No I am not trying to advertise a firm that delivers subs, coffee and a pizza to your door. This has far reaching conclusions. Our story this week comes from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32. It sounds a bit disjointed but the joint of meat (alternatives for vegetarians also available) was on the table by the end. Let Us Eat!
Prodigal or Lost?
This is a familiar story to many: is it the Prodigal Father, the Prodigal Son, the Lost Son? Recall that the meaning of Prodigal means ‘wasteful’ not generous.
Initially the Pharisees were grumbling and upset about the company Jesus keeps. Do we take a second glance when someone we don’t expect enters Church?
What would it take for church to become a place where prostitutes, tax collectors, and even guilt-tinged Pharisees would gladly gather?
Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1995), p. 149
These guys in Oldham had a different approach. The Pharisees are upset over the story over the lost sheep (Luke 15: 4-7) and the Lost Coin (Luke 15: 8-10). How does our grumbling compare to our times of rejoicing? Let Us Eat!
The Son who stayed at Home
The elder son might have overheard what the younger son said to their Dad. “I want right now what’s coming to me” (Luke 15: 11, Message) was tantamount to saying “I wish you were dead”. What reaction might this have caused in us?
All carries on down at the farm following the departure of the younger son. But soon there’s news of the younger son returning. Dad is off and running: “Hey, hey – welcome home!” The elder son must have wondered just who was arriving down the track. There are shouts of rejoicing as the ‘grain-fed heifer’ is prepared for the evening celebration. Let Us Eat! The elder son might have smelt the barbecue and thought what’s all the fuss, why is this all happening? He can hear music and merriment.
He’s told of the great news – which goes down like a lead balloon. Even Dad tries to placate the elder son but he’s not interested.
Grace or disgrace?
Just as the story is described using the word prodigal – wasteful – it is not about the son wasting their life, but that the Dad showed wasteful grace. Forgiveness beyond measure, freedom to live as you see fit and to choose whether to accept God or not. The younger son cuts himself off, and is soon found to be hanging on, supported by the generosity of the locals – feeding pigs.
The younger son seems not to show any change of heart but the focus remains totally on himself. But Dad loses all dignity and runs out to meet the young lad.
What would the younger son have felt this point: is Dad going to get retribution, want his money back?
How might the house staff at the farm have reacted when they saw the owner running, full pelt, knees kicking especially in those fine shoes – no Nike’s here (better, in my opinion, alternatives do exist).
The younger son is given a ring – to indicate he’s part of the family with the inheritance – and shoe’s so he can wear them in the house – for guests removed them at the door. He is more than welcomed back.
But the true sign of grace was “when the father slips out of the welcome-home party to speak with the alienated older brother outside”.
Brain MacLaren, Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road, p.161
Where have we seen this recently?
At the Polish, the Slovakian, the Romanian, the Moldovan, the Hungarian border… Grace which surpasses all that which is expected or merited. A true welcome, not set out by conditions, but with grace. An owner of a palace in Poland opening up their doors to refugees. Let Us Eat!
What happened next? Not sure whether the brothers made up afterwards, or fi the younger son really wanted to return other than get out of the mess that he had created. The Pharisees continued to critique Jesus. How do we respond?
I found the dialogue interesting