Luke 15:1-3,11-32
“A SUNDAY FOR REJOICING!” | The Fourth Sunday in Lent, Cycle C | 30 May 2025 | Luke 15:1-3,11-32 | David M. Wendel |
Lessons: Isaiah 12:1-6
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3,11-32 English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable:
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Few in Lutheranism today will realize that this Fourth Sunday in Lent is, or was observed historically as “Laetare Sunday”—translated as “Rejoice Sunday”—which had rose colored vestments for the day. The title comes from the first words at the beginning of the Introit, in Latin, which were, “Rejoice! Rejoice Jerusalem!” The introits were kept in Lutheranism until the Lutheran Book of Worship, as were the traditional Latin names for each Sunday, such as those for the final days of the Sundays after the Epiphany, with the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany being “Septuagesima,” and then there was “Sexagesima,” and before Ash Wednesday, there was “Quinquagesima.” And while I’m not advocating a return to all the old Latin titles, I do appreciate Laetare Sunday, because the point of it was to give us, in the middle of Lent, in the midst of this season of somber reflection and repentance, a Sunday of rejoicing—to get us through, to tide us over, till we get to the celebration of Easter Sunday. And, how’s your Lent going so far? Is your Lenten discipline becoming something of a burden? And, how’s life treating you? Can you use a Sunday of joy?
It’s easy to see in our Gospel lesson today, how the parable Jesus tells invites us to and encourages us to—rejoice—to celebrate. Of course, our reading doesn’t begin that way, as the reason for the parable is the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes, who didn’t like the fact that Jesus was associating with tax collectors and sinners—that they were drawing near to Him and He was eating with them! No cause for rejoicing there, in the response of the religious leaders, as we see in the Gospel of Luke their increasing and never-ending criticism and nit-picking aimed at Jesus and His ministry. So, in response to the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus tells a parable.
In fact, in the Gospel of Luke, there are three parables of Jesus, beginning with the shepherd looking for the one lost sheep and the woman searching for her one lost coin. And then, Jesus tells the parable of the lost son. But all three are intended to invite the Pharisees and scribes, and disciples, and us, to rejoice and celebrate that in and through Jesus’ ministry, lost people are being found! So that Jesus ends the first parables saying, when the lost sheep and lost coin are found, what would we do, but call our friends and neighbors saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found what was lost!”
In the parable of the lost son, the ending is not so simple, because unlike the lost lamb and lost coin, the lost son had a brother! And when there is a human element added to the story, well, things get complicated—as is often the case with families, and family relationships and family tensions. Which is what is so masterful in Jesus’ telling of the parable of the lost and found son, because the ending makes it quite clear that Jesus is challenging the pride and jealousy and envy of the Pharisees and scribes, who are undeniably represented by the older brother in the parable!
Now, it’s not always the case that the Lord tells parables which are so pointed in their meaning and message. Often, He seems to want us to ponder, “Where do I see myself in this parable?” But this time, there was no mistaking. As Jesus is reaching out and bringing into the kingdom of God, the lost; as the Pharisees and scribes are not rejoicing and giving thanks that the lost have been found, but are instead resentful—Jesus puts the religious leaders in the parable in such a way that they are both convicted, but also, hopefully, convinced that there is a different way to respond to Jesus associating with sinners, as the parable concludes with the father saying to the elder brother, “‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. And yet, it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
And did the Pharisees and scribes take the message to heart? Were they convicted and convinced that the better way would be to rejoice and celebrate that the brother who was dead is now alive, the lost has been found?” Did they now witness Jesus’ ministry to outcasts and sinners, giving thanks to God and celebrating that the lost were being found? We know where this is headed and we know that this moving, meaningful parable didn’t have the desired effect. The religious leaders continued their crusade to try to silence Jesus and end His ministry to sinners. And in a couple of weeks, we’re going to hear again, how, in their anger and bitterness, their crusade against Jesus ended in the crucifixion of Jesus. So that now, today, we are left with the parable and its meaning and message. Now, today, we are invited into the parable so that we might ask, “Where do I see myself in this story?”
Depending on the day, most of us would sometimes find ourselves relating to the younger brother, while other days, we may be the elder! Because sometimes we are the sinner and sometimes we are the self-righteous! Sometimes in life, we are the rebellious children, taking what we can from our Father God without gratitude, wasting His manifold gifts and blessings on what we want and where we want to go in life, with little concern for His will. We sometimes lose ourselves in the world and the ways of the world and find ourselves, at times, empty, lost, feeling unworthy. When that’s me, the parable Jesus tells is a proclamation to me, of the good news that God is my loving father, always ready to welcome me back. And not only to welcome me back, but to see me restored to my rightful place as His baptized, redeemed child! So that, more than being about a prodigal son, this parable might rightly be titled, “The Prodigal Father,” as the father lavishly, freely, “prodigally” loves and cares for his son—and his sons. And the parable is meant first, to illustrate how God the Father so loves all His sons and daughters, that there is nothing they can do to thwart His grace and mercy, there is nothing His children can do that will put a stop to the Father’s prodigal love! That’s truly the message of this parable. And the corollary which follows from that is, “Because God so loves us, we love one another” as we hear in 1st John 4. Because the Father loves, even outcasts and sinners, we love them too. Because the Father loves us, sinners, even you and me, we love one another—sisters and brothers, together, in the Father’s household. And this love—this great, overwhelming mercy and love is something, Jesus says, to celebrate!
At the end of the parable, the Father says, “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ And that’s why we are celebrating and rejoicing this Fourth Sunday in Lent, this Laetare Sunday! Because we have been found! Because you and I, who were lost in our sin, have been claimed, baptized, adopted into God’s eternal family, so that we will never be alone or forsaken! By His death and resurrection, Jesus sealed our adoption papers with His blood, so that we need never doubt the Father’s love for us, the brotherhood of Christ, or the place we have in the Body of Christ. Nor will we ever begrudge others, their place in the Father’s house! Nor will we ever be jealous or envious of those who are newly found and brought into God’s family. Nor will we ever resent the banquet which the Father throws, each and every Sunday, for the community of the lost and found—the Church—this church!
In our first lesson, we read, “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples,proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. 6 Shout, and sing for joy…for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
And so we celebrate Laetare Sunday, today! We will observe today, not as a fast day, but as a feast day! We will acknowledge that this is the Third Sunday in Lent, but not of Lent, as we give thanks to the Lord, rejoicing and singing for joy, that the lost are being found, that we, the lost, have been found!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
©David M. Wendel
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Westerville, Ohio USA