Lent 4- The prodigal sons and the forgiving Father
The parable of the Prodigal Son begins with a simple request, "Father, give me my share of the estate.” To us, it seems like the sort of request a spoiled child might make. But, there is a lot more in that request than we realize. In Jesus’ culture, for a son to ask for his inheritance before his father died is almost unimaginably disrespectful. It is an incredible insult. Kenneth Bailey spent a good deal of his life trying to understand the Bible by studying the cultures of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. He says this,
"For over 15 years I have been asking people of all walks of life from Morocco to India and from Turkey to the Sudan about the implications of a son's request for his inheritance while the father is still living. The answer has always been emphatically the same... the conversations run as follows:
'Has anyone ever made such a request in your village?'
'Never!'
'Could anyone ever make such a request?'
'Impossible'
'If anyone ever did, what would happen?'
'His father would beat him of course!'
'Why?'
'The request means- he wants his father to die.'
This is a deeply offensive request. Not only does he essentially wish his father was dead. He also sells his portion of the land. That might not be a big deal to us. We do that all the time. For him, though, as a Jewish man living in the Promised Land, this land was given to his family by God. You don’t up and sell the land God gave your family. It is to reject your people’s values and traditions. The land isn't just “resources”- It is his family's inheritance from God. ... Amazingly, his father goes along with the son’s request, when all expectations would have pointed to him getting beaten and maybe even disowned.
The son sells his half of the land, takes his money, and leaves. He goes to a 1st century Las Vegas where he lives among the Gentiles and "squandered his wealth in wild living". … As happens, the money runs out. When he can’t afford the party, the “friends” are no more. Reality starts to settle in. … He gets a job as a pig feeder. It's an awful job for a Jewish boy. It's a job that would make him unclean- literally and religiously. … He works hard, for little pay. Eventually he is desperate. ... Things get so bad that he starts longing for the food he’s feeding the pigs. The prodigal son comes to a fork in the road. Stay and die, hungry for pig slop, ... or take a chance and try to return home.
Of course, he could never return home as a son, but maybe he could return as a servant. At least they ate well. He starts to prepare for his desperate journey. How can he face his father after acting so disgraceful, after turning his back on his tradition and family? On the long road home he rehearses what he will say-
"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."
Over and over he said the words, like a mantra, visualizing himself home, but in a different way. Serving at the family table, but not eating at it. Taking orders from his father and older brother, but not as before, now as a servant, as a slave, not as a son and a brother. …
"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."
When he was able to see the family farm, he saw the outline of his father in the distance. Suddenly his father was running- a very inappropriate thing to do for the dignified head of a family. … As the son braces himself for the father's wrath, his father picks him off the ground and throws his arms around him and kisses him. Surprised, the son starts his mantra, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son…"... the father interrupts him; he doesn't get a chance to finish the mantra he has practiced along his journey.
The father commands the 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." …
Of course, this is a parable Jesus tells to let us know about the limitless love and forgiveness of God. It is scandalous love. It is love that even seems to defy justice. It is not what the son deserves. … The son expected what was fair. If any mercy was shown it would have been in allowing his face to be shown around the farm as a slave, but not as a son. … This is about a loving father getting his son back, and so he pours out his abundance on him and throws a party.
Baptism is the return of humanity to the loving Father. It is a rejection of everything that whispers lies to humanity, promising us joy- the evil systems of the world, the sinfulness in our own flesh, and the temptations of the devil. These draw us to that other land, away from our Father’s home. But they can’t give us lasting joy. We reject them all- we walk away from that land and turn our faces to our Father’s home. And when we near home, while we are still a long way off, we see our loving Father running towards us full of joy that we have returned. … Jesus doesn’t ever want us to be afraid to return to God- No matter how badly we think we have offended Him. … He will always be our loving Father.
There is another son in this story. Some of us can relate a little more easily to the older brother. He did what was responsible. He stayed home and fulfilled his obligations. For the older brother, the disgrace and dishonour of his younger brother, would have reasonably led him to disown his brother- as far as he was concerned, he no longer had a brother. If his brother returned, after he was beaten, mercy would be for him to live on bread and water, and to be allowed to live in the barn where he can wallow in his shame. … Some of us think the older brother’s right. After all, here he is obediently working the farm while his little brother is doing who knows what with who knows who. It's not fair.
"Look!", he says to his father after seeing the party, "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!"
The older brother is just saying what is fair, what is just, what is the expected norm for how families work. The younger son should be taught a lesson, he should be punished, maybe even banished, ... but a party?!? That doesn't make sense.
Here we see that even the older brother misunderstands his relationship to his father. The older Son has stuck it out at the farm, but he is equally lost. He sees working with his father as slavery- "I've obeyed" he says; "I've followed your orders"; "All these years I've been slaving for you". This is not a father-son relationship. The older son alienates himself from his father by considering his work slavery and dismal obedience. This is a master-slave relationship. The older son is poisoned by contempt. He has now alienated himself from his father's home. He speaks harshly to his father. He refuses to enter his father’s house because of his younger brother's party. He won’t even call him his “brother”- he calls him this “son of yours”. … Perhaps he was even a bit jealous that he was out doing all the things he wasn't allowed to do.
It seems the father really has two prodigal sons. The older son was physically present, but his heart had wandered away from his father. He had made himself a slave and lost his joy. … The father is generous and loving towards both of them.
The Pharisees and religion scholars of his day had a problem with Jesus hanging out with sinners. Jesus tells three parables in response to this accusation. The first is a parable about a shepherd who finds a lost sheep. The second is a parable about a woman who finds a lost coin that was incredibly valuable. And this parable is the third. They all have the same message. The one who is looking is filled with joy at finding what was once lost and throws a party. In all three parables God is the one who is looking, and God is the one who is overjoyed at finding those who have been lost. So here Jesus is surrounded by "sinners" who are being healed and transformed. The Pharisees seem blind to what is happening. The three stories are Jesus' way of asking if they will join the party. God’s power is manifesting and they are looking for what is wrong- what rule is being broken. … They are so focused on sin they miss seeing God’s mercy.
As we meditate on this parable, where do you see yourself in it? Are you the broken son who hit rock bottom? Who found that you were looking for happiness in all the wrong places? … Or, are you the older brother? You have always done the responsible thing, but don’t really feel like you’ve gotten proper recognition. You give and give and you feel like you get nothing in return. You become angry, bitter, and resentful. … Both sons misunderstood their Father. Both of them underestimated the extent of God’s love.
There is one other way to see ourselves in this story, according to Henri Nouwen. We can dare to see ourselves as imitators of the father. We can reflect the Father’s love. We can welcome the broken-hearted home. We can shower them in love for sheer joy at their return. … We can lovingly plead with the bitter and resentful who see themselves as used-up slaves, who want nothing to do with their brother.
For this to be possible, we will have to find ourselves grounded in God’s joy in such a way that we have no need to grasp for the world’s idea of success, or popularity. We will have to realize that we are secure in our Father’s home. Our identity is found in the love of our Father who loved us so much he sent his son to come bring us home. … It is there, out of the abundance of our Father’s love, that we can find the love to show others. If we are bold, we can be imitators of the Father, pouring out love on those who have become lost in sin. But, this will only be possible when we realize how deeply and profoundly our heavenly Father loves us. AMEN
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