| Luke 15:11-16 "There and Back Again" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 09 September 2006 | |
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In a sense we are all Prodigals. Isn’t that true? My eight year old has never liked brushing his teeth. The fact that his last checkup was “cavity free” absolutely flabbergasted me. And the dental hygienist’s reminder that he floss after every meal, painfully funny! This is a kid whose mom told him to brush his teeth, only to walk in on the stinker with his electric toothbrush buzzing away at arms length! What causes us to make decisions we know our parents don’t want us to make? What causes us to rebel? To abandon their values? To so easily dismiss family traditions and beliefs? And how do we, once we’ve abandoned family, community, shared belief systems and tradition, find our way back home? For the next 4 weeks I want us to explore the meaning of Jesus’ parable “the Prodigal son” for our lives. No question, we will not all arrive at the same place but in the great mystery of God, it is a journey we take together! Our companion on this sacred journey is Dutch writer and Christian mystic, Henry Nouwen. We’ll use his The Return of the Prodigal Son as a “North Star” to help us find our bearings, even if the paths we take do deviate considerably. For your convenience, a few copies of the book are available in the narthex, first come, first serve. It’s a wonderful book and I hope you will read it, if not now, someday in the future. A reproduction of Rembrandt’s painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” has also been placed in the sanctuary and will be referred to from time to time. Think of it as “one of many windows” through which you can glimpse this intimate homecoming. Let us begin our journey. Our scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11-24. As you are able, please stand and listen for the Good News: 11 Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12The 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. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But 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! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” 20So 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. 21Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” 22But 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. 23And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate... Prayer: O God, forgive the poverty and the pettiness of our prayers. Listen not to our words but to the yearnings of our hearts. We have wandered from your presence. Regardless of how we have left, Lord, help us find our way back to you and your waiting arms. Amen. Jesus’ parable begins simply, “A man had two sons.” The failure to mention a mother while could easily be interpreted as symptomatic of a patriarchal system that devalued women and often excluded them from their faith history. And certainly that could be argued in this case. However, working backwards from the “spiritual truth” (i.e. moral) of Jesus’ parable, the absence of mother or daughter might also be by necessity. The story is focused on the nature of the relationship between father and sons (a dynamic defined by the social roles and mores of that time and culture). In the ancient Middle East, the father’s role was that of primary bread winner, disciplinarian and job skills instructor. The mother assumed the role of domestic engineer, nurturer, life skills teacher and advocate. The phrase “just wait until your father gets home” accurately reflects the social mores of 1st century Middle Eastern culture. It was the son’s role to apprentice the father, learning the family trade, so he could take over upon the father’s death. For good or ill, this is the way it had been done, generation upon generation. Thus the dynamic of the father/son relationship in 1st century Palestine creates the necessary tension in the story to communicate the spiritual truth of Jesus’ parable. With the words “ a man had two sons,” the 1st century audience instantly assumed certain presuppositions about worldview, familial relationships, economic models and social mores. All those assumptions about the way things work, however, are immediately challenged in the very next line. “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. The younger son’s request is disturbing on a number of levels. For example, his demand treats his father as though he were already dead. The father’s response acknowledges the disrespect and irregularity of the request. “So he divided his (bios), (literally) his ‘life’ between them.” Interpreters IX p.301 Penniless, the parents become entirely dependent upon their children’s generosity. How many parents here would be willing to do that? The prodigal’s confession later in the story illustrates his full awareness of his committed offense. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son…” But the Prodigal’s demand is also a rejection of his home and family, and a break from the tradition of the community to which he belonged. Writes Nouwen, “[He] left for a distant country,”…indicates much more than the desire of a young man to see more of the world. He speaks about a drastic cutting loose from the way of living, thinking, and acting that had been handed down to him from generation to generation as a sacred legacy.” P.36 Children are raised to leave home eventually. However, in the case of the prodigal, what we have a total rejection of the family system, community, shared belief systems and traditions. Out of this story of the Prodigal’s departure, Nouwen teases the following theological truth: “Leaving home is much more than an historical event bound to time and place. It is a denial of the spiritual reality that I belong to God with every part of my being, that God holds me safe in an eternal embrace… Leaving home is living as though I do not yet have a home and must look far and wide to find one. P.37 “Go out and prove that you are worth something, prove to yourself and others that you are worth being loved.” That’s the message of our society. That’s the voice that causes me to question or doubt my own self-worth or inherent goodness. It ties my happiness to having nice things or making more money. It is a voice that will take all of us to a Distant Country, if we listen to it. At her memorial service last week, I said of my friend, Beattie Anne that she never gave up hoping that someone could love her unconditionally, so much so, that even when it happened, it was hard for her to see it. I believe God welcomes all of us by the special name, “Neshume-le,” which means in Hebrew, “Beloved little soul.” Tomorrow is the anniversary of what has come to be known as 911 terrorist attacks. This event continues to incite all kinds of feelings in our national consciousness; particularly that of anger and fear. And anger and fear are highways that will quickly lead us far from our home in God. Why? Because the Jesus of the Gospels places a supreme premium on peace-making, love of enemies, and forgiveness. Some of us may have left home and don’t even realize it. Writes Nouwen, “Anger, resentment, jealousy, desire for revenge, lust, greed, antagonisms, and rivalries are the obvious signs that I have left home.” P.40-41 The elder son’s accusation, that the prodigal has wasted his sudden win-fall in brothels is never substantiated. In Jesus’ worldview “dissolute living” is living outside of God’s will. It is hungering for holiness and settling for pig-slop. It is letting your appetites get the