The Prodigal Sons
Preaching
Preaching The Parables
Series III, Cycle C
1. Text
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. [2] And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
[3] So he told them this parable:
Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. [12] 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. [13] A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. [14] When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. [15] So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. [16] He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. [17] But 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! [18] I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; [19] I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands." ' [20] So 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. [21] Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' [22] But 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. [23] And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; [24] for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
[25] "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. [26] He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. [27] He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' [28] Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. [29] But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. [30] But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' [31] Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. [32] But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.' "
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
A statement by the Pharisees and scribes prompts this parable.
Second Point Of Action
The younger sibling demands and ill-uses his inheritance.
Third Point Of Action
His life in the real world brings the son to reality.
Fourth Point Of Action
The son decides to return to his father.
Fifth Point Of Action
The father responds with compassion.
Sixth Point Of Action
The elder sibling responds to the celebration.
Seventh Point Of Action
The elder sibling and the father engage in conversation.
3. Spadework
Dissolute Living
Amoral, wanton, unethical, godless, loose, weak, and wild behavior -- everything that is the opposite of virtuous, moral, and righteous characterizes dissolute living. Dissolute living is a deliberate and chosen lifestyle of negative energy rather than the result alone of innocence or immaturity.
A play upon a similar word, "dissolution," suggests that dissolute behavior is not part of the solution. It contributes to brokenness rather than to wholeness. It fragments the heart rather than binds our whole being together. It destroys rather than nurtures relationships. It brings about endings rather than life beginnings. Dissolute living is about the falling apart, disintegration, and crumbling of the human spirit rather than a life that blossoms with the vigor of spiritual health.
Fatted Calf
"Fatted calf" refers to the best that one has to offer. "Calf" occurs 23 times in the Bible. Fatted calf, however, appears on only one other occasion. In 1 Samuel, when the woman saw that Saul was terrified at the prospect of facing the Philistines, she prepared him food to give him strength for the journey. (See 1 Samuel 28: 19-25.) "Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house. She quickly slaughtered it, and she took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened cakes" (1 Samuel 28: 24).
Give Me
From Genesis 14:21 to Revelation 10:9, "Give me" appears 76 times, whereas "Give us" occurs in 23 instances. What is the negotiation between the giver and the receiver? Is there an implicit expectation of being given something in return, or is "Give me" always one-directional?
Give me is that demanding of or begging from one person to another. It "thingifies" rather than humanizes. What does it take for us to make the request, "Give me"? How can we judge what is right for us? The Give me of what we "have coming to us," that is, human rights, justice, and equality, is non-negotiable.
How do the Give me's that we ask of God differ from those we request or demand of others? "The younger of [the siblings] said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them" (Luke 15:12). When do we graduate from the gimme's to that other Give me?
"Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart" (Psalm 119:34). "Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments" (Psalm 11:73). "I am your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know your decrees" (Psalm 119:125).
Hope Of Forgiveness
Christ suggests that despite our inability to avoid sinning, there is hope for sinners: "Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). For Christ and for God, people still count one by one. "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7).
Christ wants all members of the human family to be people of hope rather than of despair. God's generous attitude toward sin influences our posture in our relationships with others. "Then Peter came and said to him, 'Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times' " (Matthew 18:21-22).
Earlier, Hebrew Prophets also spoke of redemption: "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins" (Isaiah 43:25). "I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you" (Isaiah 44:22). "But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die" (Ezekiel 18:21).
Psalm 103 must have influenced the attitude of Christ toward forgiveness:
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
-- Psalm 103:8-12
Can we ask for forgiveness before we know that we will be forgiven? Is knowing that God will forgive us what empowers our capacity to change our path and ask for forgiveness? What promotes being acceptable, feeling acceptable? Something miraculous within the despair of hopelessness turns us around in the direction of hope. Perhaps we first recognize that change within us when we begin to consider that we need forgiveness. Perhaps that cognizance is the seed of God's steadfast love within us.
