LENT 4C - Joshua 4:19-24; 5:9-12; Psalm 34:1-8; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:11-32 -

18 March 2007 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Lost and Found

 

INTRODUCTION - The greatest story Jesus ever told

 

If “the greatest story ever told” is the story of what God has done through his Son, Jesus, then it might be true that the greatest story that Jesus ever told is the story that many of know as the prodigal son story. But that is the wrong title for the story, because it doesn’t begin to capture it. It might be more aptly called “the story of two lost sons and their father.” We are meant to put ourselves in the middle of this story that is the gospel in a nutshell. As I put myself in the middle of it, I hope you will find yourself in the middle of it, too. Let’s take a look at the characters.

 

THE YOUNGER SON

 

The younger son, in some ways, is easier for us to deal with. For one thing, his sin is more out there - more obvious. He gets off to a roaring start by asking for his share of the property before his father dies. This is the equivalent of saying, “Dad, I wish you were dead. Give me my money now!” His father complies with the request. Then he goes off to a distant land, and within a relatively short amount of time, spends the entire wad in a hedonistic lifestyle. We’re not given the details, but “dissolute living” means that he was both wasteful and immoral. He loses the fortune in a prodigal - or recklessly wasteful - way.

 

Not every characteristic of the younger son is bad, though. It is way too simplistic - and also inaccurate - to label this son as the “bad” one and the elder son as the “good” one.

 

One of the good things about the younger son is that he tried to separate from his parents. Separation is a necessary stage of development, one that we all need to go through. It begins early in life, at around 18 months or so, and keeps happening - when it is happens in a healthy way. It is supposed to intensify again when we are teenagers (perhaps some of you who are parents or teachers have noticed this), so that when we become adults, we are ready to leave our parents’ home, and find our own way.

 

We can certainly critique the way that the younger son separated in Jesus’ story. His way was what you might call the classic rebellion. He acted out all over the place, as he tried to find a way to separate and claim an identity for himself. To separate, of course, is not just to move out from under your parents’ roof and to do things that are different from what your parents do. To separate, ultimately, is to figure out who you are and whose you are, and to discover - bit by bit, perhaps - who you uniquely are, in God, and who God is calling you to be. This, by definition, will be someone different than who your parents are. To separate is to grow up emotionally, relationally, and spiritually - to hold on to your unique self while staying connected to other people.

 

The other trait that I think we can admire in the younger son is his passion. He did demonstrate a zest for life. He boldly asks for his share of the estate, and sets off to a distant country to figure out what to do with it, while it burns a hole in his pocket. His decisions were not wise. We was not what we would call a good steward. But he was alive with passion. When the money ran out, and he found himself in desperate need, he hired himself out. He was willing to work, and did his best to figure out the solution to the mess that he had created.

 

THE YOUNGER SON AND ME

 

I have never gone through a classic rebellion. Julia jokes about how she is still waiting for that to happen. I went through some rather mild stuff in high school, where I used to get into some rather heated arguments with my dad.

 

Like the younger son, though, I came to a point in my life when I realized - somewhat consciously, and somewhat unconsciously - that I needed to separate and become my own person. For me, it was right after I had graduated from law school. In many ways, law school was more my father’s dream for me than it was my own dream. I did not have a job at the end of law school, and when I was honest with myself, I realized that I didn’t really want a job in law. As many of you know, it was at that point in my life that I traveled to a distant country, a tiny island country, and became a high school teacher. I didn’t demand my inheritance early. The U.S. government paid me. Thus began my separation. My parents did not understand that time in my life. They did not begrudge my going overseas. They just thought I was wasting my education and all the time, energy, and money that had been put into law school, since I wasn’t practicing law.

 

But that time in a distant country turned out to be a crucial turning point in my life. It was the beginning of me claiming my uniqueness in God. It was the beginning of my discernment of who God was calling me to be. It was also the time when I began to discover the passion that is inside of me. Prior to this point, I had never demonstrated much of the passion or boldness or the spontaneity of the younger son, but at this time, those qualities began to emerge.

 

THE ELDER SON

 

It has always been easier for me to identify with the elder son in Jesus’ story. You might say to me, “I don’t get it. You are the youngest of four children!” Yes, that’s true. But I am the only son, and therefore I am the eldest son. And like the elder son in Jesus’ story, I have been the so-called “good” son. Like the elder son, I have been obedient and law-abiding, and a little too compliant. Like the elder son, I have had times when I felt left out of the celebrating. But it was usually - just as was true with the elder son - because I didn’t allow myself to join in the celebration. Like the elder son, there were many times when I felt overlooked and underappreciated, perhaps because my obedience did not make me stand out.

 

And there have been times when I have experienced the dark side - the shadow side - of living the good and virtuous life. Jesus captures that dark side quite well in his story. The elder son is bitter and resentful, and finds his obedience to be a burden, and his service - not so freely or lovingly offered - to be like slavery. The elder son separates himself from his father and his younger brother, but he hasn’t gone through the actual process of separation. He has a hard time receiving the love that his father freely offers, and he sees himself as being so much better than his brother, that he ends up being a rather alienated and lonely figure.

