Scripture/Sermon of the Day. March 27, 2022
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
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:
“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.’”
Reflection/Sermon:
I. This story begins with the Pharisees and scribes
“grumbling.” A Pharisee was a member of an ancient Jewish sect that was known by
its strict observance of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible which were
mainly concerned with God’s law. A Pharisee would keep to these laws to an
extreme degree. They were so fixated on the correct observance of it — correct
being the way they interpreted and practiced it — that they believed they were
superior to other people. They tended to be self-righteous and intolerant of
others who were not like them. Early in the gospels the Pharisees were
identified as major opponents to Jesus and some of the first ones who wanted to
kill him.
II. It’s ironic that the people who believed they were
closest to God were the ones who, when God appeared, rejected him.
III. Jesus called the Pharisees “whited sepulchers” —
beautifully carved stone coffins where dead people are laid. Lovely outside,
rotten on the inside.
IV. The Pharisees saw themselves as Israel’s finest
citizens, pure and holy and worthy of praise by lesser people who could not
observe the laws so successfully. Many Pharisees hated Jesus because Jesus did
not follow many of the laws. He didn’t do the ritual washing before meals. He
ate “unclean” foods. He touched lepers and other “unclean” people. He enjoyed
the company of “foreigners” and healed them, cast out their demons, and shared
meals with them. He healed people on the Sabbath. He forgave people. He gave the
Pharisees much to grumble about.
V. So Jesus told them a story which we call “The
Prodigal Son” — though it’s more about God than the sons. In the story, the
older brother is the Pharisee. He believes he’s superior to his younger loser of
a brother because he is responsible, he works hard. When he hears that his
father — God — is about to have a party for the younger brother — he’s angry and
says, “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!’” The responsible son followed the law and worked hard all
his life. So he thinks he should get the party — not his brother! He’s so angry
he could kill.
VI. A Pharisee who’s been in the news since Russia
invaded Ukraine is Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church
and loyal supporter of Vladimir Putin. Kirill says that Putin is doing God’s
work because he wants to bring the Prodigal Son — Ukraine — back home to Russia.
Ukraine has become corrupt, embracing “Western Values,” the most sinful of which
is acceptance of homosexuals. And God is using Putin to punish them for wanting
to march in the Gay Parade. Patriarch Kirill sees Ukraine as the Prodigal Son
who needs to repent — and come back home, to Russia.
VII. Jesus would not support that interpretation of
his story. To repent does not mean to come back to Russia or stop marching in
Gay parades. “HOME" in the parable is the place of compassion in the heart.
That’s where God dwells.
Repentance is turning our lives more and more in the
direction of love, mercy, forgiveness and thankfulness — embracing, as Jesus
did, all sinners, even the ones who believe they’re better than others.
In the world of the Bible, we are dead until the
spirit of compassion awakens within us.