March 30 – Sermon
O God of compassion, You wait for every sinner’s return and spread a feast to welcome home the lost. Save us from the temptations that lead us away from You, and draw us back by Your constant love, that we may take our place in Your household and gladly share our inheritance with others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
This is really a parable about “the forgiving father” as much as it is about “ two sons.”
The parable teaches that God is waiting and willing to forgive all who repent. In fact, He stands in the “forgiving mode” at all times. Those that stand far away are individuals who choose to postpone the reunion. The two sons in this Gospel reading, represent two different styles of separation. Neither one of these young men knew what being a son meant. One physically moved away, the other stayed at home, yet never really had a relationship with the father. One concludes he is a “hired hand,” the other uses the term “slave.” Both saw their father in terms of work, jobs, tasks. Yet, the father’s mercy exceeded all expectations as he treated them both better than they deserved.
The younger son took the approach that the grass was greener in other pastures. He wanted to experience everything firsthand, especially the forbidden fruits. Only when his unfulfilled expectations of life did he come to his senses; expressing the need for repentance and a change of attitude. Only when he realized that he had lost more than he had gained, did he return to his father.
His repentance was real and his apology is a classic example. He did not regret what he had lost but more so what he had done- what he’d done to almighty God and to his earthly father. The emphasis was not on him but on them.
He apologized without excuses. He did not claim childhood abuse, neglect, deprivation or being treated poorly by his elder brother. He accepted responsibility for his actions.
The elder son appears at the end of the reading. He stayed home, and did his chores faithfully but always unwillingly. The older son was disgruntled to say the least. He felt more like a slave than a son. While he may have worked hard, never did he do so joyfully. Thus, the older son’s jealousy came out when his brother returned “home.” While the younger brother’s homecoming was celebrated and the elder brother was brooding. He felt his younger brother should have been punished, even rejected, but not forgiven with impunity. The older brother represented the Pharisaic reaction to Jesus’ message of forgiveness. He felt unappreciated by his father and certainly unrewarded. He was angry at his brother and his father.
The father could have scolded him for his selfishness. Instead, he showed the same compassion as he had with his younger son. The forgiving father went out to greet the one and had to plead with the other. The father’s generosity took nothing away from either of his sons. The older child was not aware of how richly blessed he was, could only pout, complain, resent and criticize his father, even though he still had two-thirds of his estate.
The years of pent-up negative emotions poured out during a family feast. Many are the families that have known a similar scene. The son had no sense of his father’s joy when his younger brother returned. The older son kept working to earn his father’s approval. No one really knows love until you’ve been loved unconditionally. And to love unconditionally as we are admonished to do, means to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Unconditional love requires the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
A sincere apology means no excuses or blaming someone else, no justification for doing wrong…only personal responsibility.
Jesus like the father stood His ground. He did not let the disapproval of the religious people interfere with His ministry. Those who take the “even-steven” approach to life will never know the joy God has in mind for us and what a miserable way to live life.
The father was so different from his sons we can’t help but wonder if they’d learned anything from him. The father was able to rise above the rejection of the one and the resentment of the other. The father knew he could not force his sons to love him. But he continued to love them unconditionally.
He had faith that his wayward son having learned the hard way, would one day choose good. He had the same faith for his older son. This parable raises the questions:
Do you always wish to be somewhere other than where you are?
Do you apologize without making excuses?
Do you resent the good fortune of others? Envious, or jealous?
Do you resent the way God forgives others?
But the big question is this: Can you love like the father in this parable?
God stands ready to forgive every repentant person. The sons both needed to repent and feel the forgiveness.
There’s some of the older son, some of the younger son, and some of the father in each of us. This parable is an invitation for us to accept forgiveness when we are leaning toward indulgence or arrogance and to extend forgiveness. God the father set us free from our entrapment in sin and offers us an example to follow of what it means to forgive…what it means to be Christian. This is the ministry to which we have been called.
Our Heavenly Father is the one who has transcended the ways of His children. His anger has been transformed by suffering and tears. His resentment has become boundless gratitude.
It’s frightening and upsetting to find the younger son and the older son in us, each desperately needing the new life that comes with the father’s mercy.
Because mercy only bears fruit when we accept God’s forgiveness. Mercy only bears fruit when we forgive others as we have been forgiven, when we welcome others as we have been welcomed; then and only then can we know the abundant life God has in store for us now and throughout all eternity. Amen