Pharisee
For a discussion of Pharisee, see Cycle C, Parable 18, Two Men At Prayer.
Sin, Sinner(s)
Six of the fifteen biblical references to "sinner" appear in Luke. The initial reference, however, occurs in 1 Samuel 2:25. Of 24 references to "sinners" in the New Testament, fourteen occur in the Gospels. Twelve relate to Jesus' association with tax collectors and sinners.
"Sin" occurs 73 times in the New Testament. In the Gospels, "sin" is used sixteen times, all, with one exception, are words of Christ. Sin appears on 227 occasions in Hebrew Scripture. References in Exodus 16:1 and 17:1 name a "wilderness of Sin" situated between Elim and Sinai. Here, the thirsty and hungry Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron, wishing they had died while still in Egypt. Here, where they camped after setting out from the Red Sea, God sent manna from heaven to feed the wandering Israelites. Here also, God later instructed Moses to strike the rock out of which would come water at Horeb. (See also Numbers 33:11-12.)
Of 158 biblical references to "sins," seventy occur in the New Testament. Of the 23 Gospel occurrences, "sins" appears thirteen times in Luke, nine in Matthew, and seven in Mark.
Sinner (Definition)
A definition of a sinner begins to emerge as one surveys scripture. In the Hebrew Scripture, sin involves provoking God by doing what is evil in God's sight: "Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin you had committed, provoking the Lord by doing what was evil in his sight" (Deuteronomy 9:18).
Among the clearest descriptions of sin is this from James: "But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15). The writer of James understands a sinner as one who is "wandering." "[Y]you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20). The writer of James further paints sin as showing partiality (while loving your neighbor as yourself). (See James 2:8-9.)
The author of Romans views sinning as being disobedient "For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).
The writer of Matthew suggests that the human causes of sin can be removed and that sinning and doing evil are related. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers" (Matthew 13:41ff).
Contrasting the learned with common folk who might know little, the man whom Jesus heals of blindness counters the Pharisees' attempts to label Christ as a sinner. The man speaks truth. "So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, 'Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.' He answered, 'I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see' " (John 9:24-25).
The words of Christ in the Gospel of John suggest that sin is universal to the human family. "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 'Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at [the woman caught in committing adultery]' " (John 8:7).
From the first of John's letters come three commentaries on sin: "Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4). "Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). "We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them" (1 John 5:18).
In the book of Romans, sin is an entity separate from the existence of the law: "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned -- sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law" (Romans 5:12-13). However, were it not for the law, one might not recognize sin: "What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet' " (Romans 7:7). The author of Romans further defines sin as "whatever does not proceed from faith." See Romans 14:23.
Sin is "the devising of folly" (Proverbs 24:9). Sin is exercised with the tongue. "I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." (See Psalm 39:1.)
Tax Collector(s)
Jesus counsels the tax collectors: "Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, 'Teacher, what should we do?' He said to them, 'Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you' " (Luke 3:12-13).
Jesus quotes his opponents: " '[T]he Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.' "(Matthew 11:19). See also Luke 7:34. When the chief priests and elders question Jesus about this matter in the temple, Jesus retorts, " 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you' " (Matthew 21:31b).
Five of the seven New Testament references to "tax collector" occur in Luke. The other two are in Matthew. Six references to "tax collectors" appear in Matthew, three in Mark, and six in Luke. Zacchaeus was a tax collector (Luke 19:2), as were Levi who dropped everything to follow Christ (Luke 5:27) and the disciple, Matthew (Matthew 10:3).
4. Parallel Scriptures
The parable of the Prodigal Sons is special to the writer of Luke.
Found
Of the 312 biblical references to "found," only a few refer to the state of being found, that is, of finding reconciliation with one's self, family, and God. The following passages are worthy of consideration in light of those who are prodigal:
"And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you forever" (1 Chronicles 28:9). See also 2 Chronicles 15:2 and these words spoken to King Jehoshaphat, "Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you ... have set your heart to seek God" (2 Chronicles 19:3).
