March 27, 2022 – Fourth Sunday in Lent

Today’s scriptural references are from the Common English Bible.

Let me start today’s sermon by telling a quick joke:
Knock-knock. [Who’s there?]
Boo. [Boo who?]
Don’t cry… It’s only a joke!

Most of you stopped listening to the joke after I said “Boo” because you knew how it was going to end. (Badly, I might add!) 

Today we hear the parable of the prodigal son. You might think to yourself that this is an easy topic to preach on, but you would be quite wrong. For, you see, there are some readings that people just tune out. A preacher just needs to mention “Adam and Eve” or “The Good Samaritan” and people just feel that the story is so well known that no one has anything new or interesting to add to it. So it is too, with the Prodigal Son. 

We stop listening to the Gospel reading, for we think we already know all that there is to know about what it means. And when we stop listening to the Gospel, we deprive ourselves of the chance to hear something different, to learn something new through the Holy Spirit.

As our story opens, Jesus is being watched and judged. “All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them’” (15:1-2). And as Jesus usually does, he doesn’t argue with them or yell at them; instead, he tells them a story. (This used to work well with my son, too, when he got nasty and tired and needed a nap… instead of arguing or yelling, I lowered my voice and soothingly told him a story.)

Actually, Jesus didn’t just tell them one story… he told them three. The lectionary reading for today skips from verse 3 to verse 11, skipping the Story of the Lost Sheep and the Story of the Lost Coin. So maybe instead of calling this story the Prodigal Son, we should refer to it as the Story of the Lost Boy. See how paying attention can alter our views? 

In each of these stories, Jesus sets out to show the judgmental people that God is nothing like they had imagined. God is not harsh and distant; God is loving and here now. For God, mercy is more important than justice; relationship is more important than being right.

Our God who is revealed in the stories in Chapter 15 of Luke is a shepherd who wanders all night to find one lost sheep, a woman who cleans and searches her house to find one lost coin, an old man who sits on the porch in his rocking chair, squinting into the sunlight down the road, hoping against all hope to catch a glimpse of his lost boy. 

The message is pretty clear — Jesus tells us that God is unwilling to lose anyone. Some would blame the (stupid) sheep for straying from the flock; God is out in the world, searching to bestow his blessings upon us. Some are willing to leave hidden those who get lost in the shuffles of ordinary life; God is like the old woman, who searches and searches until she finds that coin and brings it forth and shows it off. Some have no use for humans who waste their potential and squander their God-given gifts on selfish pleasures; God is like a loving parent, who welcomes us home — rather yearns and aches for us to come home — and celebrates when we get there. And throughout all these stories, there is an air of joy, of happiness, of celebration.

The Lost Sheep: Rejoice with me! I have found my lost sheep! And Jesus comments, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives” (7). 

The Lost Coin: Rejoice with me! I have found my lost coin! And Jesus says, “Joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life” (10).

The Lost Boy: Rejoice with me! I have found my lost son! We have the most lavish and extravagant celebration yet: robes, rings, sandals, fatted calves, and a feast. 

Yet, we also have an older brother. And I think this is the entire point of the whole story. The older brother looks on and begins to resent the attention given to his younger sibling. He is jealous, he is angry… and for good reason! “I’ve served you all these years, and I never disobeyed your instruction. Yet you’ve never given me as much as a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends” (29). He’s been really, really bad, and you give him a feast… it’s not fair!

Flash back to the beginning of today’s Gospel: Jesus told these stories to those who complained about his habit of hanging out with the outcasts, with the sinners. Jesus is telling these stories to them to remind them that God loves all creatures and God’s greatest joy is when someone wakes up and begins to get their life and love and spirit in order.

In the first two stories of this passage, we read about the invitation to party, but we don’t know if anyone joined in. In the parable of the Lost Boy, we hear of the party taking place, but we don’t know if the elder brother came. But the ending depends upon us. How will we respond? Will we go to the party? 

These stories are an invitation to us… They invite us to be kind. Loving. Accepting of all. They remind us to seek out those who are far from God. They are a call to never give up on those in need. 

These stories invite us to look at ourselves. To examine our hearts. To see what inner resentments, unmet needs, abandoned hopes, and long-harbored prejudices are keeping us standing outside the party, preventing us from showing others the love that God has shown to each one of us.

Most of all, these stories remind us to never give up when we feel lost. God is always out there looking for us, his lost sheep. God has the broom in hand, sweeping every nook and cranny in search of us. And God is ready to run out and meet us and welcome us home.