 

There is a big void in the elder son’s life. What he is missing is passion and joy. I have been there. When you live your life to please others, and when obedience is not energized by any sense or purpose or passion, or any sense of self-worth - by any appreciation of the fact that your are God’s beloved child - then life can indeed be very bleak. At such times, we have difficulty celebrating the good things that are happening in other people’s lives, because we don’t see much worth celebrating in our own.

 

THE TWO SONS AND THE FATHER

 

The truth is that both of the sons in Jesus’ story are lost. One is lost in the pursuit of pleasure, because his passion is not tempered with obedience or any true sense of call. The other is lost in resentment, because he has not become his own person, and his obedience does not have any passion or joy mixed in with it. One sins boldly, and is in desperate need of forgiveness. The other’s sin is more subtle, but he is still a sinner. His sin is in his lack of love for his brother, his critical spirit, and in his apparent rejection of his father’s love. He is in desperate need of forgiveness, too. Both need to be healed. Both need to come home. Both need to experience the embrace of a loving father.

 

The younger son’s return began at the moment that he came to his senses and reclaimed his sonship. He still thought he could save himself, as was evidenced by his plan that he had worked out in his head. “I’ll go back home and be a hired servant, and pay off my debt.” It didn’t quite work that way, because of the father’s actions. But this part he had right: “I will get up and go to my father...” He recognized in some way that he wasn’t going to discover his true identity and purpose while being cut off from his father. And of course, the father in Jesus’ story represents God, our loving and compassionate Father.

 

When he gets close to home, he discovers that the father has already been actively on the lookout for him. Not only that, his father runs to meet him, throws his arms around him and kisses him, before he even has a chance to confess and share his great idea about how he wants to work as a hired hand. He does manage to confess his unworthiness - after the father’s greeting. But there is no more talk of being a hired hand. He knows that he is still a son, a deeply loved son - a beloved child.

 

This is what the elder son needs to reclaim. Did you notice that the father made the first move with this son, too? When the elder son refused to come in and join the party, the father leaves the party, comes outside, and pleads with him to come in. And when the elder son complains about never getting his own celebration... when the elder son reveals his alienation from the family by referring to his brother as “this son of yours”... when the elder son openly disapproves of his father’s actions in throwing a party for his returning brother... the father does not get mad or defensive or critical. Instead, he expresses his deep love for the elder son, a love that is no less than his love for the returning son. “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” You are my son. You will always be my son. I willingly give you all that I am, and all that I have.

 

Will the elder son receive that great love, as the younger son did? Will he reclaim his sonship and his status as a beloved child of God?

 

OUR STORY

 

My friends, this is the story of God and us. We all get lost. We all do things that break up the relationship that we are intended to have with God, and the relationships that we are intended to have with others. Sometimes we are more “in your face” with our sin, like the younger brother was. Other times we are more like the elder brother - we think we are better than others, we feel unappreciated, and all the while our resentment on the inside is building and smoldering. In either situation, God makes the first move. God comes running out of the house to meet us, to forgive us, embrace us, accept us, and welcome us home. The world says, “You can’t go home again.” God says nothing of the sort.

 

There is one part of this story, though, that only we can fulfill - before repentance is complete, before our relationship with God is reconciled, before we become a new creation. And amazingly, that part is not anything we do to make things right. Only God can make things right. That is the radically good news of Christianity. The only thing we can “do” is open up our hearts, acknowledge the One who restores us to wholeness, and receive the gift. We have that choice. Will we receive the gift that is the love and grace of God, or not?

 

BECOMING THE FATHER

 

If we make the choice to receive this gift - this reconciliation that God so lovingly and freely offers - if we receive this new life from God and become a new creation in Christ, then a new challenge arises. Can we become the parent in this story? Can we allow ourselves to be so transformed by God’s unbridled love that we become - like our Lord - the ones who make the first move to heal a broken relationship? Paul writes about our calling to be like the father. God, in Christ, reconciled the world to himself, Paul says. But then he adds that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

 

CONCLUSION

 

This is our story - the story of God and us. Do you find yourself in it? Where, at this point, do you find yourself? Are you more like the younger child? More like the older one? Are you more like the father figure, willing to embrace the ministry of reconciliation?

 

This story is Jesus’ testimony of the way our God loves us. When you are going through a very difficult time... when you are in a place where you are questioning God... if you hit a patch where you begin to have doubts about God’s love for you... and you want to turn to the Bible for solace, and you are wondering where to turn, I hope you can remember this much: Luke, chapter 15. When you need to be reminded of how much God loves you, go back, and read it again - slowly. Take some time to let it sink in. Let this story work on you some more.

 

Your heavenly sees you from a long way off, and is full of compassion, and that compassion is all directed towards you. He runs to you and puts his arms around you and kisses you, and says to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe, and put it on her. Put the finest ring on her finger; put new shoes on her feet. And start cooking. Let’s get some music going, and start dancing. We’re going to have a feast, and celebrate all night long! Look who has come back home! This is a wonderful day, a day of pure joy! I am truly blessed. My beloved child has come home!”

 

You are that beloved child.