South United Methodist Church
March 18, 2007
Krista Atwood

Scripture: Psalm 32, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21,
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable:

"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them.

A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout 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 to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’

“So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then 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 slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

Sermon:       Happy are Those Who Are Forgiven!


“Hey, did you hear old Benjamin’s son came home? Yeah, the young one who took off a few years ago with the money Ben gave him. I don’t know why Ben would do that ~ let his son disgrace him like that. But last night he skulked his way back into town, clothes all dirty and tattered, barely a sandal on his foot. The word is he lost all his money and ended up at some pig farm… A Jewish boy at a pig farm, an embarrassment, that’s what I’d say.

“But old Ben, he welcomed him home. Gave him a robe, even threw him a party. If any kid of mine did something like that, gosh, I just don’t know. Now David ~ you know, the one who stood by all these years, worked his fingers to the bone ~ he wasn’t so happy to see his little brother, as you can imagine. Word is, he refused to go to the party. In some ways, I don’t blame the poor kid. Loyal all these years, and what does he get?” What does he get?

The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Probably a familiar one to many of us, maybe even a little too familiar. A story of greed and irresponsibility. Humiliation and regret. Repentance and welcome. It’s a story of elaborate parties and refused invitations. It’s the story of a family struggling with love and forgiveness and resentment. It’s the kind of story that gets the neighbors talking. The kind of story you might see on Dr. Phil. The irresponsible younger child takes advantage of Dad’s generosity and the responsible older child just can’t sit back and let that happen. And Dad’s there in the middle, trying to keep it all together.

Does any of this sound familiar? Families struggling with betrayal and forgiveness. Resentment and regret. Damaged relationships. I’m sure none of us has ever had those kinds of problems in our families, right? We’re good Methodists ~ all of our families are perfect ~ or at least going on to perfection. Not a trace of dysfunction here.

Maybe that’s why this parable draws us in and speaks to us… because we all can relate, in one way or another, to the characters. We may have all been, at one time or another, the younger, the elder, the father. Like the younger, reckless and irresponsible. Like the elder, dependable and stoic. Like the father, caught between two people we love very much.

But Jesus didn’t tell this parable as a demonstration of family dynamics. No. He told this parable in answer to the Pharisees’ accusation, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Sinners ~ people who aren’t seen regularly at the temple. Sinners ~ people who don’t take seriously their responsibilities. Sinners ~ people who don’t do things like we do.

It is interesting to me that we use the word prodigal to describe this parable. Do you know what prodigal means? It actually has two meanings, which are related but somewhat contradictory. Depending on how it’s used, prodigal can mean exceedingly or recklessly wasteful or extremely generous or lavish. Maybe this parable should be renamed, as some have suggested, the Parable of the Prodigal Father.

For in this parable, isn’t it the father who behaves recklessly and lavishly? Allowing his son to go off with his inheritance in hand. Welcoming that same son home without question. Following his older son out of the party to encourage him to come in, telling him ‘All that is mine is yours.’ As the preacher Sara Shelton puts it, “The father is prodigal in that his love is extravagant and more excessive than either the younger brother’s loose living or the older brother’s moral rectitude.” The father has more than enough love to go around ~ more than enough forgiveness for all their sins.

But what does this have to do with Jesus eating with sinners? Well, I might be going out on a limb here, but it seems to me that Jesus was trying to point out the prodigal nature of God’s love. It is lavish and generous and even a bit reckless. Who would have guessed it? There is more than enough love for the younger son and older son. For the sinner and the Pharisee. For all of us gathered on this icy Sunday morning.

Our Psalm for this morning reads in part, “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Happy. I’m not quite sure what that means, but I’m pretty sure that the happiness rests on our recognizing that we are, in fact, in need of forgiveness. What is there to be happy about if we don’t think we need to be forgiven in the first place? Roman Catholic Priest Edward Beck writes, “When we can confront our addiction, embrace a weakness, make friends with a fear, accept our vulnerability. This is happiness.” In other words, when we realize that we are not perfect, and that’s okay, this is happiness.

In terms of the parable, there is the rub. The sinners and the younger son knew they needed to be forgiven, so they could let loose and celebrate. They could take pleasure in a good meal with Jesus. They could join the party. Meanwhile the Pharisees and the elder brother grumble outside about the unfairness of it all, too concerned about their own moral standing, not willing to join the festivities ~ missing out on the good time. Henri Nouwen writes in his wonderful book The Return of the Prodigal, “The lost-ness of the resentful ‘saint’ is so hard to reach precisely because it is so closely wedded to the desire to be good and virtuous.” It’s annoying when you find out that something you thought you had to earn is in fact available to everyone.

So where are you in this story? The younger? The elder? The father? A sinner? A Pharisee? A more relevant question to our Lenten journey ~ our journey of self examination and repentance ~ may be, when have you been prodigal? When have you been prodigal ~ wasteful in using the resources given you, reckless in rejecting the grace of others? And when have you been prodigal ~ lavish in giving or receiving forgiveness, generous in sharing what you have, loving without counting the cost?

And how have you enjoyed the prodigal love of God ~ sitting down at the sinners’ table ~ taking pleasure in a meal with Jesus. It is annoying when you find out that something you thought you had to earn is in fact available to everyone. But isn’t it also an amazing gift? Because it means that everyone ~ younger brothers, tax collectors, older brothers, Democrats, Republicans, politicians, the homeless (senior pastors, choir members) ~ everyone can join the party.

This parable is not a fairy tale where they all live happily ever after. In fact, we don’t even really know how the story ends. We are left wondering what will happen next. Does the elder son realize his pettiness and go in to celebrate with his brother? We don’t know. Does the younger brother stay or take off again and break his father’s heart? We don’t know. Yet such it is with life as well. We are part of a story that is continuing to unfold.

What we do know is that we are all one family in the body of Christ ~ dysfunctional as we may be. Among us there are younger brothers and older sisters, fathers and mothers and everyone in between. And we are, all of us, in some state of being lost and needing to be found. And, just as in the parable, we are all invited to the celebration, a celebration to which prodigals of all sorts are more than welcome. “Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven.” It’s our decision whether or not we will step inside.

Lord, we are all too often prodigal sons and daughters ~ wasting the gifts you have given us and squandering our inheritance as your children. Yet you are prodigal with us as well ~ extravagant in the forgiveness you offer and lavish in the love you share. We thank you, Lord, as we ask you to lead us in the path that leads to life so we can proclaim with the Psalmist, “Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven”. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.