The Father Who Runs

Transcript

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[0:00] All right, our sermon text this morning is a little split up, and that's because there are three parables in this passage, and we're only dealing with the last one today. But they're all about being lost and finding lost things, and the way that the person who finds what is lost celebrates and is so joyous once he finds that lost thing. So we start in chapter 15 in the first three verses, and then we'll skip to verse 11.

[0:36] Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and the teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people, even eating with them. So Jesus told them this. Story.

[0:58] And then we skip. To illustrate this point, Jesus told them this story. A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, I want my share of your estate now before you die. So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

[1:19] A few days later, this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land. And there. He wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.

[1:46] This young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. So he left home to get some food and to get some rest. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, at home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger. I will go home to my father and say, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.

[2:21] So he returned home to his father. And while he was still alive, he was still hungry. long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. But his father said to the servants, Quick, bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet and kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast. For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he's found. So the party began. Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. Your brother? Your brother is back, he was told, and your father has killed the fattened calf. We're celebrating because of his safe return. But the older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to do. And in all that time, you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.

[3:54] Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf. His father said to him, Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day for your brother was dead and has come back to life. He is lost, but now he is found.

[4:21] Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask for your blessing upon this word. Would you open our minds and open our hearts to hear the message you would have for us today? These things we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

[4:44] So Jesus told really weird stories. Honestly, it's true. Everything that he told in his parables was just a little bit off from the norm of the day. And I guess that's what made them effective because that's what made people really take note and listen. Because he wasn't saying things that were just everyday understandings. He did it on purpose. He just made them a little strange. So this passage is an example of that. We're meant to draw a parallel between the father and God. And I think that's pretty obvious for us. But culturally speaking, the most reasonable and honorable character in this story should have been by far the oldest brother.

[5:38] In an honor shame culture like ancient Israel. The oldest brother acted the most responsibly. And so in that culture. The oldest. oldest brother would have been the most redeemable, and yet Jesus made it really obvious that he was every bit as unworthy of grace as his lost brother. So we're meant to think that the most inexcusably foolish person in this story is the youngest brother because he brought shame upon his entire family. From the very first moment that he opened his mouth. The family's wealthy and they're probably of good social standing. And we can tell that they're especially wealthy because the youngest son expects to have an inheritance. Instead of expecting all of the inheritance to go to his brother and his brother to provide then for the family. This youngest son just naturally expects the oldest brother to have an equal. Maybe not an equal share. But a fair share. definitely a share in the inheritance and he expects his father to be able to produce it right away so they don't have to live off of meager means and they can provide this inheritance right when the son asks for it and in a lot of families that simply wasn't the case anyhow he did ask his father for his share of the inheritance and that is absolutely appalling um that was very much like telling his father

[7:20] i wish you were dead now and all i want from you is not relationship is not your guidance is not your control over my life all i want from you at all is your money i want to take your money and leave you are dead to me if you want to end up with me if if if if if if if if if if if if if if as well, because he didn't just move far away. This translation says he moved to a distant land, but other translations say he moved to a foreign country, which since he was originally an Israelite, that means he moved to a pagan country. So that was not just putting a physical distance between himself and his father, but it was really just spitting in the face of everything that his father believed in. This request by the younger son is also a misguided request for independence from his father. So this is where all sin starts, by the way. All sin is a broken desire for independence from God. You know, God gives us free will, and that is good, and that is healthy, but it is different from declaring yourself independent. Independent from God and unneeding of God's grace. There's a streak of rebellion inside each and every one of us, and that strives for independence from God's control over our lives and God's credit for our lives. So this younger son no longer had to submit to his father's authority.

[9:21] He no longer had to ask his father for permission. He no longer had to, in the midst of all this, have the power to abide by his father's beliefs or follow his father's rules or believe in his father's God.

[9:34] He was his own man and not his father's son. And this applies to many people today, and it could apply to you. Whenever you resist God's instruction or guidance over your lives, we all have these times of rebellion, and we have this innate tendency to want to come back to God. We want to control our own lives independent of God's authority.

[10:02] So everything that the youngest son had done in this story up to this point was shameful. He disrespected his father. He disrespected his community. He disrespected his heritage. And what's even more shameful is that he ended up failing at these ambitions of his. And some of us may think, well, he didn't seem to have any ambition to begin with. But whatever ambition he had, he failed in. He failed in his independence, and he squandered everything that he had. And he ended up working as a pig farmer. Now, when we hear that, we might think, well, it's not the best work, but at least it's work. We in our culture have this tendency to think, well, any work we can take pride in. If we're working hard, we're doing well for ourselves.

