THE PRODIGAL SON

I’m sure those of you who are parents know that raising children is no easy task. In today’s world we wonder if we have it rougher than earlier generations. There are so many bad things out there. We read of bullying drugs and alcohol and how our kids can be lured by sexual predators on the Internet. Even when they grow up and enter young adulthood there are still issues. Some drop out of university and graduate without finding a job. They might wish to return to live under our roofs but don’t want to conform to our rules. “I’m an adult now,” we are informed. “You can’t tell me what to do. Get off my back. Let me live my own life.” Perhaps there are friends involved. “My friends all are doing it. So why can’t I.” I recall our foster daughter informing us “My friends say you are only my foster parents. You can’t tell me what to do.” I know how much this hurts especially as in most cases our advice or offer of assistance comes from a sincere desire to help or perhaps spare our child suffering.

All of us who have had issues with our children can take heart from this morning’s gospel reading. We are not alone. Everything we suffer has been suffered before.

The story of the prodigal son is one of my favourite parables from the Bible. It is a story rich in conflict, symbolism and with many shades of meaning. If Jesus were living today, I’m sure he would win awards for good stories. All the elements are there including an unexpected twist at the end. The beauty of the story is that Jesus does us one better. We may have had trouble with our children but probably that trouble doesn’t come close to compare what happened in this family. We hear reference to two sons. The older one is obedient, always doing what is expected of him and likely a good role model for his younger brother. It is the younger son that causes the problems. He demands his inheritance. An inheritance is something we don’t receive until our parents have died and their estate is settled. In this case property livestock and all possessions would need to be sold so each son could receive his rightful share.

This was not an easy request to fill and in Jewish culture even asking it was unthinkable and would be construed as dishonouring one’s father. Dishonoring a parent was a violation of the fifth commandment “Honour thy Father and Mother” This was considered one of the most important commandments because all the other commandments about love hinge upon it. Violating it was a very serious offence. Later in the story, you recall that the father goes out to greet his youngest son on his return. One reason for this is to protect him. Violating the fifth commandment could result in death by stoning. Even in more modern times we have heard about the seriousness of violating that commandment in Jewish culture. Jewish fathers who have been dishonoured by a child will tear their clothes as a sign of mourning for a child who is now dead to them.

How would you feel if one of your children came up to you and said “I’m sick of living in this house by your rules and want my freedom. I’m leaving home. So go down to the bank tomorrow and draw out whatever you were leaving me in your will so I can go out and have a good time.”

Once away from home the younger son discovers that life is not exactly what he expects it to be. At first, it was fine with lots of partying and good times with all the new friends he had made. But once his money ran out so did the good times and all his friends. He hits rock bottom and finds work on a pig farm working day by day feeding the pigs. He has lots of time to reflect upon how good things were at home. His behaviour is somewhat reminiscent of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She too has always wanted to get away from home but once she arrives in the Land of Oz she can only think there is no place like home.

The son’s return home is interesting on a couple of levels. There is the reaction of his father who is overjoyed to welcome his son home. But the elder brother is not happy by the turn of events. He has been a good and obedient son and is not prepared to let his father forget that or forgive his brother. This is interesting as there is no evidence the younger brother had any issues with the older one. The elder son refuses to go into the banquet in honour of his younger brother even when his father tried to explain that the return of the younger brother is so important because “your brother was lost but now he is found.” Jesus ends the parable here with the inference that the older brother is still unrepentant in his attitude to his younger brother.

This parable is what is known as an allegory. Allegory allows the storyteller to get across several complex ideas in a simple way. The Pharisees and the Scribes were upset that Jesus hung out with sinners and tax collectors and used this parable as well as the parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin to speak out against that self-righteous attitude.

You notice that Jesus never mentions the Scribes and Pharisees by name. Instead their attitude is epitomized by the elder brother. He is offended by the sinfulness of his brother and has gone to great pains to point out to his father how blameless he is. Look how the brother rants on “I have worked like a slave for you, never disobeyed you “and on and on he goes listing his virtues. Most scholars agree that this is a direct barb at the Pharisees who were more concerned with the literal observance of Jewish law. Story or not, like the Pharisees got the reference and added it to their catalogue of grievances against Jesus.

To modern readers the comparison of the father in the story to our Heavenly Father seems obvious. But perhaps not so to the Jews who lived in Jesus’ time. They thought of God as the God of their ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. God had led them out of bondage from Egypt and given Moses the Ten Commandments. He was a warrior God who they all prayed might come once more at the head of an army and led them out of the bondage they felt living under the yoke of Rome.

Calling God his father was another way in which Jesus was a revolutionary. God the Father was no small matter to him. The Lord’s Prayer begins Our Father. We get hung up today on this term Father and many modern Christians feel this name is sexist. Certainly God is without gender but what is important is that Jesus teaches us God is a parent much like the father in the parable. Some have argued that the parable would be better named “the prodigal father.” Prodigal means given in abundance. The father accepts his sons repentance and forgives abundantly just as our does our own Heavenly Father. Jesus is telling us that God wants a personal relationship with us.

The Prodigal Son has wallowed in sin and hurt his father in ways that may be much more severe than we have been hurt by others. As Christians we are expected to forgive those trespasses just as we ask God to forgive our sins. As the Psalmist proclaims “Happy Are Those whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sin is put away.” Paul reminds the Corinthians that because Christ died we are all reconciled with God. The slate of the past is wiped clean “there is a new creation and everything old is passed away.”

If God can forgive the most serious transgressions against Him, then what about us? Do we have Prodigal Sons in our lives that we are holding grievances against. How often have I heard someone say “I can never forgive him or her for that?” Forgiving someone doesn’t mean you are condoning the wrong. It simply means you are prepared to let go. Scientists have done studies that show holding grudges can affect stress levels, blood pressure, heart rate and even cause sweating and increased facial muscle tension. No wonder God asked us to forgive. It is important to our health and well being.

The period of Lent is a time for reflection. God is indeed the prodigal father who welcomes the sinner home and lays a banquet at his table for all to feast upon. We reflect on this feast each time we come to the Lord’s Table for Communion. We need to be mindful of the love God holds for all of us. He rejoices when someone lost in sin is found and returns to the fold. Christ’s death on the cross has insured this forgiveness. No matter how great our sins, we are always welcomed home. If God is welcoming of us should we not respond in kind, and not be like the elder brother in the parable, setting ourselves up in judgement as if we are totally free of sin.