04 1st Sunday in Lent Luke 15. 11-32
Grace beyond rules. That’s the theme tonight. And if you think about it, God’s grace really is beyond all rules. I was teaching confirmation class a few weeks back, and we were talking about who God is and so I asked the confirmands to describe him. So I will ask you to do the same. How would you describe God?
Almighty, All powerful, All knowing, Present Everywhere. He is love, he is gracious and compassionate and merciful. They did pretty good with that too, but what about fair? Is God fair? He is certainly just. I mean he always does the right thing, but is he fair? The answer is no. God is not fair. Now maybe your saying to yourself, God is not fair? Surely he can’t be serious. Well of course I’m serious, and don’t call me Shirley. Rest assured that God is not fair. Not even close. And that is a good thing. In fact it is a very good thing. Because if God were fair we would all be in well, we would literally be in a heck of a lot of trouble.
What do we deserve? The prophet Isaiah said that even the good things we do are no better than filthy rags. So what do we deserve? Death, eternal separation from God, these are the things that we deserve. They are the result of sin. They are what wages of not living life the way that God wants us to live. This is what we deserve. But is that what we have?
No. Instead we have life and salvation. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus you and I have forgiveness of sins. This is huge all those things we have done, that we wish we hadn’t done. Wiped clean. All those things that we work so hard to keep others from finding out about. Forgiven. Those things that we have done that we carry around guilt and shame. Separated from us as far as the east is from west. Those things that others have done to us, that cause us so much pain and suffering. We have the strength to forgive them because we have been forgiven. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus we also have life. And not just life after death. But life before it. And we have life abundantly. Our God lives in relationship with us. He gives us to one another and he uses us to accomplish his work in this world. This is life. And though one day this life will come to an end we have the promise of a life that will be lived forever with our God. And not just as spirits hovering around somewhere, but in our bodies. We will live with him on a new earth and under a new heaven.
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus we have salvation. We are free from the power of sin, death and the devil. And we have the honor of proclaiming and sharing that salvation that is found only in Jesus. The fact that we have these things, when we certainly do not deserve them is anything but fair. This is God’s grace, and it is a grace that is beyond rules. It is the grace that was experience by the brothers in our parable, and illustrated so beautifully for us by Tim earlier this evening.
We see the younger brother. To call him disrespectful would be an understatement. In asking for his share of the inheritance he is telling his father that he means nothing to him. He would just assume that his father be dead. And he basically tells him that. Now that is bad enough on its own. If he would have taken the money and put it into an education or perhaps invested it in the stock market or something, that wouldn’t have been as bad. But to add insult to injury he went off and he squandered the money. He wasted it on things that his father certainly wouldn’t have approved of.
Well a famine hits the land and he finds himself a job. But it doesn’t pay very well, and he becomes very familiar with the pangs of hunger. So much so that he wishes to eat the food that he was feeding to the pigs. That was his job. Now imagine what it was for a Jewish kid to be feeding pigs. Pigs were the pinnacle of unclean animals. They were the worst of the worse. If there was an absolute bottom, he certainly hit it. No one would have blamed his father for having nothing to do with this kid. I mean this is one that not even Oprah, or Dr. Phil could do anything about.
And what does his father do? How does he react when this bum decides to go home? He runs to him. He literally welcomes him with open arms and throws for him quite a party. A celebration. There is no guilt, no blame. He is not given a time out or punished he is simply loved and his return is celebrated. It doesn’t make sense. It certainly isn’t fair. But it is the picture of Grace. And it is a grace beyond rules.
This is how our God responds to us. For we can too often be like the young son in this story. We know how God wants us to live, and the things that he calls us to do, but we don’t always do them. We can very easily ignore them and chose to do our own thing. We can squander our gifts and chase after false gods. But this is the good news. Because when we repent, when we change the way that we think and act. When we turn away from those things that separate us from God and one another, and turn to God. We are received with the same kind of reception. We are forgiven and loved. After all, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. It is a picture of Grace. It doesn’t make sense. It isn’t fair. But it is wonderful, it is true. It is a picture of Grace. And it is a grace beyond rules.
And then there is the older son. The one who would be labeled as good. He does not do the things that his younger brother did. He honors his father and serves him quietly. And yet, when he sees what happens between his father and brother. He gets upset. He gets mad and angry. After all this isn’t fair. Look what this punk did, and he get’s a party. I have never once been offered even a goat for my friends and me. And the father so gently explains to him what has taken place. And where we would not expect to find a need for grace. We once again find a need for it. It doesn’t make sense. It certainly isn’t fair. But it is the picture of Grace. And it is a grace beyond rules.
This is how our God responds to us. For we can too often be like the older son in this story. We try to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God. And we see other people, who do not. They are different, look, talk, act, think and maybe even believe a little differently than we do. They don’t play by the same rules, or do the same things. And have you heard the way the talk? They have to be like us before we can have anything to do with them. And with that sentiment, we have become just like the older son.
We claim that God’s grace is reserved for us alone. Or if not that extreme that is reserved for the select few who do all the right things. This is a few that creates and us verses them mentality. It makes me better than somebody else. It gives me a reason to not love and serve someone, who in fact is my neighbor. But in this too, God’s grace is given to us. For those times when we withhold his grace, instead of showing it, there is forgiveness. Jesus died and rose again so that people could have access to God through him. It is our job to introduce people to Jesus so that they can know God, not to keep the ones we deem bad from him. And for those times when we act that there we see God’s grace. It doesn’t make sense. It certainly isn’t fair. But it is the picture of Grace. And it is a grace beyond rules.
So wherever you find yourself in this story. Know that there is Grace. Live in that Grace. Live that Grace. And may God bless you know and always as you live in and live out a grace that is beyond rules. Amen.