The Prodigal Son

Colin Bird

Luke 15:11- 32; 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21

The parable of the lost son, or the prodigal son as it is more commonly known is probably familiar to most of us. And whilst we tend to focus on the exploits of the youngest son, both the father and the eldest son are important characters in understanding the message Jesus is portraying in this parable. We need to be aware that this is a story meant to help us understand a certain principle and is not based on actual events. As we break down this story, we will look for the thread that weaves its way through Gospel reading and our Epistle reading, Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians. Our story has three characters. A father, a farmer and his two sons.

The first character.

The younger of the sons has had enough of farming and is looking to move on. Farming is not for everyone and as much as the father probably had an expectation that he would hand over the farm to his descendants when he retired, he acknowledged that this son had other aspirations. No doubt the father would have been disappointed with this son’s decision, but as was the tradition of the day, the younger son could claim his entitlement to his Father’s estate ahead of time. The father does not quibble and divides up his property between the two sons. The younger son divests himself of the property, takes the cash and heads off on his ‘big OE’. No more having to get up at the crack of dawn to attend to the stock and deal with the weeds in the fields. Working through the heat and the dust of the day till sundown. Now he is free to do what he wants whenever he wants. He has money to burn, and he splashes out, we are told on wild living in his new exciting environment. Of course, there would be many in the entertainment field that would be fleecing him of his money. Newfound friends happy to feed off his lavish spending. It doesn’t take long, and the money is squandered. His so-called friends have no further interest in him, and he has no-one to lean on. How true is the saying “a fool and his money are soon parted”? To add to his woes the country he is living in is experiencing a severe famine. Food is scarce, he has no money and desperation sets in. He needs to find work to survive and the only skill he has is his farming experience. But he’s a foreigner in a foreign country and it stands to reason that the locals are going to get any work before him. He does get a job but it’s to feed a farmer’s pigs. Pigs! Unclean animals that no self respecting Jew would go near or have anything to do with. And yet here he is having to feed them. He has fallen to the lowest depth of human deprivation. There was no minimum wage in those days and there was no labourer’s meal included with the job. So hungry is he that he longs to eat the pods the pigs are eating. Oh! how the mighty have fallen! After a time of deep reflection, he came to the realisation that he could not carry on. He was starving to death. He would be better off returning to his homeland. He recalls that even the hired staff on his father’s farm were treated better than he was, and they would have food to spare. It was time to go. His life had gone from a position of security and belonging within a family environment to one of desperation and loss. The decision to return home was not one he would have been taken lightly because he was going to have to front up to his father and explain himself. The entitlement was gone, and he understood that his actions had been sinful. He had sinned against his Father and his beliefs and was not worthy of being called a son. He was overwhelmed with humility and grief.
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The second character. The Father.

While he was still a long way off, the father saw him and was filled with compassion. News of his son’s exploits had probably filtered back to him, but I suspect that at first sight he did not expect to see his son it this bedraggled state and would have been distraught. His son had returned, he was filled with joy and rushed off to meet him. He was confronted by someone who looked like a beggar and confessed to having squandered and lost his inheritance. To his credit the wayward son acknowledges and repents of his wrongdoing and only asks that his father gives him a job. He has no expectation of being welcomed back into the family. The father has two options. Firstly, to admonish him and vent any anger he may have felt at the way his son had behaved. Point out that he had an opportunity to do something with his life, he blew it, so shouldn’t come running back like a scolded dog with its tail between its legs thinking he was going to carry on like nothing’s happened. Turn his back on the young man and send him on his way. But he doesn’t do that. Instead, as we have read, he embraces his son and calls for a celebration to welcome him back. “Let’s have a feast and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He calls a servant to bring the best robe, a pair of sandals and a ring to put on his finger. A symbol that he has been reinstated into the family.

The third character in this story. The older son.

Is anyone surprised by his reaction on learning that his brother has retuned? Anger! When he confronts his father about the way he has reacted to the return of this person he does not refer to him as his brother, but rather he says, ‘your son’. He has for all intense and purposes disowned him. He goes on to compare this treatment to the lack of favour he has received after years of faithful service to his Father and their land. He doesn’t see the return of his brother as something to celebrate, In fact he doesn’t see his brother as a member of the family at all. Regardless of the eldest son’s attitude towards his brother and his anger towards himself, the father points out ‘you are always with me and everything I have is yours, but we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’. Jesus rarely gives the moral of the story at the end of his parables. Instead, he leaves it to us to make up our own minds about what the meaning might be. So it may be that each of us take away something different from this story. But I will offer up this explanation. The father represents God. The two sons…… are us. Two people with two different characters. Just as we are all different and each of us is an individual character. Some of us, like the elder son are happy to stay within the family and work with God, being obedient, toiling away, knowing that we will receive, in due time, an inheritance. Others of us, like the younger son, may find this way of life too hard, dull, lacking any excitement. Surrounded by the material things of the world it is easy to say, “I want a bit of that”. Turning our backs on what seems to be life of mediocrity for a life of effervescence and self satisfaction is not really a hard decision to make. But we need to remember “We are free to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of that choice”. The younger son made bad choices and the consequence of those choices nearly cost him his life. Here is a clear warning to us, that the consequence of sin is death. But through that journey he came to realise what was important. His Father and his family. He acknowledged his faults and repented and the love of the father for his son brought him back into the family. Unconditional forgiveness. He was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. Luke records in his previous parable of the woman and the lost coin, Jesus says “I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents”. Jesus is all forgiving. When we make a mistake, providing we acknowledge our fault and repent with the honest intention of making amends, He will welcome us back with open arms. The older son made his choice, and it could be argued that he made the right one. Stayed with his father. Worked hard and faithfully. A model son. Yet, when his brother returned, he was filled with anger and hate. He was judgmental. Not only towards his brother but to his father as well. He was showing all the signs of someone who is human. There was very little forgiveness or compassion, if any at all! In that respect, was he any in any way different from his younger brother? Was his behaviour not separating himself from his father and driving a wedge into their relationship? But this reaction did not take anything away from the fathers love for him. In fact, he acknowledged his son’s faithfulness and said you have your inheritance. ‘My son’, the father said,’ you are always with me, and all I have is yours’. Once again, the fathers unconditional love displayed, even amidst the anger, hatred and hurt of a frustrated child. So, what is the thread that binds our Gospel and Epistle reading today? As I read part of the Epistle reading from 2 Corinthians, listen for it. “So, from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”. If you can recall, when you first heard this parable did you judge the wayward son, just like his brother did. Did you acknowledge his repentance and forgive him for his sins? Perhaps not, because you may have been looking at him from a worldly point of view. The father did not judge either of his sons. He only saw them through the eyes of man with love in his heart for his children. God our father doesn’t judge us from a worldly point of view. For if he did, we would all stand guilty. Yet he looks beyond our sins and sees us for who and what we are and what we were meant to be. One of his creations worthy to be called a child of God. The next time you find yourselves in a position regarding someone, remember this parable and put yourselves in the position of the father and ponder this question. The person you see in front of you, is he or she the the person who squandered their life and deserve everything they’ve got or are they the person who is lost and is now reaching out to be found. Both could be correct. But the choice you make and how you react could make all the difference to that person’s life. God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Choose wisely. That person’s future could be in your hands.

Amen.