Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  March 31, 2019

For some, it is the gospel within the gospel, or even the most beautiful short story ever told. It has been painted by a host of artists, most notably Rembrandt, made the subject of plays, or provided the themes for plays, most notably Shakespeare. It’s been set to music and made the subject of movies. It’s the longest of Jesus’ parables and has the more dialogue than any of the parables. It’s most famously known as the parable of the prodigal or lost son. But that title really doesn’t do the parable justice. To me, it directs the majority of our attention on the wrong person. The scandal that we find in this masterful parable isn’t the behavior of the younger son. No, the scandal in the parable is seen in comparing how his father and his older brother deal with him. Let’s take a fresh look at this very familiar parable and marvel at the scandalous grace that we see and may we also see it fresh in our lives as well.

“All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He told them this parable:” Luke chapter 15 is known as the “lost” chapter. Jesus tells three parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son. Luke has already made it clear why. The Pharisees and experts in the law were complaining. They were complaining about the company Jesus kept. They were complaining about the fact that Jesus gave time to people they had no time for. It was scandalous. But as he was want to do, Jesus turns the tables on these Pharisees, especially with the third of the three “lost” parables.

“A certain man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.” Immediately, Jesus would have had the crowd’s attention. The request made by this younger son was scandalous! Jewish law did not allow the dividing of the inheritance until after the father’s death. What this younger son was saying, in effect, is that he wished his father were already dead. Now maybe, he didn’t wish him to be dead, but his actions show that he didn’t really care for his father or desire a relationship with him. He wanted the father’s money, not the father.

“Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted his wealth with reckless living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He would have liked to fill his stomach with the carob pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”  It’s not too long before this younger son faces the reality of his sinful choices. And pretty soon, he’s hit rock bottom. Carob pods were only eaten out of desperation by human, but he wasn’t even getting those.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying from hunger! I will get up, go to my father, and tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ It’s amazing how hunger can make you both delirious and bring you back to your senses at the same time. He realized how good he had it before. He realized how good the hired men in his father’s house had it. Even that would be better than this. So he went home.

“While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, hugged his son, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring out 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 us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.” He had not even made it home yet and his father saw him, Even though his son had left in such an awful way, the father never stopped loving him. He never stopped looking for him to welcome him home. And when he saw him, he was overjoyed and ran to him and embraced him and he wouldn’t even let him finish his confession before he pronounced all forgiven and treated him like a favored son. But not all was well.

“His older son was in the field. As he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on.” Unlike his younger brother, the older son never left home. He seems to have been a dutiful son, as we find him working in his father’s fields. And it only seems natural that he would be curious about what was going on when he heard the sounds of the party coming from his father’s house. “The servant told him, ‘Your brother is here! Your father killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’” Can you imagine? How could he? How dare he come home after what he did? Isn’t that your first reaction? This older son was the one who was left to pick up the slack after he left. You can imagine him watching his father cry himself to sleep, stricken with sorrow and worry. He was  the one who dutifully toed the line, stayed the course, did what was expected. He was the one who should be having the party! Not this good for nothing slacker who brought nothing but pain and misery to his father and indirectly to this older son. Is it any wonder then that, “The older brother was angry and refused to go in.”

“His father came out and began to plead with him. He answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I’ve been serving you, and I never disobeyed your command, but you never gave me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours arrived after wasting your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’” This parable has so much in it that we can barely scratch the surface today. But one of the things that jumps out at us is how similar these sons are. That’s right I said similar. Both are in the fields, the younger son with the pigs, the older in his father’s fields and both are lacking. Neither is given anything, the younger son had no food, the older son didn’t get even a young goat. Both contemplate their own condition, the younger sinned, the older claims to never have disobeyed one command. The younger wants to be a hired hand, the older feels like a servant. The father goes to both of them. Jesus makes it clear that both are lost.

Because of the normal title given to this parable, I think many identify with the younger son. We see ourselves despising the Father’s love, who runs away from our Father and runs toward sin. We see ourselves hitting rock bottom and come crawling back, begging for mercy, begging for forgiveness. And it’s right to see ourselves there. However, both sons in this parable are lost. And so it’s just as proper, perhaps even more applicable to see ourselves in the older son. There’s a little part of us that agrees with his reaction. That’s the little Pharisee that lives inside each of us, the part of us that believes we earn God’s grace by what we do, that we’re better than others. Look at what that does to a person. Look closely at what the older son says. Not once does he politely and respectfully use the address, “father.” He does not refer to the younger son as, “my brother.” Instead, “Look, you! This son of yours!” Look at his boasting! Look at the anger! Not only does he refuse to acknowledge his father and brother, but he blames his father for being unfair and ungrateful. His heart was boiling over in resentment and rebellion against his generous, loving father. It was scandalous.

Unfortunately, that hits home with us. Let’s not pretend that we haven’t felt that way about someone. There’s a little part in each of us that has disdain for repentant sinners. Those tax collectors and sinners that Jesus was eating with in our own midst. For some reason there’s an unwillingness to receive repentant sinners in the same way that God receives them. We think they should have to earn their place back in the family. They don’t deserve God’s love as much as we do. It happens to me personally. I get frustrated when I see people seemingly take God’s Word for granted week after week and then showing up a month later like it was no big deal. My self-righteous nature rears its ugly head when I think about all the time and effort I put in to making Sunday morning the best possible experience it can be and no one seems to notice or care. I see the vacations people take, the plans that people make and I wonder why those things don’t come to me…the one who is slaving for the Father all these years. And this story shames me for all the things I’ve done out of duty rather than out of love. Friends, when we find ourselves thinking this way, we need to look in the mirror of God’s law and remind ourselves that we don’t deserve God’s love at all. We have done nothing to earn his favor. It’s a scandal that any of us receive God’s grace.

But notice the reaction of the Father: “The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’” The one who refused to call him father is called, “My son.” The one who felt slighted is reminded that everything the father has is his. He’s already given him his double portion when he didn’t have to. He’s constantly been given the father’s love, even when he didn’t deserve it.

We don’t know how the story ends. Did the son go to the party? Did he reconcile with his father and his brother? While we don’t know the end of this story, we can know the end of ours. God reaches out and embraces sinful people like us with his unconditional love. God’s scandalous grace let’s us be who we’ve been called to be, children of God, even when we don’t deserve it. God celebrates with the angels over one sinner who repents. Shouldn’t we also? When we find ourselves stricken by shame and buried by guilt, we need only listen to the words of our Father. “‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” We are always with the Father because he sought us when we were lost. He despised his Son, Jesus, he forsook him on the cross so we can always be with him. Jesus gave up everything, including his life, so that every blessing that belongs to the Father belongs to us.  

Not to long ago, I got a call at church from someone claiming to have been a member at Eastside. He was sick, going into hospice care and wanted a pastor to visit him. I had never heard of his name before. He wasn’t in our database or any old directories. He had not been here in a long, long time. My initial reaction to hearing about his request was just like the older brother. I didn’t want to go see him. He didn’t deserve to take up my precious time. But then God’s Word smacked me upside the head. If all of heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents, what right do I have to murmur or complain? If all of heaven rejoices, can God’s people do any less? So we visited that man, we heard his confession of sins and his trust in God’s forgiveness and Friday, Pastor Schlicht had his Christian funeral. May we always and ever thank God for his scandalous grace, especially for us. AMEN