Luke 15.1-3, 11-32 | Göttinger Predigten im Internet

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him (Jesus). And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

And he (Jesus) said, “There was man who had two sons. 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. 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.

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

“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! I will arise and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 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. 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.’ 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. And bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 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. But when his son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” [English Standard Version]

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.“ [2 Corinthians 5.19]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

There are messes in the world, there are messes in the Lord’s churches, there are messes in the lives of the Lord’s people. While the world, from its self-absorbed perspective, is tugging at us to pay attention to these messes so we can do something about them, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit give us a fresher look and a fuller re-discovery of their forgiveness that emerges from today’s highly familiar Gospel.

The forgiveness pouring from this passage is noted every morning when the Lord’s people see or hear words of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer, in the Benedictus.

His words speak well of the Lord. Like his son, the Baptizer, we too prepare the Lord’s way. We give people knowledge of their salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the Lord’s tender compassion, that forgiveness from eternity breaks upon people,

shining on those living in darkness and the shadow of death while guiding their feet into the way of the Lord’s peace.

While our lives may be reeling from all messes out there, today’s Gospel brings this eternal forgiveness through Jesus’ parable of a wandering younger son, of his compassionate father and of an obedient, yet upset and grumbling, older son. As we work through the parable we will see how the Lord’s forgiveness moves in, around and through our lives as his baptized people.

The context for this passage is set within the first three verses of the reading. In them Luke reports that the Pharisees and the scribes are grumbling at Jesus because he welcomes sinners and eats with them! So our Lord plunges them and us into the realities of his forgiveness.

The younger son approaches his father to get an advance on the property that will be his share one day. The father gives the advance to him (we can only speculate on why the younger son is making request and why the father honors it so readily!)

Over a period of time, the younger son burns through the advance on a reckless life style and gets squeezed hard when economic conditions become severe. To support himself, he ends up feeding pigs for income. As he goes about this grinding work, he becomes more and more aware of what he has done with his life. He thinks of the people working for his father (it’s conceivable their work is not as grinding) and decides to return home.

What is striking about this return is that he wants to return as an employee, not as a son!

While he is unsure of what may happen, he is startled by the compassionate embrace of his father! In response, the son confesses his sins, his wrongs and his unworthiness. The

father orders up a celebration to mark the son’s return, one that is unleashed by the father’s compassion.

Now, as usual, the older son is out in the fields working and hears of the celebration; he asks the servants what is going on. Their report angers him and he refuses to go in for it.

The father pleads with him to be a part of the celebration. As a counter, the older son notes his responsible behavior all these years, a behavior that apparently never triggered a celebration. The older son reminds the father of the responsibility he exercised for a long

time in contrast with the irresponsibility of his younger brother. The older son expresses his dismay at the celebration triggered by the return of the younger son and explains that he has a right to grumble. The father assures the older son of his strong connection with him. He reminds the older brother that the celebration is triggered by a son thought dead but now is alive, by a son thought lost but now is found!

Let’s now see how this parable makes its way into our lives today. We begin with outtakes from two public persons – One of them asserts he has never had to ask for the Lord’s forgiveness, and we respond…okay? The other person is asked if he is responsible for shooting a woman to death and replies – absolutely not!, and we respond…okay?

Do you recall a self-help book that was published in 1967 by Dr. Thomas Harris, titled I’m OK, you’re OK? It had much impact on our relationships with other people, but it tended to shallow out because it did not take into account the new Life we receive at Baptism. It was hampered, too, because it was attempting to deal with our instincts for self-centering.

This Lenten season has been teaching us that there is more accurate phrase than I’m OK, you’re OK for our relationships with others – it’s I’m sinner, you’re sinner! This look and re-discovery from today’s Gospel takes us directly into Lord’s forgiveness, freeing us from sin’s grasp, melting down its destructiveness and deadliness.

When one steps back and considers all the messes in the world, in the Lord’s churches and in our lives, we recognize that all of them are flowing out from the seven deadly sins – pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. It is these sins, along with all the variants they generate, that bring all the world’s messes into being and keep them going! Consequently, throughout these Forty Days of Lent, our Lord is calling his baptized people to confront these sins in their lives so as to be swarmed with his forgiveness – THE eternal reality that rescues, restores and sustains us, his baptized people!

This reality, in turn, enables us to carry and reflect that forgiveness to those people whose lives are being warped, tensed and destroyed by the sins of the world’s life! We do not keep such forgiveness for ourselves, we pass it on to all those who are still living in darkness and the shadow of death, those whose lives are overwhelmed by the world’s messes.

Remember, the forgiveness of the Lord God is not understanding or excusing the sin and the wrong we do; it takes such sins and wrongs to the Son’s Cross, imbedding our lives fully in his forgiveness! Yes, this passing on of the Lord’s forgiveness will gripe the scribes and Pharisees who still exist in the Church, but their grumbling is not the issue – the real issue is that we have been forgiven by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit so we can carry and reflect their reality to the people around us!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our

hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord

Pr. Carl A. Voges, Columbia, SC; carl.voges4@icloud.com