Several Hebrew writers speak of the godless, who will not be found: "They will fly away like a dream, and not be found; they will be chased away like a vision of the night. The eye that saw them will see them no more, nor will their place behold them any longer" (Job 20:8-9). Ezekiel says, "I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord God" (Ezekiel 26:21). From Daniel, "Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found" (Daniel 11:19).
The following words from Isaiah may well have been the morning and evening prayer of the father in the parable of the prodigals:
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
-- Isaiah 55:6-8
Like the father's " '... rejoice, because ... he was lost and has been found' " (Luke 15:32), the finder of the lost sheep and the finder of the lost coin utter similar words: " 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost' " (Luke 15:5-6) and " 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost' " (Luke 15:9). (See Cycle C, Parable 13, Lost And Found.)
Lost
Compare the two mentions of "lost and found" in the present parable, " '[F]or this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24) and " '[b]ut we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found' " (Luke 15:32) with the following "lost and found" passages: (1) "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7) and (2) "Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).
Among several Hebrew texts that refer to a lost inner state of well being are the following four passages: (1) "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments" (Psalm 119:176); (2) "They die for lack of discipline, and because of their great folly they are lost" (Proverbs 5:23); (3) "And I said: 'Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!' " (Isaiah 6:5); and (4) "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold" (Jeremiah 50:6).
Jesus is quoted infrequently as using "lost" in the sense of relationship with self and God: "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' " (Matthew 10:5-6). Jesus also responded, "But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, 'Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.' He answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' " (Matthew 15:23-24). Also according to the writer of Matthew, Jesus said, "So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 18:14).
In addition to the "lost and found" of the parable about the prodigals, the juxtaposition of lost with found is also used in the lost and found parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin that precede the present parable. These parables are found in Luke 15:4-10 (Cycle C, Parable 14).
Property
The younger sibling referred to "the share of the property that will belong to [him]" (Luke 15:12). Hebrew texts refer to allotted property: "You must not move your neighbor's boundary marker, set up by former generations, on the property that will be allotted to you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess" (Deuteronomy 19:14) and "Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property among the people there" (Jeremiah 37:12).
One can find "squandered property" both in the present parable and in that of the Clever Crook, also in Luke. "Then Jesus said to the disciples, 'There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property' " (Luke 16:1). See "The Clever Crook," Cycle C, Parable 14. The third instance of "squander" in the Bible occurs in Proverbs 29:3: "A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad, but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one's substance."
Tax Collectors
In Luke 15:1-3, when the Pharisees question Jesus about eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus answers with the parable of the family. In Matthew, Jesus responds, " 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick' " (Matthew 9:12). According to Mark, Jesus' response was, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." (Mark 2:17). In Luke 5:31-32, the words duplicate Mark's with the addition of "to repentance" after "sinners."
5. Chat Room
Older Child: Dad's words kept echoing in the days and weeks after you returned home, kid. "We had to celebrate," Dad said. I took issue with his generosity. I thought I was the mature one. I was not mature. I was just established.
Younger Child: All I knew was I had to get out of there. You had everything. You have the business smarts. You can work with Pop.
Older Child: You can, too. You just have to anticipate him a little -- his moods, when he is getting tired, keep the inflow and the outflow balanced. You know.
Younger Child: That's what I mean. You can read him. You and I are put together differently. There was no room for me. You two are a team. He respects your suggestions. He didn't even hear me when I tried to tell him something.
Older Child: You and Dad are a lot like each other. In a strange sort of way, you are the one with the insight, kid. To be honest, you understood the firstborn's relationship with the father better than I did. I felt only that it was my responsibility as the elder one, my duty. My partnership was not a matter of choice.
Younger Child: I thought it would be so easy. I'd have my inheritance and go out on my own. Then all of a sudden I was as stuck as I had been at home. The money was gone. I was without a job. I found myself without everything. I found myself.
Older Child: What happened, anyway?
