Third Sunday after Trinity
Notes
Transcript
Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
My Brothers and Sisters we have before us the parable of the Prodigal son. Now this is included in a chapter that is known as the lost chapter of the Bible in which you have 3 parables about something which is precious that is then lost to a person and restored, the first parable is about a lost sheep, the second a lost coin, and this parable is about a son who is lost and wastes everything that his father had given to him, but is finally restored to his home.
If you look at this parable, you will find that in it there are a couple important people. You have the two sons and the father. This younger son is something else, he asks for something quite surprising, he wants his inheritance now, which is to say he went in and told his dad that he didn’t want to wait until his father died, he wanted what was coming to him right now. Now I don’t know about you, but that is not the way I would address my father, lest I suffer some immediate misfortune, and I wouldn’t be able to sit down for awhile. But this Father surprisingly gives him his inheritance, now this means that the Father divided his property into 3rds and he saved 2/3rds for the oldest, but the younger got one third. He then takes this off to a distant land and wastes it all, which is what prodigal actually means, people think prodigal means lost, and it actually means wasteful. But it gets so bad that this son, a jewish man, finds himself longing to eat alongside unclean animals.
So in this parable, the two sons represent the children of Israel, the oldest would be that group that stays with their Father and hears his Words and his teachings, the oldest would be those jews, and in particular here the Pharisees, who were clinging to the words of their father.
The younger son represents all of those who were born Jews but squandered everything that God had given them through Moses and the Prophets, they didn’t want to wait for heavenly treasures and they abandoned the teachings and ways of their fathers to indulge in sin and immorality as is shown below.
The Father in this parable is not just any earthly father, but represents our Father in heaven who loves and cares for his children deeply, even when they wander from him. And to a lesser degree also represents Jesus who is eating with tax collectors and sinners.
Now how can we today understand this passage? If we look at the other parables, in this chapter, we find a similar theme, there are those that remain in the faith 99 sheep, the 9 silver coings, the older son, but there are others become lost, the 1 lost sheep that wandered away, the coin that was lost, and this youngest son. These lost precious treasures represent any Christian who was baptized and raised in the Church, who was precious in God’s sight and had been given the treasures of heaven, but wandered out into the world and lost all of the precious gifts that they had received from their father.
When we have hit rock bottom fallen into that lowly state and we look down and see our sin, it begins to fill us with shame and guilt. For we didn’t we know better? We knew God’s commands to not do these things, and yet there we are covered in filth. This is the law that we talked about last week. When one is raised in the church, we know what is wrong, and we know what we ought to do, and that have we sinned against our father in heaven.
This is where the shame grows when we look down and see that we have forsaken the good things that our Father taught us, and we know that we do not deserve his love. For we not only left home, and wasted what we had, but we have lived selfishly thinking only of our own pleasures, that we indulged in sins, find ourselves captivated by addictions, and we must confess that we are no longer worthy to be called our Father’s son, why would God treat us like his children when we have fallen so far from grace and are under his wrath like the rest of the unbelieving world? This is that contrition and the sorrow that comes with repentance, that afflicts the hearts of men, and any who are left in this state perish eternally.
That is why this parable is so wonderful because look here, thanks be to God, that this son had listened enough to his father’s words to know that there might still be a place for him. For he knew his father’s great love for him. But even knowing the good and gracious way his Father treated the servants, he had doubts that his grace would be enough to cover the awful sins that He had committed. So he begins a journey home, certain that there might be a place for him as a servant or slave as one who would have to earn his place, but not as a son.
Now there are many who fall away from the faith because unlike this Son, they have not forgotten or do not believe that their father has mercy. When they wonder if they can be forgiven, is where the devil sneaks in to bind the consciences of people to keep them in their shame and their guilt, whispering that God would of course forgive those little white lies you told, but could your Father really forgive your abortion, is there forgiveness for divorce, is there forgiveness for infidelity, is there forgiveness for betraying those that trusted me? Is there forgiveness for failing your family, or your friends in their hour of need? Is there forgiveness for failing your heavenly Father who gave you everything and you wasted it? You can see how guilt and shame can overwhelm a person if all they see is there sins.
But I want you to take a pencil right now, and look over at the Epistle lesson, and see what is bolded. Paul who was a murder, blasphemer, and hater of God has this to say, The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (1 Tim 1:15) There is forgiveness for your sin, no matter how great it might be in your mind, no matter how ashamed you are, Jesus Christ came to die for sinners, not for good people or for the righteous, but the guilty, the ashamed, and doubting.
That is what this parable shows, look at the response of this father, who is waiting for his son, his child to come home. The Father rushes to Him while He is still a long way off, to bring him into the house, and to celebrate with great joy that his son who was dead in sin is alive again, that which was lost is found. Now this is a theme in all 3 of the parables, for God does not desire the death of sinners, but that sinners repent, and that they might be restored the household of faith. For God desires mercy not sacrifice, that word for mercy in the Old Testament is the same word as Steadfast love, it is that love that a Father has for his children it is steadfast.
Now this parable goes a bit farther than the other two, this goes back to the whole reason that Jesus started to tell the parables in this chapter. The pharisees were upset that He was eating with Tax Collectors and Sinners, and while the other two parables stop at the celebration it goes on here to show the response of the eldest son who had not squandered his father’s wealth, but who had stayed in his father’s home and listening to his father’s words. He was angry that this sinner would be restored, but look at what the father says to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.
There should be great joy when sinner comes home to church, for when a sinner come before the altar of God and confesses they have sinned against heaven and their father that they are a poor miserable sinner, they get to hear that blessed absolution that the Father has taken them up in his arms and welcomes them home that the forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus won on Calvary is for sinners like them. They are welcomed home as His child.
For who amongst us can say that we have not fallen into sin? Indeed in this last week everyone here has fallen into some sin and wasted part of the inheritance that was given to us, and are called to repent. Everyone of us here is a sinner, and thanks be to God that you are here at the house of your Father, for you God has made you his own dear child.
The feast that this parable points ahead to, is that feast that awaits all the children of God in paradise, that feast on the mountain of God with rich food, and well aged wine well refined, where we will gather together with our heavenly father forever.
So my brothers and sisters in Christ, should you ever find yourself trapped in your sins, wondering whether or not there is hope for you remember the love that the Father has for you. Should you ever be tempted to think, well why is that person welcomed here at the household of God, repent of that sinful thought, for Jesus Christ came into the world to die for sinners. In Jesus name. Amen.