentiles and telling both sides that the other is just as important to God. and I think that That they're very very very few parables in in the Gospel of Luke that I really point to you as being core to the Christian message to do to the Christian Gospel the good news of Christ. And this reading from a we have today is if one of them I think the Good Samaritan reading that we had a few weeks ago is it is absolutely one of them and I think this is absolutely one of them. and so I think it's worth as a really paying attention to this reading and it really trying to understand that. I I highly suggest that you you read over it again outside of the service. I suggest reading it multiple translations because of course, you know, every English translation of the Bible is wrong in some way translation in it because of its very nature introduces biases and and I'm cultural understanding that we're not in the original text. And so it's always good to read multiple translations in to read especially if you're if you're really interested in the in digging in to read the translators notes. I'm a real. I really good Bible for that the week we use it the common English Bible because it is how to use a 7th grade reading level for English and I want to be as as open and and I want to make the bar is low it possible for non-native speakers to be able to keep up with the readings and I think they've done a good job and it was good ecumenically produced through with people from bunch of different traditions. And I just Protestant tradition and it's very ecumenical. I think it's a good translation. But if you want a more technical translation of the Bible, the member the good ones are they in are going to be course, but also the lexham English Bible, which is the Bible translation produced by Logos Bible software and The Net Bible the new English translation Net Bible. Both of these have really excellent translation notes and their they're both very direct translations and end. If you if you really want to dig into the word choice in the in the meaning of things, those are both good options for you start as a little bit of side for my main point, but I wanted to bring that up. So let's go back and look at this text if the text is really important.

So we start with Jesus.

in the end his Outreach in his ministry to the what are what are called in the text the tax collectors in the fit in the Sinners, but act like there are mentioned because they were working for the Roman government and so they're often seen as traitors or or Kind of unscrupulous people in at the time many of them.

Collected more taxes than they were supposed to and kept the extra for themselves. They're just kind of seen the unscrupulous people and Center so that they don't specify what kind of Sinners people people that have that you know that nice law-abiding folks. Maybe wouldn't hang out with on a regular basis. Vegeta sings out with them and she just has has meals with them break bread and has meals at them invite them to table. And the Pharisees and the legal experts are also translated to the scribes. We're grumbling saying this man welcomes Sinners and eat with them. This is a very unusual thing of the day and it was seeing as it's kind of like, you know, when your when your teenage kid makes friends with somebody who seems like trouble in the end, you know, bring them over for dinner and you're like, I don't know about this. I don't know about this person makes they seem like trouble, you know, she's like a bad apple birds of a feather flock together this kind of thing same thing kind of idea.

And it's important. Remember the Pharisees were very interested in with personal piety and and Holiness in the legal experts were interested in and you know following the letter of the law.

And then responds to this and when I told at this exact time this happens when I keeping any kind of like historical set up a mess of this is more of like a general response either generally speaking. The Pharisees was actually probably about this and this is Jesus's response. He he comes back and tells them three parables. I'm all having to do with something that was lost and then found again. In the first one. He says suppose someone among you had a hundred sheep and lost one of them and he's important to do this this translation is very well here and sit someone that but I do want to point out that the debt Lucas trying to be very inclusive haven't actually in the text of the first pair of you know, what the someone among you is kind of an implied to be male and in the second pair bullets is it there's a woman who Lucas trying to be trying to be inclusive in this time. But some of the money you had a hundred sheep and lost one of them wouldn't he leave the other 99 to the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it and when he find that he's thrilled to place is on his shoulders and he rides homie call together as friends and neighbors saying to them celebrate with me because I found my lost sheep. So that there's a couple of things in this in this little bit of story. We can deconstruct that are kind of important. First of all a hundred sheep is a large block. So this is not for Shepherd. This is a fairly well-off Shepherd probably and in the original text the leading in the in the pasture is a little misleading what when I think a pasture I think I love you know, the pastor Landon in in rural Texas or in rural England where the pastor is an enclosed space with a cheaper are relatively safe, but that's not what this means that another translation of this is the Wilderness. So the Sheep are out like the shepherd without hurting the Sheep around in the wilderness were there they could be attacked and the reason the Sheppard keep them together if they keep them for me attacked by wolves are other other, you know, nefarious creatures, so To leave the other 99 and go looking for just one when he had 99 haven't been on the hill large block. It actually know we we kind of assume maybe if we've heard this story before that that that the immediate answer he when he says, you know

