Will you come and celebrate?

The prodigal son 

The parable of the Prodigal Son follows two other parables concerned with the theme of finding that which was lost; the parallel of the Lost Coin and the parable of the Lost Sheep. In both of these parables, it is clear that the focus is on finding that which is lost and celebrating once it has been found. The importance of the search is clear in the parable of the Lost Sheep as the shepherd leaves ninety-nine of his flock to find the one rogue. Once found the shepherd gathers together his friends and neighbours to celebrate. Both of these parables close with the assurance that repentance leads to great joy among the heavenly host. 

The parable of the Prodigal Son is by far the longest in this theme and therefore introduces a complex range of interactions. This parable begins by the youngest son asking his father for his share of the inheritance. By doing this he may as well have been saying that his father was dead to him. He no longer wanted to be a part of the family business, or the family in general, and so leaves for a foreign country. The young son lives the life of a cashed up young rebel and when a famine hits he finds himself completely poor and unable to fend for himself. He is hired by one of the citizens of that country to feed his pigs and is so hungry he longs to fill his belly with the pods they are fed. We are not told why the son made this decision. Some have speculated that the son had issues with the way the family business was run. This is pure speculation and we cannot forget that this is not a historical situation but a parable used by Jesus to explain a point. What is important is that the son realises that he has made a mistake and repents. He decides to return to his father, admit his wrong, and hope to be accepted back as a hired hand. He does not expect to be welcomed as a son, after all he rejected his father and his place in the family. The son must have been in shock when, in line with the previous parables, he sees him at a distance and leaves everything behind to greet him. He then restores the son fully and orders a great feast in celebration of his return. This joyous scene is interrupted when the older brother hears the celebration and is told that his father is going to kill the fattened calf for the feast. The brother is furious and demands to know why this is happening. How could his father do such a thing for his rebellious younger son when he, his older son,  has been an obedient and blameless child and never received such a thing. The answer is that everything the father has is his and always has been. This is practically true in the sense that the first born son will inherit the business and also in the sense that while the son has been with his father everything has been available to him. The parable ends in an open-ended way. It is up to the older son whether he will join the feast. Will he, or won't he? 

There are many ways to interpret this parable and countless amounts of essays and sermons have been offered on this great text. The younger son exhibits a type of repentance that goes beyond regret of past mistakes. He does not simply feel bad about moral choices he may or may not have made but sees the world with new eyes. The younger son does not just want to apologise for his acts but to show a willingness to live life in a fresh way, serving others and with deep acceptance of those around him. This type of repentance is not about guilt or focused on regret, but about living in a way that seeks humility and harmony with others.

The older brothers reaction to his fathers lavish love is at first glance completely understandable. Why on earth should the younger son be given such a fanfare when he has been so foolish and disrespectful? The older brother shows no sympathy for his brothers plight and anger at his fathers love. This reminds us of the way the Pharisees looked upon Jesus with disdain as one who broke the holy codes and spoke against the leaders. 

We can learn much from the younger brother and from the father. The willingness to be humble and honest, and the strength to offer love to those who have hurt us. It is the older brother who I believe gives us the greater challenge in our current climate. So many areas of our society work off the judgement of others. Just take a quick glance on a Facebook thread and you will be flooded with negative comments and point scoring at the expense of others. Unfortunately, this is not the only place where such an attitude can be found. There may be times when we find ourselves feeling superior to others because we never made the poor choices they did. Or we may find ourselves deeply challenged by the acceptance and love offered by the church to groups who may have historically been less welcome. When this happens there is always the danger to act as the older son in today’s story, focused on self-righteous complaint. It is by the Grace of God that we are seeing the church become increasingly more accepting and loving of groups that should always have been offered outstretched arms and a place at the table. The older brother offers an example for us and we are presented with the same open-ended invitation to the celebration. Do we accept this invitation of love and join in the feast of acceptance, or do we decline? It is up to us to make this choice.

Rev Claye