Fourth Sunday of Lent
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
No matter how many times I hear this parable
It always seems to have something else to say
Ten days ago
When we gathered for our Soup & Supper Evening
We began with the previous 2 parables
...the Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin
We talked about how they both culminate in rejoicing
The first two are resolved…NICE. NEAT. TIDY.
Even if there is plenty of strangeness
A shepherd doing something a shepherd would never do
And
A woman throwing a party that cost more than the value of the now found coin
There is Lost. Found. Rejoicing.
NICE. NEAT. And TIDY.
The third…not so much.
Traditionally it has been called the parable of the prodigal son
But even though all of our Bibles are punctuated by such titles
They aren’t actually part of scripture
And they are like leading questions
They turn us toward a certain focus
This title leads us from the outset to hear the story
With our focus on the younger son.
But lately, I’ve heard other titles
The parable of the forgiving father…or the lovesick father
The parable of the self-righteous/pissed off older brother
But the one I landed on this week is
The parable of the Lost Sons
They are both lost!
And I believe that what they are lost in
is RESENTMENT
is RESENTMENT
They are both eaten up with resentment
It’s easy to notice the older son’s resentment
It’s easy to notice the older son’s resentment
It is so obvious in his speech
He catalogs all the commandments
he has never…not once…broken
and as he does he betrays
and as he does he betrays
how he has been keeping a careful account
He resents the father’s over the top reception toward
“this son of yours”
TRUE
The father isn’t being fair…he just ISN’T
And there is more
Note what the older son says:
And there is more
Note what the older son says:
“I have SLAVED for you…
What does that say about how he understands his place in the family?
What does that say about how he understands his place in the family?
He thinks of himself as a slave!
The younger one’s resentment is less obvious
His immature idiocy is clear enough
But below the surface I see resentment
When he asks his father for his inheritance
He is basically saying
“Sorry pop, I just can’t wait until you are dead”
He resents
He resents having to be attached…
He resents having to be connected…
He asks for his substance…the greek word is ousia
Ousia…the ground of his being
…that upon which he stands…his tradition…his family heritage
…that upon which he stands…his tradition…his family heritage
…his identity
He doesn’t want the ‘ground of his being’
attached to anything but his own desires…
In a nutshell
HE DOESN’T WANT A LORD
When I think back
When I was younger…in my 20’s - 30’s
I might call them my Frank Sinatra days
“when I did it my way”
I was soooo smart…you could have asked me;)
I can see
(I know…hindsight is 20/20 and all)
that it was a kind of youthful immature resentment
It was a ‘younger son’ resentment
It was the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden
“It’s been swell God
You’ve done just a spectacular job here
So far…but you know
I think I can take it from here!”
I wouldn’t have said it in these terms
But I didn’t want a Lord
And I certainly didn’t need a Lord…
Now… the Older son’s resentment
His is the kind of resentment that creeps up on me
Even today
It is sneaky
I don’t notice it…UNTIL
It is sneaky
I don’t notice it…UNTIL
Until it rears its ugly head
-in a comment I wish I could take back
-in the consequences of a decision I made for all the wrong reasons
-It surfaces when I hear myself talking like that older son
…When I am defensive and judging and stubborn
Underneath it all
There is, I feel quite certain…resentment
Things just aren’t fair
And let me show you the ledger book!
I can prove it!
Instead of not wanting a Lord
This is more like
you know…come to think of it
you know…come to think of it
I think I can do a better job at this Lordship thing
I feel comfortable guessing that all of us have experience with that demon--resentment
SO…all that I’ve said so far is bad news
But there is another character in the story
If you can
Call to mind a time when you have experienced mercy
God’s mercy
--we do it here ritually in the penitential rite--
And often, for me,
The Mercy of God comes through
The healing of a broken relationship
In the story of the two sons and the father
We are of course like the sons
We are, from time to time
Either demanding of our substance our ousia
…thank you God, but I think I can take it from here
OR
We bury our faces in our careful calculations of fairness
And comfort ourselves by thinking what a wonderful LORD we would make
But then there is the crazy, indulgent, father
With his questionable parenting skills
We are invited to live in the world of that father
We are invited, in fact, to become that Father
Everything…almost everything
In the Word of God today
Is asking us to contemplate
And not just contemplate…but to celebrate
The Mercy of God
Psalm 32 with its vivid description of
Living without coming clean before God
And Paul…who reminds us that reconciled we become a new creation in Christ
Over and over again
But the Mercy of God takes on weight…
It shows up the brightest when it is part of life's rhythm
It is brightest when next to our contrition and sorrow
But we mustn’t forget that Mercy is always first
God doesn’t need to be coaxed into being merciful
God doesn’t need to be coaxed into being merciful
It is simply who God is
God’s name is mercy
God’s name is mercy
It is always there…always on offer
there is simply no accounting for it
there is simply no accounting for it
God is apparently not good with equations
We celebrate the Mercy of God
Because it restores us to life…to the unburdened life
To a NEW CREATION
Partnering with a Lutheran Pastor friend
My sister who is a Therapist and Grief Counselor
Visits a women’s prison in Denver
We talked a couple days ago
And she was telling me how she grieves for these women
who have so many stumbling blocks to overcome
along the way to experiencing mercy
along the way to experiencing mercy
Forgiving themselves…so very hard
Forgiving those who have so hurt them
betrayed them throughout their lives…so so hard
One reason it is so hard
is that it is almost too good to be true
Do I dare believe?
is that it is almost too good to be true
Do I dare believe?
The Father in the Story
Is to me…HOME
The younger son needs to learn to say ‘Father’ again
And the older son needs to learn to say ‘Brother’ again
The Father longs for both his sons to be HOME
HOME is where his arms can reach around them both
Where they can both-together be in his heart
HOME is the large embrace
HOME is the celebration
We are at times both sons
But we are also, especially after we leave this place,
ever more like that Father
We are HOMES
open wide
making good room
ready to forgive
ready to forgive
having left our ledgers behind
Every Sunday
We confess and are absolved
sometimes it may seem just too rote
sometimes it may seem just too rote
It happens without our focused attention
but it lays in
years and years of praying that way
but it lays in
years and years of praying that way
Changes us
And when we are sent from here
We go as ‘the father’ in the story
We go as a warm and welcoming HOME
And in our way
We contribute to building a society
A whole society
A whole culture even
Worthy to be called
HOME
A HOME where it is true
There is no running out of Mercy or Forgiveness or Welcoming or Celebration
There is no running out of Mercy or Forgiveness or Welcoming or Celebration
For every sheep, every coin, every son and every daughter
HOME