You know who among you wouldn't do this? The answer would be off course he would but really the answer would be no like white. Why would I do that? I wouldn't leave my 99 sheep, you know in the wilderness and go looking for the one that wanted off. I would I would just consider that one lost and if it happened to come back than great, and if not then no big deal. And this way Jesus pointing a spotlight on the Pharisees in the legal experts and sinners that that Jesus's is. Meeting with write the Pharisees illegal act for Stacy's are these people are our lost? You know, I need to focus on the 99% I need to focus on the ones that I can but I can save these people are are beyond my Saving right? And Jesus said that even these people, you know, when these people come in and ask if he says, you know in the same way I tell you there'll be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both their heart and their life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change our hearts another thing, you know, even though it seemed that the person is beyond helping this person is it off is lost it and it's you know, just Why by Philly to bother bringing that person back in to the family of God Don't bring much rejoicing enjoy in heaven. More so than the 99 who who don't need to be saved because they've already heard the message. They've already changed our hearts.

Then you can tell you what woman if she owns 10 silver coins and loses one of them won't light a lamp and sweep the house searching her home carefully until she finds it when she finds that she calls together her friend the neighbor sing celebrate with me because I found my lost coin. forget we have to know something leave the DuQuoin here mentioned is a drachma which is a Greek coin and What what about a baby with one day's wage? So this is the amount of money that you would make in a day of a solid work and if she's got 10 of them then she probably been saving up for a while though. Unlike the story of the sheep losing one of these is actually kind of a big deal. This is a much is a much more serious loss. You might say the Sheep.

And so she calm of the house until she finds it and and when she finds that she's so excited. She finds its it that she she throws a party and maybe spend the drachma spend the coin of the party. Who knows but

Still you know, he says the same way I tell you Joy breaks out in the presence of God angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life now, it's like a story where the each thing is a little bit more important with more obvious to The Listener that they're more important and still even won a tennis is important.

Then Jesus tells what is probably the most well-known of these three Parable Parable is often called the parable of the Prodigal Son.

You just said a certain man had two sons. The younger son said to his father father. Give me my share of the inheritance. Then the father divide the state between them look at this first. So a man has two sons and older son in the younger son and a younger son tells the father give you my share of The Inheritance. And normally you would get your hair done for when your father died and the older son give two shares. So you think of this is a dividing the the land in the state and the money and everything the father had three equal parts and then giving the younger one his part of the inheritance and by doing this basically the sun is saying I'm no longer your son. I'm no longer going to have any any going to ask you for anything again. I would take my money. I'm going to leave and and we're done we're through. I don't want to be your friend anymore. That's that's what he saying. This is a much the the seriousness of this act is maybe perhaps lost on us a little bit and in our Modern Life. very serious things and indeed the

you know that this is not this is not something people or things are are suggested to do like like they're, you know, people were told not to do the car thing. Don't don't split up your statement before United. You don't give your children are a Heritage if they asked if you could avoid it, right?

Anyway, so he does this right gives he gives the inheritance to sign this in the sun leave the younger son leave and he travels to a Faraway land and he he wastes all the money through extravagant living and there's a couple of different translations of the but I need basically he parties he goes out a party if you had a good time by fancy thing you do is spend the money on on the week. We can assume all kinds of things that the text doesn't say specifically but you know, we can assume that he's be partying and having a good time and living it up if taking the money if you've gotten from his father, you know, he's at he's he's got trust fund and he's he's spending a trust fund on living instead of putting away and saving it for later we spend it and then there's Used up all of his money in and there's a severe food shortage in the country that he's gone too. And so he begins to be in need starting to go hungry is out of money can't buy food. So he he get the job working for one of the one of the citizens of the country them.

