Last Sunday we explored a deep faith challenge…the call to repentance. As we unpacked this difficult part of our faith. We focused upon the nature of repentance: considering corrections in our direction in life and always turning towards God. And as we explored repentance, we saw that on the horizon…God’s promise of meeting us there in the form of forgiveness is eternal. God’s promise of meeting us with open arms; welcoming us home in forgiveness and grace is God’s response to our repentance.
So, this morning we shift to that essence of grace and explore the nature of God’s forgiveness? It is wise to begin with the larger scope of this concept. What is it? Forgiveness is God’s beautiful response contained in repentance. Forgiveness is the light at the end of the tunnel; the fuel that keeps the fire going; the air that helps you continue with the race…it is the promise. When I think about it, God’s forgiveness is one of the most profound expressions of God's love for us. God’s love might be experienced in Creation; in the gift of life and breath we have. And these are all wonderful expressions of God’s love. Yet, forgiveness is personal, deep and soul-touching. A gift from Creator unto you! And, as we journey through this Lenten season, forgiveness is a beautiful discovery in the wilderness struggles we walk. Forgiveness is not merely a second chance, it is much more than that. Forgiveness is God’s promise of a faithful welcome home.
In this morning’s teaching, Jesus shares the parable to illustrate this. In the nameless story, we see God’s loving heart towards all when we go astray…when we sin. And the parable goes on to illustrate God’s unending grace. As we explore this passage, I am going to invite us to consider how we might (more fully) experience God’s forgiveness and (as an extension of this) how we are called to extend forgiveness unto others.
The parable Pam read for us has three critical characters: the father and his two sons. Jesus begins this parable with the younger son. He chooses to walk away from his father’s house and demands his inheritance prematurely. He goes to a foreign land, squanders his inheritance in reckless living, and finds himself destitute. He has an epiphany while feeding the pigs (significant because they are rritually unclean animals for a Jew. The son has reached rock bottom and it is there that he finds God). In the story of the young son, we see an illustration of the reality of sin—how it leads us away from God, leaving us empty and broken. That moment in the pig pen for the young son was his beginning of repentance. It was the beginning of his action to turn back towards home and begin again. He acknowledges his sin and decides to go back, hoping for mercy. His journey back represents repentance—a turning away from sin and a turning toward his Father.
This is the first step in experiencing God’s faithful welcome. I suspect that many of us can relate to this character. For many of us we have had our moments when we went astray…moments when we have been the young son/ young daughter, haven’t we? It’s not a part of our character that we are proud of. Yet it is our humanity; it is our brokenness; it is our sin. I would hazard to guess this character does not just extend to some of us; but to all of us. His story is found in all of ours, isn’t it? Perhaps, we might even be living that story right now. Yes…this character is one that we hesitantly relate to.
And so, the story develops. He has a realization to change the course of his life and change his ways. The young son makes the long trek home. The most striking aspect of this parable is the father’s reaction. Instead of rejection or rebuke, the father runs to embrace his son. This would have been culturally shocking, as dignified men did not run. But, as soon as the son is seen over the crest of the hill, the father is filled with compassion and runs to welcome his son home. The moment is symbolic of God’s deep love for all who return home. The father clothes his son with a robe, places a ring on his finger, and prepares a feast. While the son wants only to return home and be his father’s servant, the father receives him home and welcomes him fully back as his son! Here it is that we see the heart of God revealed. God does not just tolerate us when we repent; God rejoices. God’s forgiveness is immediate, complete, and undeserved. The father’s welcome is a true image of the grace we receive through Christ, who bore our sins so we might be reconciled to God. Can we begin to take in this incredible welcome home God offers? It is mind-boggling isn’t it? After everything that has been done, God still rejoices when we return home! God offers unearned grace and meets us in forgiveness! Not a second change where we are on probation, but rather a clean slate where we can have the sin washed away and know that we begin again fully in God’s forgiving grace. Amazing grace…amazing grace, indeed!
There is a third character. While the prodigal son’s story of being welcomed by the father often takes center stage, the elder brother presents an equally important lesson. He refuses to join the celebration. He harbors resentment and self-righteousness. He has been the ‘good son’ while the his sibling has been out galivanting. And to make matters worse, the father throws a lavish party for the younger brother’s return home. Shouldn’t his obedience have earned his father’s favor? He cannot begin to comprehend such lavish grace being extended. Oh the injustice, the older brother cries! In the older brother, we see the danger of our hardened hearts. We see the difficulty in extending unwarranted forgiveness. Perhaps the older brother would have been more comfortable if his sibling was relegated to be one of the father’s servants? Or had his name stripped? But to see his father fully welcome him with the open arms of forgiveness…that just seemed plain wrong.
How many of us see ourselves in the character of the older brother? I think most of us do. The older brother judges the grace in the father’s forgiveness as unearned. And he is right! The father’s forgiveness is unearned grace that is showered upon the one who repents; who returns home. The older brother is essential to this story because he represents the common belief in our world: that you get what deserve…that you receive what you earn…that there are no free rides. The story illustrates God’s ‘new way’ that is being birthed by Christ. God’s gracious welcome that is ready to throw a party upon the return home of all God’s children.
There is a quiet story that is not contained in the parable. But I believe it is there. The story is about the inner pain and sadness of the father that occurred during the time of son’s foreign escapades. I believe that this was a time that tore the father in pieces. He spent many nights sleepless, in tears, afraid for his son, praying that his son would (one day) return. The father’s delight is when the lost come home; it is when the broken return home for healing; it is when the sinner comes to be washed clean. The 15th chapter of Luke contains two other parables prior to this one. They are all about the joy found when all are safe and returned home. It begins with the lost coin. The widow has 9 in her purse, yet she tears her home apart until that 10th coin is found. The next is the lost sheep. The shepherd searches throughout the countryside until that one last lost sheep is found and safe in the sheep pen with the other 99. This story is all about God’s desire for completion. The party is not complete without the lost son. Forgiveness allows for the vision of God’s kingdom to be realized and all to be safely home.
I guess this story doesn’t make sense to us…and that’s the point. This is because we view it from the human standards of the older son. If we can begin to see it from the perspective of the father, then we might begin to glimpse inside the nature of God’s forgiveness and know that we can always…always…always…return home.
Amen.