Preaching by the Unqualified – The Prodigal Son

Preaching by the Unqualified – The Prodigal Son

Let me begin with a clear warning that what follows is preaching and, worse, preaching by someone wholly unqualified to preach to anyone. But, blame it on the fact that last Sunday my wife and I went to church in Scottsdale and the reading was from Luke.15:11, Jesus famous parable about the prodigal Prodigal_son son. The homily by the priest that followed this reading seemed uninspired. I confess to having mentally excused myself from listening any more and to indulge in my own mediation. As you recall, the parable involves a father whose youngest son has decided to abandon the family, demand his share of the future inheritance and take off for another country leaving his older brother and father to carry on without him. The son has no concern about how much he is hurting his father and he takes the money and leaves. When he arrives, he indulges himself in an orgy of wine, women and song until the money runs out as do his fair weather friends. He soon finds himself in such state of desperation he is forced to swallow his pride and crawl back to his father to ask for forgiveness in order to avoid starving to death. He practices a speech he will give his father and starts out for home. What is his father’s reaction when his father first sees coming down the road? What would have been your reaction if you were the father? Anger and a lecture about the hurt he has caused his family? Those are the reactions I would have expected, but that’s not what happened. The father, who is God in this parable, doesn’t wait for the boy to get there. Instead he goes out to meet him and before the son can make his apology, the father orders the special lamb prepared for a celebration banquet and directs a ring to be put on his finger as well as to get him new clothes. That’s the image Jesus gives us of His Father.

When we consider this description it’s important to realize this parable is not some aberration of Scripture. Rather, it is a reinforcement of a repeated description in scripture of a loving Father’s Shepard unrestricted love. Before telling this parable, (Luke 15:3) we find Jesus describing the Shepard with one hundred sheep who loses one of them. He leaves the ninety nine and searches until he finds the lost sheep and puts it on his shoulders to bring it home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. That picture is followed by the example of the poor woman who loses one of ten silver coins and searches for it until it is found with rejoicing. A loving, compassionate Father, searching for those in need of His love.

In Luke (17:4) we learn that there is no limit to the number of times we should forgive the wrongs done to us by others, which in turn means that is God’s attitude as well. And then we see the people Jesus associates with. They are the people religious leaders regard as low life, grossly sinful people. When the religious leaders complain to Jesus about this, his response is "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matt 9:13) The Father pictured in Revelations 3:20 is one standing at a door knocking, waiting to be invited to come inside: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice , and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me."

So, how do we reconcile these images with religious positions taken by Churches regarding people in so many conflicting situations such as homosexuals, divorced and remarried Catholics and many other conflicts of human nature? To many religions have drawn an unwavering bright line about such issues in spite of the complex nature of the human emotional struggle involved. Where is the loving father in these bright line positions? Where is the loving Father who loves all of us and is ready to forgive us a hundred times over. Where is the Good Shepard searching us out in such hard line positions? So there you are. My lecture for the week and I hope God isn’t too unhappy with me for letting my mind wander.

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