And that person sending out to work in the fields feeding pigs. This is important because pigs were considered ritually unclean in in Jewish religion and law and so for him to be a Jew and to be feeding the Pig this is a very low jobs is a very lowly, you know job. He's really fallen and he's so hungry that he just wishes he could eat the food. They're feeding to the pigs. So I did hear them with a pig. There are lonely in the food. They're giving the pigs in Osceola. I'm in somebody and finally come to your senses and he's like this is ridiculous. You know, my my father had all these servants and they were all from my father treated them so much better than the person I work for is treating me. He says three decides he can go back to his father and he's going to say to him father. I have sinned against heaven and against you I no longer deserve to be called your son take me on and one of your Hired Hand who's not going to go back and ask be made, you know a sunny days. I can ask for additional inheritance. He's not going to ask for a handout from his father. If you got to go back to his father and say you look please give me a job to work for you cuz I've done a thing, but it doesn't work for you. So he goes back to his father. But while he was still a long way off in the field his father Stephen and his father is so moved with compassion by the fact that his son returned to him. He doesn't care buddy that stuff. He doesn't care about the fact that the son squandered the money. He doesn't care that the facts of the son asked for the inheritance in the first place, which was a huge deal in the time. He doesn't care about any of that. You runs out to him. He goes out to the Sun. Andy hug this time and he kisses them. And the Sun starts to apologize father. I have sinned against you and against heaven and I no longer deserve to be called your son. But the father doesn't even pay attention that he just turns around his Services as quickly quickly bring up the bathroom and put it on him put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. This is basically restoring him in his previous stats of the younger son. And then he says even more that fetch the fatted cabins and Catherine slutter it we must celebrate with feasting free throws a huge party since because the son of mine was dead and it come back to life. He was lost and now he's found and they all begin to celebrate it is all fine and dandy but there's another son is an older son who all this time has been doing exactly what his father asked of him. He's been working even getting ready to take over the family land of business and inheritance, you know, he's been taking care of things while the younger son is gone.

And now he coming back out of the field reason working and here is Dancing In The End music and if we ask what the third week and what's going on in the server replied with your brother has arrived and your father has thrown in this party. And the older son is furious because the older son feels like the younger brother doesn't deserve this. The younger brother has been a horrible thing. The underwear there has has you know thrown away his his relationship to the family Squad all his money and now he's come back and instead of being instead of being punished instead of being put in his place. The father has just throwing a huge party for him a bigger party than the father has ever thrown for the older brother instead of older brother is angry Furious.

and she doesn't even want to go into the party until the the father comes out and begged him to come into the party again here. The father is is lowering his own status. Are you begging the sun to come in? This is a very kind of humiliating thing for the father. Come down. He begs and Sunday come in and the older brother's like look I serve you all these years. I've never disobeyed you I've done everything you asked and yet you've never even given me a go yet alone a whole calf to throw a party with my friends. But when this son of yours and it isn't they would my brother returns. He said when this son of yours returned after gobbling up your estate on prostitutes. You slaughtered the fat in the calf cramp. He's really pissed you really pissed that his brother is getting this preferential treatment what he sees and preferential treatment after doing such horrible things. Then the father says send you were always with me and everything I have is yours. This is very literally true, right because he already given the younger brother in the Estates of everything left belong to the older brother.

We had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours in here now, he turns it around this son of yours. Now. He says his brother if you're his brother of yours was dead and is alive with lost and it's found. It's such a great Parable is that it? It tells us so much about the nature of God and the nature of God's forgiveness. God doesn't care what we've done. God doesn't care.

What mistakes we've made or how we've treated God in the past when we really turn around when we repent note repent means literally to turn around to face the other way and we turn around and we Face God and we are honest completely honest with ourselves and with God about what we've done but how we feel. When we turn and embrace God and God will Embrace us. God will come like the loving father. and embrace us the why might my sermon title today is the prodigal father that this this parable of often called The Prodigal Son and I heard this name the prodigal son. I had no idea what it meant. I only knew that it applied to this Parable. So I actually look it up a while back. And and the first time I got to give a sermon on this topic and prodigal means

somebody who is wasteful who who is you know of refers to the fact that the sun went and spent all the money wastefully and didn't save any of it.

And so why you know why? Play The Prodigal father.

Another way to think about prodigal is is lavish. recklessly wasteful to the point here is that we often see the Sun as as we see this this story has been told so much that we we forgotten how expensive it would be to the people who are hearing it in the in Jesus's day. Don't forget. This is the response to the the Pharisees and the end legal experts who were upset that Jesus was having these tax collectors and sinners over for dinner. It was it was spending time with them. And with was you invited them into his home and everything. These are all mental people you didn't you didn't hang out with these people and this is Jesus's response. This story would have been various Senses at the time. And it because the Pharisees and and the legal experts would have seen themselves in the place of the older son. Probably they would have thought of themselves that we are the people that have that have been here that has been following the law that have been doing we've been told why should these Sinners just like the younger son? Why should they be welcomed back by the father? They need to be putting their plate. They need to be punished. They need to have Justice brought down on them.

and Certainly, this is this is also but we often think as as members of the church. I think when we hear the this Parable we put ourselves in the shoes of the older brother if we were raised in the church, especially if we're pastoring a church at the perhaps, we we might put ourselves in the shoes of the older brother and say look we have done everything we have been here. We have followed. We have we have given up things in our life so that we can do what God has asked us to do we have suffered for the weekend be the people that God wants us to be How dare God just accept the finished back without any judgment without any?