Younger Child: It was great to be free. I didn't really know what I was going to do. I didn't have to worry. I had the inheritance. I could play for a long time, see new places, do some things before I had to start thinking about the stodgy stuff.
Older Child: Like not playing all of your funds on stocks?
Younger Child: Diversify. See, I should have listened to you, there, too. I was too ashamed to come home to Pop and Mom. I tried out everything that tempted me. I was too embarrassed by my actions not to come home. I had to return to who I was. Pop and Mom had taught us both what is wrong and what is right.
Older Child: But you came home. When they told me what you said to Dad, I thought at first you were just trying to play with him again. How could he take you back? Would he also give you my part of the inheritance now? That ring should have been mine.
Younger Child: I was not looking for money. You said you kept hearing Pop say he had to celebrate. Well, I had to come home and apologize to Pop. I had lost the right to be called his son.
Only now do I see that coming home was the one chance, the only chance I would have to start all over again. Pop owes me nothing, I owe him everything.
Older Child: Hi, Dad.
Younger Child: I did not expect you to wrap your arms around me, Pop.
Father: And you did not expect me to celebrate. That is what "cherish" means, son. By adoption or by birth, you are my children. You are my beloved. When you, my firstborn, find routine tedious, I wait for you to discover for yourself the creative orifices of stability. I teach you all I know about my life work. I wait for you to appreciate the responsibility of partnership as well as to sludge through the responsibility of knowing that my existence is short-lived. By nature, you are a steady-at-the-helm person.
And you, my younger child, will come to sense that my letting you go with my blessing and with your part of the property exemplified my love for you. More than anything else, you needed freedom to explore, to make your mistakes, and to find yourself. When you have daughters and sons yourself, you will fully understand both my sorrow and my hope for you in your time of wandering absence.
You are two individuals. Nothing either of you could do is stronger than my love for you. Nothing. I could, indeed, do nothing other than celebrate your return. As happens to all of God's creation, you were lost, and now you are found. Welcome home, both of you, my beloved children.
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. [2] And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
[3] So he told them this parable:
Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. [12] 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. [13] A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. [14] When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. [15] So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. [16] He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. [17] But 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! [18] I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; [19] I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands." ' [20] So 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. [21] Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' [22] But 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. [23] And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; [24] for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
[25] "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. [26] He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. [27] He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' [28] Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. [29] But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. [30] But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' [31] Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. [32] But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.' "
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
A statement by the Pharisees and scribes prompts this parable.
Second Point Of Action
The younger sibling demands and ill-uses his inheritance.
Third Point Of Action
His life in the real world brings the son to reality.
Fourth Point Of Action
The son decides to return to his father.
Fifth Point Of Action
The father responds with compassion.
Sixth Point Of Action
The elder sibling responds to the celebration.
Seventh Point Of Action
The elder sibling and the father engage in conversation.
3. Spadework
Dissolute Living
Amoral, wanton, unethical, godless, loose, weak, and wild behavior -- everything that is the opposite of virtuous, moral, and righteous characterizes dissolute living. Dissolute living is a deliberate and chosen lifestyle of negative energy rather than the result alone of innocence or immaturity.
A play upon a similar word, "dissolution," suggests that dissolute behavior is not part of the solution. It contributes to brokenness rather than to wholeness. It fragments the heart rather than binds our whole being together. It destroys rather than nurtures relationships. It brings about endings rather than life beginnings. Dissolute living is about the falling apart, disintegration, and crumbling of the human spirit rather than a life that blossoms with the vigor of spiritual health.
Fatted Calf
"Fatted calf" refers to the best that one has to offer. "Calf" occurs 23 times in the Bible. Fatted calf, however, appears on only one other occasion. In 1 Samuel, when the woman saw that Saul was terrified at the prospect of facing the Philistines, she prepared him food to give him strength for the journey. (See 1 Samuel 28: 19-25.) "Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house. She quickly slaughtered it, and she took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened cakes" (1 Samuel 28: 24).
