4^th Sabbath in Lent

March 16/18, 2007

One Great Hour of Sharing

Victor H. Nixon

COMPASSION IS KEY

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

This sermon is the fourth in the series on personal lessons

from Lent based upon Luke’s gospel. The lesson for today is: Compassion is Key.

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The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most familiar of Jesus’ teachings. Or is it Jesus’s teachings? In light of current debate over correct spelling of possessive nouns that already end in s, like Arkansas, I wonder if it is J-e-s-u-s’ or J-e-s-u-s’-s? Jesus’ teachings or Jesus’s teachings? I’m sticking with the former both for Arkansas and for Jesus. Somehow, that confusion seems appropriate because this familiar parable is probably one of the least understood—and even misused of Jesus’ teachings.

For one thing, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is misnamed. It isn’t just about one son; it’s about two sons—and a father. Jesus began the parable by saying, "There was a man who had two sons."(15:11) Hundreds of paintings must exist showing only the prodigal. We have a Robert Hodgell print in our home that portrays the desperate younger boy huddled between two hogs. Only Arkansas fans would view that as a favorable position! And how many sermons leave out the last part of the parable about the older, resentful brother? Not only does that violate the integrity of Jesus’ story, it most likely misses his primary point! It’s like telling the story of Cinderella and leaving off the prince searching for her after the ball with glass slipper in hand.

So, the first thing we need to do is find a better, more appropriate name for this parable. Context helps a little. The parable appears in Luke’s gospel (and only in Luke’s gospel) as the third in a series of Jesus’ parables with a common theme: something is lost and later found. So we have parables of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. There are really two lost sons, but only one is found, so that doesn’t capture the complete story.

Maybe we could call it the "Parable of the Lost Family." They certainly were dysfunctional with one kid taking his inheritance, running off to waste it in profligate living, deciding to return home and admit his failure rather than starve; the other son dutifully staying home, working hard, but disliking his brother and resenting his father’s warm welcome home for that squanderer. Once when we were studying this parable in my Disciple Bible Study, a woman asked: "Where is the mother in this story? No wonder these kids are such a mess! They need a mother."

This family is dysfunctional, for sure, a condition that appears to remain at the end of the parable. Younger boy partying over in the big house while the father out in the back yard tries to reassure the older boy who refuses to celebrate his brother’s homecoming. We could call it "The Unfinished Parable."

Fred Craddock, my favorite commentator on Luke, suggests the Parable of the Loving Father.(1) That makes a lot of sense. The father not only had two sons; he loved both equally and unconditionally. He took initiative, went to both when they needed him. When the father saw his penitent son returning home, he was filled with compassion, ran to meet him, hugged and kissed him and called for a celebration. When the elder son became angry and refused to join his brother’s homecoming celebration, his father (filled with compassion) immediately went out to him, pleaded with him, endured his anger and insults, and very kindly tried to explain the significance of what was happening. This is a very compassionate parent with two very difficult children.

And the father was generous to both sons. When the younger boy asked for his portion of the inheritance, his father gave it to him in advance, a provision allowed by Hebrew custom whereby a younger son received one-third of the inheritance.(1 Kings 1-2). The older boy, obviously upset that his father’s generosity was wasted on his kid brother, accused his father of neglecting him, not even giving him a goat to celebrate with his friends, a blatant lie. The father said to him, "Son, everything I have is yours." The remaining two-thirds of the estate already belonged to the older son. Yes, the compassionate father is the central character and compassion is key to understanding Jesus’ parable.

Calling this the Parable of the Loving Father emphasizes the positive aspect of the story rather than the negative, e.g. lost or prodigal. The only time we hear from that wastrel is when he’s asking for money or forgiveness. Not that repentance isn’t an important feature of the parable; it is. Literally, "repentance" means "to turn around." The prodigal turned around and went home to grace and acceptance from his loving father to begin life anew—something that we all need to do when we’ve made mistakes and exhausted our personal resources. The older son also needed to repent for his hatred and resentment of his brother and was offered the same grace by the father. The parable doesn’t say whether he repented and experienced forgiveness. It ends in tension, with the conflict unresolved, the story unfinished. Maybe that’s why some prefer to end with the prodigal’s homecoming.

So there is much more to this well-told tale of Jesus about a loving father that begins all the way back at the beginning of the chapter where we find out what prompted this impromptu parable. Luke tells us that tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. Tax collectors and sinners. I kind of like the sound of those two groups together, particularly this time of year, after preparing my income tax report! Tax collectors and sinners, two groups of people that had one thing in common: they were despised by the general populace and by religious folks. Tax collectors were hated because they worked for the Roman government of occupation and took their cut right off the top. Sinners were folks who were deemed unworthy to associate with true believers in the community of faith. As a matter of fact, if you listen closely, you can hear them grumbling in Luke’s narrative as they watched those degenerates gather around Jesus. "Huh! This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them!"

That’s when Jesus tells the three parables about "lost-ness." A shepherd leaves ninety-nine and searches for one lost sheep. Finding it, he tells his friends and neighbors and invites them to rejoice with him. Jesus looks around and says, "Just so, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance." Luke doesn’t say so, but I’m betting the tax collectors and sinners smiled while the religious folks scowled, "What kind of theology is that?"

Jesus told the second parable about a woman who had ten silver coins, each worth about a day’s wage for common laborers, maybe $25 in today’s money. "If she lost one coin," Jesus asked, "wouldn’t she sweep the whole house until she found it, and call her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her over her good fortune? In much the same way," he said to those around him, "there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke doesn’t say so, but I’m confident that the cheers of those tax collectors and sinners drowned out the religious bellyaching about his theology.

Finally, Jesus told the parable about the man who had two sons. Every loving parent who experiences sibling rivalry understands this story. This is a theological story about a loving God with very human children who enjoy a great spiritual inheritance. On some brothers and sisters such a heritage is simply wasted. Some realize the error of their ways, repent and happily discover that when they seek to re-establish relationship with God they are joyfully and warmly welcomed. Others in God’s family view their spiritual inheritance as exclusive property, not to be shared with others, especially those who have separated themselves from God, or those whose theology and practice may differ, or those who are strangers and do not share the same race, sex, nationality, educational or economic level. And so, God’s human family unfortunately is as divided now as when Jesus told the parable originally. The grumbling, wasting, resenting and excluding in God’s family continue.

The Good News is that our generous, compassionate Creator loves all people equally and longs for them to love one another and to be at home together, celebrating together, in the belief that when just one of God’s children is found there is great rejoicing in heaven—and should be on earth, particularly in the church.

Brothers and sisters, there is a condition worse than death: to be lost. There is a condition better than life: to be found.(2)

I don’t know why you came here today. Maybe it’s because you are interested in growing your relationship with God. Maybe worship is a faith habit that you’ve developed to enrich your life. Maybe someone invited you and you are searching for a church home. Maybe it’s because you feel lost, out of touch with the One who can transform your life.

While I’m here because it’s my job, at a much deeper level, I’m here because I have been found by a compassionate God who claims me as a child and because I was welcomed into God’s house by joyful brothers and sisters. Whatever your reason, I want you to know that God loves you, welcomes you, and invites you to join in the glad celebration of our salvation.

There is something more. Other children of God are not here, sons and daughters who are still out there, in our families and neighborhoods, alienated from God and resentful of others, who need to know that new life is possible, who need to be reminded that they have a share in the inheritance. They need compassion. They need to be invited to the celebration. That’s where you and I come in. Our job is help Jesus finish the parable.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

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