Form of of punishment for them. You're the father doesn't say. Okay, then I'll take you back. But because of what you've done you're going to have to pay me back the money that I gave you or I'll take you back but you're going to have 30 lashes. Because you disobeyed me, you know, which look at this point that this would probably have been happy with anything like that. He was so distraught so so downtrodden that he just wanted a job but didn't want to be a thunder nemore and you just wanted to come back and get you I hide and get a job beat just be taken care of by the father. and I think that mini with my purse on the shoes of the older brother and and certainly acting the Pharisees in the end of time in the legal efforts did. but

the parable is about two sons. And the father and it's a little hard. For us to think about that. We really need to think about being in both positions. Because everybody everybody is to use kind of common common language. Everybody has a center everybody does things that are against what would God asks of us everybody even the most devout and faithful Christians Make mistakes, they they stumble that do things wrong. It's just human nature. Then there's no way around. This is why this idea of original sin has been so popular in the church. I'm not a believer in original sin. But I think that it is tell the tell the good method to get message in a good story in a way because it talk about the fact that we are all in our nature flawed a little bit and there's nothing wrong with that that that that that's just the way we are if it were going to make mistakes and so that the trying to not make mistakes is futile. What's important is it to recognize when you made mistakes in her pen for them, right? And so really the Pharisees? And I'm the legal expert should have thought of themselves as the younger brother. But of course they didn't they would have thought of themselves as the older brother and they would have been really angry at the idea that the Defenders the tax collectors who they saw that the younger brother in the story would be welcomed back. And when did God's grace with without having to do anything but having to pay anything and in fact that God would throw a party for them be so excited that they that they think that they repented and come back.

An incident in the story was offencive in Jesus's day. And it really ought to be kind of incentive. If the offense of nature of Grace if the offensive nature of of God's forgiveness the God forgive everybody. This is kind of a poor idea of Christian universalism. And this is this Parable is one of the reasons why we really feel that Chris universalism had a very strong bases in the in the biblical story of the building Meredith.

Hawaii The Prodigal father because the father is all so lavish. because the father is also recklessly wasteful what I mean by that is that when the younger son asks for his inheritance the father give it to him even though that's going to make the father's life much more difficult. And even though the father knows I probably a pretty good idea that the younger son is going to to waste that inheritance. You're part of the inheritance probably land. It's in the unrest and probably sold off part of the the Family Farm part of the family fields.

To you for money that he can leave and go someplace else and get away. so that way the The father is reckless. But also when the when the son return the father has Reckless lavish.

Reckless lavish party that you lavishes give give him a give him a the younger son a new cloak is in a ring sandals things that Slaughter the fat in the calf that have been saved for some special occasion, right? There was a party. I mean, this is also kind of recklessly wasteful. This is also prodigal. The focus of the story is not really on either of the sun it. Mean. It's important for us to understand ourselves in the being in the place of the Sun that really have both the Sun not just the one of the other but the focus is really on the Father. The focus is on the loving.

Redeeming nature of the father that the father will welcomes the sun's back no matter what until in the story. We need to understand that God is the father here. The God is very much our parent who loves us unconditionally no matter what we do. Even we messed up. He still loves us unconditionally. I love unconditionally as any loving parent would

in a way that is so much more perfect than any parent and human parent could possibly be because of our own flawed nature. And so when we turn around when we repent when we come back to God, we are welcomed with open arms and with rejoicing and partying by God and by all the all of the eye doesn't have an I guess and it's important to note that you know, there's no there's no time limit on this. You know that the father waited patiently for a long time. And for the fun to come back.

So we got to wait for us as well.

This Parable is really important. It's really important to my faith as a Christian. I think it's really important to the story. A Christian return to that helping us understand the offences and revolutionary nature of the Gospel of the story of God's grace. I hope that you will take some time and reflect on it reflect on the other stories and the reading today and really try to understand and try to see yourself in these stories not just as this that the prodigal son not just as the older son, but it's both.

I'm in.