Give Me
From Genesis 14:21 to Revelation 10:9, "Give me" appears 76 times, whereas "Give us" occurs in 23 instances. What is the negotiation between the giver and the receiver? Is there an implicit expectation of being given something in return, or is "Give me" always one-directional?
Give me is that demanding of or begging from one person to another. It "thingifies" rather than humanizes. What does it take for us to make the request, "Give me"? How can we judge what is right for us? The Give me of what we "have coming to us," that is, human rights, justice, and equality, is non-negotiable.
How do the Give me's that we ask of God differ from those we request or demand of others? "The younger of [the siblings] said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them" (Luke 15:12). When do we graduate from the gimme's to that other Give me?
"Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart" (Psalm 119:34). "Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments" (Psalm 11:73). "I am your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know your decrees" (Psalm 119:125).
Hope Of Forgiveness
Christ suggests that despite our inability to avoid sinning, there is hope for sinners: "Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). For Christ and for God, people still count one by one. "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7).
Christ wants all members of the human family to be people of hope rather than of despair. God's generous attitude toward sin influences our posture in our relationships with others. "Then Peter came and said to him, 'Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times' " (Matthew 18:21-22).
Earlier, Hebrew Prophets also spoke of redemption: "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins" (Isaiah 43:25). "I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you" (Isaiah 44:22). "But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die" (Ezekiel 18:21).
Psalm 103 must have influenced the attitude of Christ toward forgiveness:
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
-- Psalm 103:8-12
Can we ask for forgiveness before we know that we will be forgiven? Is knowing that God will forgive us what empowers our capacity to change our path and ask for forgiveness? What promotes being acceptable, feeling acceptable? Something miraculous within the despair of hopelessness turns us around in the direction of hope. Perhaps we first recognize that change within us when we begin to consider that we need forgiveness. Perhaps that cognizance is the seed of God's steadfast love within us.
Pharisee
For a discussion of Pharisee, see Cycle C, Parable 18, Two Men At Prayer.
Sin, Sinner(s)
Six of the fifteen biblical references to "sinner" appear in Luke. The initial reference, however, occurs in 1 Samuel 2:25. Of 24 references to "sinners" in the New Testament, fourteen occur in the Gospels. Twelve relate to Jesus' association with tax collectors and sinners.
"Sin" occurs 73 times in the New Testament. In the Gospels, "sin" is used sixteen times, all, with one exception, are words of Christ. Sin appears on 227 occasions in Hebrew Scripture. References in Exodus 16:1 and 17:1 name a "wilderness of Sin" situated between Elim and Sinai. Here, the thirsty and hungry Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron, wishing they had died while still in Egypt. Here, where they camped after setting out from the Red Sea, God sent manna from heaven to feed the wandering Israelites. Here also, God later instructed Moses to strike the rock out of which would come water at Horeb. (See also Numbers 33:11-12.)
Of 158 biblical references to "sins," seventy occur in the New Testament. Of the 23 Gospel occurrences, "sins" appears thirteen times in Luke, nine in Matthew, and seven in Mark.
Sinner (Definition)
A definition of a sinner begins to emerge as one surveys scripture. In the Hebrew Scripture, sin involves provoking God by doing what is evil in God's sight: "Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin you had committed, provoking the Lord by doing what was evil in his sight" (Deuteronomy 9:18).
Among the clearest descriptions of sin is this from James: "But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15). The writer of James understands a sinner as one who is "wandering." "[Y]you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20). The writer of James further paints sin as showing partiality (while loving your neighbor as yourself). (See James 2:8-9.)
The author of Romans views sinning as being disobedient "For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).
The writer of Matthew suggests that the human causes of sin can be removed and that sinning and doing evil are related. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers" (Matthew 13:41ff).
Contrasting the learned with common folk who might know little, the man whom Jesus heals of blindness counters the Pharisees' attempts to label Christ as a sinner. The man speaks truth. "So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, 'Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.' He answered, 'I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see' " (John 9:24-25).
