Lent 4

Joshua 5:9-12 * Psalm 32 * 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 * Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

How do you feel when you lose something? How do you feel when you find it again? Well, it depends on what you’ve lost, and in what context. If you lose your keys while bringing in a load of groceries, you know that they will be found again. You let yourself into the house with them, and though you didn’t put them in their normal place, you know that they ARE there; there’s a finite number of places they could be. So, it’s a basic search and rescue operation, and you feel a bit silly when you find them in the freezer on top of the ice cream, but also a little relieved. When you discover that you’ve lost something through no fault of your own, like a missing earring, you feel a bit more frustrated at the lack of control over the situation, and disappointment that you may not find the missing jewellery. Maybe they were your favourite earrings, maybe they were an heirloom; you feel a sense of loss. And, a few weeks down the road when you find it under the edge of the fridge, there’s relief and you realise that you now appreciate these earrings more because you have known what it is like to do without them, and you understand what emotional connection you have to them. Sometimes we lose things due to appearance – I once lost my car while Christmas shopping. I walked out of the store, and in the spot where I had parked my very dirty, brownish-greyish Kia Sportage, there was a sparkling silver SUV. I was furious – someone had intentionally stolen MY car, with all MY purchases in it. I was indignant – all my plans for that week would have to be re-arranged as there would be reports to file, I would have to buy a new car despite having JUST paid off that one, Christmas would be lean in the giving department. As I was pulling out my mobile phone to call the police, I remembered that I had just been through the car wash, and so the sparkling car was in fact mine. I was embarrassed, naturally, as my eyes and memory had deceived me; but mostly I was relieved and delighted that my very human plans would not need to change.
Now, I invite you to imagine that someONE has been lost. Not just a thing, a material item, but a person you love deeply. Imagine that this person has chosen to leave you, and in the days before telephone or email, you have no way of knowing where they are, what they are up to, even if they’re still alive. They decided to go and party, with no intention of returning. When the eldest son takes his inheritance, it is with the understanding that to him, his father is dead. The wealth is much more important than his family. He turns his back on his relatives, his home, everything that has meant much to him up to this point. He’s just won the jackpot, the ultimate lottery. He’s RICH! He can buy friends and servants and all the clothes and food he wants, he doesn’t need to labour for dad, following the old man’s rules, sharing everything with his brother. He is now his own man, and can live how he pleases.
So – imagine how dad feels. Betrayed, but allowing his son to go with half of his money as he desires. He’s depressed – his own child has turned his back on him and the rest of the family. The son’s departure not only symbolises that the son considers the family dead, but that the family should consider the son dead as well. Yet dad continues working, for the sake of the remaining family, which is much more important than the significant mount of money that he has just lost long with his child.
Imagine how the younger brother who stays at home feels. He’s picking up the slack that his absent brother has left. He’s looking after the physical and emotional needs of the household – presumably mom, sisters, and servants along with dad. This is the good child, who likely has received his parents’ blessings for his commitment to family. He may miss his brother, but he has set up his life around this new structure.
Imagine the first brother. He is out, having a good time. Partying, spending all his money. Until the money runs out. Suddenly, his bought friends are no longer wanting to spend time with him, the rich foods and clothes start to disappear, and life isn’t as good as it once seemed. He’s penniless, friendless, starving and wearing threadbare rags. No one will lend him money, he cannot get work, he’s begging for food and still doing without. He has hit rock bottom.
So, what happens? He repents. He returns to his father’s land, begging to be forgiven. He is not expecting a handout from the Bank of Mom and Dad, he is not even expecting to be acknowledged. But he hopes. He returns because this is his last hope at finding work, and thus staying alive. He is certainly not expecting his father to throw a feast at his return. Equally surprised is the “good child” brother, the one who has laboured without partying, the one whose inheritance remains secure. This brother cries out against the injustice of the situation. It’s not fair! And of course, any parent has heard those words before. And that’s the truth – it isn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that when the older brother left, all the work landed on the younger brother. It wasn’t fair that the father not only accepted the brothers’ return, but celebrated it. It wasn’t fair that that celebration of the older brother came at the cost of the younger brothers’ future inheritance. And, in a culture where birthrights establish your place in life, it wasn’t fair that the brothers’ return has now cost the younger brother his place as first son. It was simply not fair.
But then again, life seldom is.
So what are we to learn from this? We already know that life isn’t fair, that some people have amazing advantages based on birthplace, access to education, colour of skin, economic situation, etc. We know this – as did people at that time. If you happened to be born to the royal family, you were rich, well advantaged. If your parents happened to be slaves – well, life would always be difficult, and it wouldn’t legally belong to you. We know this. So what is it that Jesus is trying to teach us?
We can learn that no matter our earthly situation, we are loved. Jesus uses this parable to invite us to recognise that when we repent, when we acknowledge that we need our Father above all else, and are willing to be humble about it, we receive riches beyond our imagination. The prodigal son coming home is an allegory for us to see the benefits of returning to God, every time we have turned away; every time we have chosen to take advantage of our earthly fortunes to our own glory, not God’s. We are the benefits of complete and unconditional love from God, no matter how far we feel we my have distanced ourselves from Him.
We can also learn from the younger brother. While his first reaction identifies the perceived injustice of the situation, once things have calmed down a little bit he can choose to see what he has lost. The truth is, he has lost nothing. He remains a beloved child in the family, whose efforts have always been appreciated. His safety and security are still present, it’s not as though he’s being kicked out because his brother came back. His inheritance remains intact; he is still entitled to half of his fathers’ land and livestock. Ideally, he would not have been counting on what would become his; it’s tacky to consider how your own net worth might increase at the cost of a loved ones’ life. And his father reminds him of all of this, and also of the benefit of having his brother back, essentially from the dead. The father articulates that he has never been ignored simply because he has remained constantly present.
We can choose to hear in this story a message of appreciation, not of loss. We, the beloved family of God, are not ignored simply because we’re the ones who are involved here at the church, worshipping, praying daily, living as Christ commands. God rejoices when someone repents and returns to Him; he also rejoices every second of every day that we acknowledge we belong to him. God appreciates us for simply being; He never takes it for granted that we will always choose to be His. Which means that none of us will ever be lacking for His love based on any of our actions. We are fully loved, no matter what we do, no matter what we think, no matter what we feel. And so, the younger brother is correct – it’s not fair. God’s love is not ‘fair’ by modern standards. And for that, we thank God.