better of you. Verse 14, When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself… Homeless, captive to his poverty, oppressed by a employer who treats the Prodigal less then a slave, condemning him to slow and gradual starvation by refusing him livable wages, his fall from nobility and sonship is now complete. “In retrospect,” writes Nouwen, “it seems that the Prodigal had to lose everything to come into touch with the ground of his being. When he found himself desiring to be treated as one of the pigs, he realized he was not a pig but a human being, a son of the father.” P.49 I like the way the NIV version of the Bible translates verse 17, “When he came to his senses…” Knee deep in pig muck, dressed in rags, frail, weak and starving he finally comes to his senses, (slapping forehead) “For the love of God, what am I doing…here?!” Suddenly the Prodigal remembers who he is. He is a child of his mother and father, and brother to an elder son. He is a member of a family and part of a community. Even more, he is a child of God. Writes Nouwen, “One of the greatest challenges of the spiritual life is to receive God’s forgiveness.” P. 53 You cannot turn back home, without turning your back on your past. It requires believing there is still a home to go to. While he was still a long way off, Jesus says, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found… The story continues to surprise and offend its 1st century audience. The father’s response to the Prodigal’s return is both radically unexpected and subversively undeserved; and it provides a creative tension to the elder brother’s refusal to forgive. If you look at Rembrandt’s painting of “the Prodigal,” there is an intimacy to the embrace of father and son. An intimacy that is counter-cultural. The son returns fully expecting a change in that relationship (I will offer myself up as a servant), and instead is welcomed home as family. But more profound and easily dismissed is the radical break from tradition of a father not only “running” to greet his son but embracing him (as only a mother might embrace her child). It is the warm embrace of unconditional acceptance, love, grace and celebration. Verse 24, And they began to celebrate. No homecoming is complete without a celebration! I was visiting with one of our members, Celeste Kresta who teaches at Mary Grimes Education Center. I asked her about the school and I love the way she describes it. She said these are not bad kids, they are good kids who’ve made bad choices. Some parents have given up; most just don’t know how to help their child. Celeste told me that every child, on their first day has their picture taken of them in a graduation cap and gown. Those pictures of these students in their cap and gown adorn the walls of the school when you first enter. It is the first thing students see every morning when they arrive at school, and the last thing they see as they leave. Upon graduation, the child will be presented with that picture as a gift. Isn’t that cool?! What’s better is how Mary Grimes celebrates the graduation of their students. A child can choose to graduate with his or her class. Often, however, this is not possible. Depending on when they enter Mary Grimes, students are graduating throughout the school year. But every student who graduates is given a cap and gown to wear and invited to walk the school. As they pass through the halls, the entire school; students, teachers, administers spill out of the classrooms, lining the halls. And as the child’s parents proudly watch on, the school erupts into spontaneous celebration! Rapturous applause, loud whistles and shouts of joy, ring through those halls…From one end of the school to the other, a celebration breaks out as the graduate passes through the halls. Can you imagine being this child’s parent? Having seen your child make some bad choices and then pay for those choices; seeing them struggle with anger and feelings of failure, self-esteem issues, wounded-ness and humiliation? And then, watching them receive this kind of love, affirmation, and welcome? In the words of Verse 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Let’s take one last look at Rembrandt’s rendering of the scene. The prodigal’s head is shaven, his cloak faded and worn, lacking their former rich red hues and former glory. His sandals are falling apart. The Prodigal returns, broken, a shell of his former self. Only his sword remains…a symbol of nobility and a sign that despite his ragged appearance, he still was the son of his father and mother. The dressing of the son (upon his return) signifies to the community that “the boy is to be treated as the Father’s son again.” P.303 Interpreters XI Concludes Nouwen, “The young man being embraced by the father is no longer just one repentant sinner but the whole of humanity returning to God.” p.56-58 It calls to mind the words of I John chapter 3. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (vs.2-3) I am committed to authenticity in the church and so I want to share something with you that I’ve been wresting with for some time. I’ve honestly been struggling with the direction of the church. Not that I don’t believe God brought me to Holy Covenant for a reason and that’s s why I’ve continued to stay. My vision for Holy Covenant is that we are to be a mission station for this region and that our commission is to train and equip people for mission and ministry, no holds bar. I believed that our identity as a church strongly committed to justice and peace requires us to find new and creative ways to reach the growing ethnic diversity of our community. And since true mission comes from the soul, I’ve believed we’ve needed to focus more then we had on the spiritual life. I’ve believed that this church has such a loving, progressive and dynamic congregation that everyone would want to be a part of it and that quickly we would need to build a new sanctuary to fit all the people. I know that some in the church don’t want the church to grow. I also know that our own five-year plan (which expresses the vision of the church) states a commitment to zero to moderate growth, with no plans to address the growing diversity of our community, and no building plans for the near future. I’ve found myself being unable to reconcile the vision I had for Holy Covenant with what the church perceives as God’s vision for its future. And honestly I’m not sure that I’m the right person to lead this church the next four to five years and so I’m praying for clarity about what God wants to happen. You know we don’t pray enough near enough. Worse, we don’t listen...I’d be the first to confess that at times I can mistake my desires for God’s purpose. What I want to know is what does God want for the future of Holy Covenant? I want to ask you to join me in making that prayer, your prayer. What I do know is this: Just as Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that our neighbor is anyone in need. The parable of the prodigal tells us that home is wherever God calls us to be. By definition, the church is to be a community that lives under the direction of the Spirit. We cannot claim to care about the things God cares about unless we are willing to go where God is calling us, even if it is inconvenient or requires change. In a sense we are all Prodigals, needing to find our way home. Next week we turn our attention next to the four bystanders in the painting. Pray with me: Lord, help us find our way back to you and your waiting arms. Amen. |
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