The words of Christ in the Gospel of John suggest that sin is universal to the human family. "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 'Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at [the woman caught in committing adultery]' " (John 8:7).
From the first of John's letters come three commentaries on sin: "Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4). "Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). "We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them" (1 John 5:18).
In the book of Romans, sin is an entity separate from the existence of the law: "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned -- sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law" (Romans 5:12-13). However, were it not for the law, one might not recognize sin: "What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet' " (Romans 7:7). The author of Romans further defines sin as "whatever does not proceed from faith." See Romans 14:23.
Sin is "the devising of folly" (Proverbs 24:9). Sin is exercised with the tongue. "I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." (See Psalm 39:1.)
Tax Collector(s)
Jesus counsels the tax collectors: "Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, 'Teacher, what should we do?' He said to them, 'Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you' " (Luke 3:12-13).
Jesus quotes his opponents: " '[T]he Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.' "(Matthew 11:19). See also Luke 7:34. When the chief priests and elders question Jesus about this matter in the temple, Jesus retorts, " 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you' " (Matthew 21:31b).
Five of the seven New Testament references to "tax collector" occur in Luke. The other two are in Matthew. Six references to "tax collectors" appear in Matthew, three in Mark, and six in Luke. Zacchaeus was a tax collector (Luke 19:2), as were Levi who dropped everything to follow Christ (Luke 5:27) and the disciple, Matthew (Matthew 10:3).
4. Parallel Scriptures
The parable of the Prodigal Sons is special to the writer of Luke.
Found
Of the 312 biblical references to "found," only a few refer to the state of being found, that is, of finding reconciliation with one's self, family, and God. The following passages are worthy of consideration in light of those who are prodigal:
"And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you forever" (1 Chronicles 28:9). See also 2 Chronicles 15:2 and these words spoken to King Jehoshaphat, "Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you ... have set your heart to seek God" (2 Chronicles 19:3).
Several Hebrew writers speak of the godless, who will not be found: "They will fly away like a dream, and not be found; they will be chased away like a vision of the night. The eye that saw them will see them no more, nor will their place behold them any longer" (Job 20:8-9). Ezekiel says, "I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord God" (Ezekiel 26:21). From Daniel, "Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found" (Daniel 11:19).
The following words from Isaiah may well have been the morning and evening prayer of the father in the parable of the prodigals:
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
-- Isaiah 55:6-8
Like the father's " '... rejoice, because ... he was lost and has been found' " (Luke 15:32), the finder of the lost sheep and the finder of the lost coin utter similar words: " 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost' " (Luke 15:5-6) and " 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost' " (Luke 15:9). (See Cycle C, Parable 13, Lost And Found.)
Lost
Compare the two mentions of "lost and found" in the present parable, " '[F]or this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24) and " '[b]ut we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found' " (Luke 15:32) with the following "lost and found" passages: (1) "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7) and (2) "Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).
Among several Hebrew texts that refer to a lost inner state of well being are the following four passages: (1) "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments" (Psalm 119:176); (2) "They die for lack of discipline, and because of their great folly they are lost" (Proverbs 5:23); (3) "And I said: 'Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!' " (Isaiah 6:5); and (4) "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold" (Jeremiah 50:6).
Jesus is quoted infrequently as using "lost" in the sense of relationship with self and God: "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' " (Matthew 10:5-6). Jesus also responded, "But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, 'Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.' He answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' " (Matthew 15:23-24). Also according to the writer of Matthew, Jesus said, "So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 18:14).
In addition to the "lost and found" of the parable about the prodigals, the juxtaposition of lost with found is also used in the lost and found parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin that precede the present parable. These parables are found in Luke 15:4-10 (Cycle C, Parable 14).
Property
The younger sibling referred to "the share of the property that will belong to [him]" (Luke 15:12). Hebrew texts refer to allotted property: "You must not move your neighbor's boundary marker, set up by former generations, on the property that will be allotted to you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess" (Deuteronomy 19:14) and "Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property among the people there" (Jeremiah 37:12).
One can find "squandered property" both in the present parable and in that of the Clever Crook, also in Luke. "Then Jesus said to the disciples, 'There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property' " (Luke 16:1). See "The Clever Crook," Cycle C, Parable 14. The third instance of "squander" in the Bible occurs in Proverbs 29:3: "A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad, but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one's substance."
Tax Collectors
In Luke 15:1-3, when the Pharisees question Jesus about eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus answers with the parable of the family. In Matthew, Jesus responds, " 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick' " (Matthew 9:12). According to Mark, Jesus' response was, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." (Mark 2:17). In Luke 5:31-32, the words duplicate Mark's with the addition of "to repentance" after "sinners."
5. Chat Room
Older Child: Dad's words kept echoing in the days and weeks after you returned home, kid. "We had to celebrate," Dad said. I took issue with his generosity. I thought I was the mature one. I was not mature. I was just established.
Younger Child: All I knew was I had to get out of there. You had everything. You have the business smarts. You can work with Pop.
Older Child: You can, too. You just have to anticipate him a little -- his moods, when he is getting tired, keep the inflow and the outflow balanced. You know.
Younger Child: That's what I mean. You can read him. You and I are put together differently. There was no room for me. You two are a team. He respects your suggestions. He didn't even hear me when I tried to tell him something.
Older Child: You and Dad are a lot like each other. In a strange sort of way, you are the one with the insight, kid. To be honest, you understood the firstborn's relationship with the father better than I did. I felt only that it was my responsibility as the elder one, my duty. My partnership was not a matter of choice.
Younger Child: I thought it would be so easy. I'd have my inheritance and go out on my own. Then all of a sudden I was as stuck as I had been at home. The money was gone. I was without a job. I found myself without everything. I found myself.
Older Child: What happened, anyway?
Younger Child: It was great to be free. I didn't really know what I was going to do. I didn't have to worry. I had the inheritance. I could play for a long time, see new places, do some things before I had to start thinking about the stodgy stuff.
Older Child: Like not playing all of your funds on stocks?
Younger Child: Diversify. See, I should have listened to you, there, too. I was too ashamed to come home to Pop and Mom. I tried out everything that tempted me. I was too embarrassed by my actions not to come home. I had to return to who I was. Pop and Mom had taught us both what is wrong and what is right.
Older Child: But you came home. When they told me what you said to Dad, I thought at first you were just trying to play with him again. How could he take you back? Would he also give you my part of the inheritance now? That ring should have been mine.
Younger Child: I was not looking for money. You said you kept hearing Pop say he had to celebrate. Well, I had to come home and apologize to Pop. I had lost the right to be called his son.
Only now do I see that coming home was the one chance, the only chance I would have to start all over again. Pop owes me nothing, I owe him everything.
Older Child: Hi, Dad.
Younger Child: I did not expect you to wrap your arms around me, Pop.
Father: And you did not expect me to celebrate. That is what "cherish" means, son. By adoption or by birth, you are my children. You are my beloved. When you, my firstborn, find routine tedious, I wait for you to discover for yourself the creative orifices of stability. I teach you all I know about my life work. I wait for you to appreciate the responsibility of partnership as well as to sludge through the responsibility of knowing that my existence is short-lived. By nature, you are a steady-at-the-helm person.
And you, my younger child, will come to sense that my letting you go with my blessing and with your part of the property exemplified my love for you. More than anything else, you needed freedom to explore, to make your mistakes, and to find yourself. When you have daughters and sons yourself, you will fully understand both my sorrow and my hope for you in your time of wandering absence.
You are two individuals. Nothing either of you could do is stronger than my love for you. Nothing. I could, indeed, do nothing other than celebrate your return. As happens to all of God's creation, you were lost, and now you are found. Welcome home, both of you, my beloved children.