[11:00] Perhaps it's a job very few people would want to do. Perhaps it pays poorly, but it's work, and it's something to be proud of. But that's not the case at all to the original audience. First of all, he was a lowly hired hand. And second of all, pork is not kosher, and pigs were ceremoniously unclean, or ritually unclean. In Jewish culture. So he was basically not just a hired hand, but he was a slave to something that was filthy, and constantly considered ritually unclean because of his job.

[11:41] So to the Jewish religious leaders listening to Jesus tell this story for the first time, feeding swine after disrespecting your whole entire community was about as low as you could see. And he somehow found himself even lower than these unclean pigs too. Because even the pigs had proper food and shelter. And he found himself longing to eat the slop that he fed them. And it would have been more honorable to him at this point to go crawling back to his father and beg to become a slave, rather to remain in his position as a pig feeder.

[12:26] And of course, in most cases, he really would have to actually beg. Because, and beg even to be his father's slave. Even to be the lowliest member of his father's household, he would have to really lay it on thick. Because he was in trouble. His family was so shamed by him that honestly they really should have disowned him. That would have been the cultural norm.

[12:55] So he practiced his speech along the way. And some people, I was reading some commentaries this week, and some of them seemed to think that was false. That he was just making it up so that he could sell his father a sob story. I actually disagree. I think that he had hit rock bottom. And that he honestly humbled himself. I really do. But I guess that's neither here nor there. It doesn't really matter where his heart was in the moment. Because what really, really matters in this story is what happens next.

[13:32] So he was expecting to have to come crawling, begging to his father. But what he didn't know, and what he couldn't have known, is that his father had been waiting for him. Maybe even from the day his son had left, his father had been waiting. Maybe he'd been keeping watch.

[13:53] Maybe he'd been painstaking. Staring down that road and hoping against hope that his son would appear on the horizon. And then one day, his son was there. And he recognized him even from a great distance. And he abandoned all decorum. And he raced down the road to greet his beloved child. And I want you to think about what that child did to him. He shamed him, embarrassed him, hurt him, told him he wished he was dead. And now he's standing there smelling like pig filth.

[14:31] And his father ran to him and embraced him and kissed him. Just like he would if he'd returned to the dead. And according to our passage, it was just like he returned from the dead. So we think this is really heartwarming. But the original audience to the story must have been slightly appalled. Because much like the son, the father all of a sudden seems to have no honor either. It is not honorable in this culture for an elder to just go running about. It is foolish and it is undignified.

[15:12] And especially to run for the sake of someone younger than you. And to run for the sake of someone who has shamed you. But that's exactly what he does. He just runs for the sake of someone younger than you. Abandons all care and all appearances. And he goes running to this shameful, foolish son. And then the father heaps on the love and forgiveness over his son.

[15:36] Even before the son ever actually utters a word of repentance. In fact, in this whole story, the word repentance is not used. Which is strange because this is Luke. And Luke uses the word repentance more than any other gospel. But the word repentance is not used here. So it's not even a matter of where his heart was. His father ran to him and embraced him before he could repent.

[16:10] There was no reason for the father to forgive the son. And there was especially no reason for him to forgive him before he could repent. And there was absolutely no reason for him to forgive the father. And there was absolutely no reason for him to go running like a crazy person. To carelessly just throw heaps of love and compassion over this shameful wayward son of his.

[16:34] Now I probably went too long in my life not knowing the actual definition of the word prodigal. And I'm gonna just full disclosure. I went till about two weeks ago without knowing the actual definition of the word prodigal. I always assumed that it meant long. I always assumed that it meant lost or wayward. Because so often in our cultural context when we use the prodigal son. We talk about someone who's lost or someone who has returned. So it seems to have taken on a different meaning.

[17:07] But prodigal actually means for those of you who are like me and didn't know. Something that's excessively lavish or wastefully extravagant. And certainly this son spent his inheritance. In such a lavish and excessive way.

[17:27] He lived lavishly and excessively and foolishly. And he just threw his money about. And he reigned sin in in a lavish way. But I truly think that the prodigal in this story is the father. The father is the one who gives something away the most excessively.

