Sunday, March 26, 2022: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable:
“There was a man who had two sons. 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. 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. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 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. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 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! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ 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. 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.’ 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. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 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. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 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.'”
Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to make a point with the grouchy Pharisees and scribes who didn’t like the fact that Jesus mixed and mingled with sinners. In those days, to eat with people who were considered “sinners” (tax collectors, prostitutes) was to make oneself unclean. Once that happened, others couldn’t associate with the unclean person at the risk of making themselves unclean.
The Pharisees and scribes were shocked at Jesus’ willingness to accept those who were considered the undesirables of society. Obviously, they believed it was within their right to decide who was acceptable and who was not. One gets the sense that the Pharisees and scribes saw themselves as morally superior to those they considered sinners.
But Jesus challenges their worldview in bringing up a situation in which unconditional love abounds – i.e. the father of the prodigal son who welcomes home the one who has hurt him so much.
How did the prodigal son hurt his father? For the younger son to take his inheritance early, rather than waiting for his father to die, was a slap in the face to the father who was very much alive. It might have been interpreted that this younger son would just as soon have seen his father dead by taking his father’s money before he passed.
And then the prodigal son added insult to injury by spending his inheritance foolishly! This was another example of how he failed to honor his father. By asking for his money early and then spending it “in dissolute living” (Luke 15: 13), the prodigal son was setting up his own desires as more important than any kind of respect or loyalty to his father.
In Jesus’ story, just as the older son couldn’t understand why his father welcomed his scoundrel brother home with open arms, I imagine the Pharisees and scribes could not comprehend how this father could forgive his son so completely and with no judgement. These were people who thought it entirely appropriate to look down their noses on those who society considered to be unclean.
By telling the Pharisees and scribes the story of the father who forgave his prodigal son, Jesus was alluding to God’s willingness to forgive and love even those who have turned their backs on God. God is always ready to welcome us back home with open arms. All we need to do is acknowledge our need for God’s mercy and love.
Thanks Sally for the scripture you leave each weeks. Even though Joe and read the bible every day. It is always good to get a reminder of a scripture you have read for a while
Thank you for your feedback, Martha! I’m so glad you and Joe are reading my reflections and I hope you are enjoying them. God bless you both! -Sally