Loving God, you give us so much more than we deserve, welcoming us home whenever we turn to you.  Help us to appreciate your grace and love, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Are there people or situations that cause you to grumble?  Do you ever say, “How come they get so much?” or “How come they get away with everything?”  Do you ever wish that everybody else would work as hard as you do and handle themselves properly?  The Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, and it was all because of Jesus.  He seemed to be breaking all of their rules – even eating with tax collectors and sinners!  And so, Jesus tells them a series of parables in which the lost are found.

         The parable that we heard today includes all sorts of questionable behaviour.  First and foremost, of course, is the younger son, who collects his inheritance well before he should, wastes all of his money in foolish and possibly immoral living, and looks after pigs in order to survive.  All of this is about as far away as you can get from an observant and faithful Jewish young man.

         However, at some point he realizes that even his father’s servants have more to eat than he does, and he resolves to see if his father will take him in as a hired hand.  We are not told how sincere he is in his repentance.  After all, hunger can lead to some desperation, and even deception.  We can guess, however, that he would expect his father to be angry.  After all, he had essentially told his father, “I wish you were dead,” when he asked for his inheritance early, and then he squandered all of it.  What parent wouldn’t be angry?

         Surely, nobody is more surprised than the younger son when his father runs out to meet him with a hug and a kiss.  And the robe, and the ring, and the sandals? – totally unexpected and never given to slaves.  And the fatted calf, and the dancing, and the banquet? – totally over the top!  The younger son is either still a jerk and loving every minute, or is feeling totally ashamed and unworthy.  It is also possible that he is simply in shock.

         However, the younger son is not the only one who exhibits some questionable behaviour in this parable.  Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps this father is not particularly wise to give his younger son an early inheritance?  After all, if you had a child who was not particularly responsible, would you give them a large sum of money as an early inheritance?  It seems like a plan that is doomed to fail.

         And then, after his son has squandered his inheritance, his father runs to meet him – totally undignified for a grown man – and gives him a ring that brings with it some authority in his household!  Again – is this really wise?  After his father kills the fatted calf and throws a party, perhaps the elder son could be forgiven for thinking that his father has finally lost it!  In fact (at least to our way of thinking), it is the elder son who deserves our sympathies.

         He’s the one who did everything right – working hard, being obedient to his father – being the responsible one.  Yet, his father has never thrown a party for him!  It is simply not fair, and the elder son is so angry that he won’t even go inside the house.  Still, his father goes to him, pleads with him, and loves him.  We never do find out if the elder son joins in the banquet or not.

         This parable, among other things, gives us a snapshot of the challenges of unconditional love.  Had the father’s love been conditional, the younger son would have been suitably punished and chastened – having to earn back any sort of trust or privilege from his father.  This is what the elder son wants to see and perhaps even what the younger son had expected.  In fact, many of us probably think that this is how things should work with God.

         Those who sin should have to pay for it.  Those who have been faithful should be rewarded.  And those who sin particularly egregiously should just be zapped with a lightning bolt and sent straight to hell.  This would only be fair, we reason, even as we wonder if we have done enough for God to save us.  However, God is not fair.  Instead, God is gracious and merciful, and abounding in steadfast love.

         Whether we see ourselves in the elder brother, or in the younger brother, or even in the father in this parable, our status before God is the same: loved and forgiven and invited to the feast.  No matter how faithful we have been, or how hard we have worked, or how many commands we have obeyed, we have not been faithful enough.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

         At the same time, no matter how wasteful we have been, or how immoral, or how rebellious, we are justified by God’s grace as a gift (Rom. 3:24).  “In Christ, there is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).  Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are not just window dressing, but essential for us to be reconciled with God.

         And so, grumble if you must, but remember that we, too, are loved, and forgiven, and invited to the feast, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lent 4(C)                                           Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

March 30, 2025                                2 Corinthians 5:16-21

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2025 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved