We had to celebrate and rejoice (Luke 15:1-32)
Luke 15:1-32 (NRSV)
15 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: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 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.
8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
11 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.’”
(YouTube Video: Fox News)
March 19, 2017 Sermon Notes
This morning’s children’s sermon began by telling the story of Percy the trucker cat. Percy is the traveling companion of long-haul truck driver Paul Robertson. Two weeks ago Robertson experienced a terrible scare when his feline co-pilot escaped from truck while stopped in a storm at an Ohio rest stop. After hours of searching by himself and a friendly volunteer, Robertson reluctantly had to move on to complete his delivery. He was brokenhearted, to say the least.
Over 400 miles later he made his final stop of the trip. While picking up a new trailer he saw what he thought was a stray cat. It turned out to be Percy. He had made the journey by clinging to the underbelly of the truck. Despite the snow, rain, and cold, he emerged unscathed. He was tired, smelly, and more than a little scared. The reunion between Percy and his human was incredible. Robertson still tears up when describing the how relieved and excited he was.
With the kids I described that God is even happier when we turn our lives around than Robertson was when Percy returned. The story of God’s love for the lost and forsaken is the way that most of us have been taught to read the story of the Prodigal Son. There is nothing wrong with this and it is an accurate description of the way that the grace of God operates.
However, there is more going on in this story than we normally think about. Part of the challenge comes from the fact that we often forget who Jesus was talking to in this story. Luke 15 begins with the Pharisees and scribes critiquing him for eating with the “wrong” people. He was daring to sit down with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus talks to these teachers of the law and invites them to imagine themselves in three different stories. He talks about lost sheep, lost coins, and then the story of a father who loved even the most wayward of sons.
Normally when we hear these stories we think of ourselves as the lost sheep, the coin that was found, or the prodigal who returned. We cherish the idea of God’s grace and take great comfort when that forgiveness is offered to us. However, the reality is that most of us are more like the Pharisees and scribes than we would like to admit. In many ways, they were the “good church people” of their era. They were the ones trying desperately to follow God’s law. They were the dutiful older son who had never left the father’s presence.
As much as we take comfort in God’s love for us, we often find ourselves resenting that forgiveness being offered to others. We know that Christ is compassionate to us, but we cannot stand it when others do not get what is coming to them. We want a grace for ourselves, but “justice” for others. The reality of this temptation taints our politics, our economics, and even our churches.
Jesus calls us to do better. He calls us to be better. He reminds us that we are all equally in need of God’s grace. He not only asks us who we would run to embrace in celebration of their repentance, but challenges us to be honest about those whom we resent so much that we would willingly skip their party.