[17:50] The father's neighbors may have argued that it was excessive. And even foolish how the father had just given the son his inheritance in the first place. Probably gaining disrespect from the community. For allowing his son to insult him in such a way. And potentially bringing financial hardship on the family. His son asked and his father foolishly heaped his son with blessing in return. For the insult his son has just given him. But what's most extraordinary.

[18:23] Is the way that he then absolutely lavished forgiveness and love upon the son. Who had shamed himself and his family. He excessively and extravagantly lavished his son with blessings and forgiveness. Even to his own detriment.

[18:43] So in an honor shame culture this man does not look good. He looks a bit weak. And yet we know from Jesus's story that this father. Represents the son. Who runs his household. comprehend it. Then of course his father takes this extravagant outpouring of blessing even further and invites friends and neighbors to this brilliant feast of his son returning. And there's joy and merriment all around, except someone is missing. And so in that same honor-shame culture, we have the oldest son. The oldest son was given the inheritance when his younger brother asked, but remained by his father's side and he worked hard. In his own words, he slaved away.

[20:01] This is exactly what a son should do to bring honor to his family. He should be the most redeemable and relatable character in the parable. To Jesus's original context. He's followed the rules of society. He's carried out his familial duties, but instead we see that he's truly just missed the point. His whole attitude is one of utter lack of sympathy. He refers to his brother not as his brother, but as your son.

[20:39] This older brother, had missed the high qualities in his father's life. He couldn't understand his father's patience, forbearance, and grief over the younger brother's absence from the home. His heart had become so frozen by selfish conceit that he lacked understanding or compassion. And his whole attitude shows that his years of obedience to his father had simply been years of grim duty and not of loving service. Of loving participation in what his father had.

[21:16] So he had been at his father's side, yet he had somehow missed out on participating in his father's blessings, his father's work, his father's love, who his father was. There was no interaction with that.

[21:31] That is much like us also. When we go through the motions, but forget to fully joyfully participate in God's work. For his life for his life his life for his life for his life for his life for for life for life for life for He desires to lavish love on the older brother just as much as he lavished love on the younger brother. He's always loved him and he will always love him. Only the older brother never noticed it because he was toiling not for his father, but for his due.

[22:32] And then that big party for him and his friends, that could have been his too. Any time he asked for it, but he never thought to ask for it because he was too busy trying to joylessly and painstakingly earn it.

[22:48] So it was obvious that the foolish younger brother was meant to represent the sinners and tax collectors in this story. And Jesus really could have shortened this parable considerably. In fact, it is the longest parable that Jesus told. He could have left off at the point where the father invited everything. Everybody to celebrate his youngest son's return. The leaders and the Pharisees would have gotten that point. That they're meant to celebrate everyone's return to the father. But Jesus didn't leave it there. He included the part about the older brother and he made that part strange. You know, that most revered character, the most redeemable in their sight, was suddenly considered the most lost. And he did that on purpose. Because, the older brother represented them. The Pharisees and the leaders. And at some point all of us have been like the younger brother. And at some point all of us have been like the older brother. It's not enough to be the younger brother who returns as a slave in his father's house. As was his intention.

[24:00] What good is it to repent from sins only to slave away in misery. And never participate. participate in God's incredible love for us. Jesus talked about both sons because both had rebelled in some way against their father. The younger desired independence and control over his own life so he could follow his own rules, be his own man. But the older brother removed himself from truly having a relationship with his father, rebelling against his love. So each wanted the same thing and that was to have their own way and that cost both of them. It cost their freedom, which is funny because they both wanted their freedom, which is why they rebelled.

[24:44] But one became a literal slave and the other felt like a slave. It cost them everything. The younger spent all he had and the older never fully participated in what was available to him. And most of all, it cost them the ability to celebrate with the father and participate in his loving relationship with them.

[25:07] But the brilliant thing is that as soon as they turned to the father, he was there to lavish love over them and celebrate them. They didn't deserve it. They were both pretty terrible actually. But the father was always there waiting for them to turn back to him. You and I are recipients of the same undeserved and excessively lavish outpouring of love and blessings as well. So our job right now, especially during Lent is to examine where we're at. Are we that younger brother? Are we that older brother? Have we turned back to the father? Are we fully participating in all that the father offers to us? These are the thoughts that we'll leave you with this week. Let's pray These thoughts thoughts Father God, we thank you for your foolishly excessive, lavish love over us.

[26:09] God, we ask that you would help us to participate in your love and your mission in this world. God, that we would fully turn to you and experience all that you have for us. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.