GOSPEL - Luke 15:11-32
SERMON – Our Prodigal Father
We call God “Our Father”
but He is greater in every way
than any human father or mother could ever be.
Paul said: “We think WE are so wise, so clever,
but God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom”.
His ways are higher and purer than ours can ever be.
He loves the unloveable;
forgives the unforgiveable.
He is the One Who chooses what the world, mankind, considers “weak”
in order to confound those who consider themselves “powerful”.
Our fathers and mothers taught us right from wrong,
scolded us when were bad
and praised us when we were good,
and were always there when we needed them,
but God’s love and grace surpasses the goodness
of the best human parent.
Every church member and every child who has attended Sunday school
or had a Religious Education lesson
should be familiar with Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The Good News Bible calls the boy “The Lost Son”
and that is appropriate because for a time the son was lost,
in the sense of being lost from his father and kinsmen
and even lost from his own moral values.
We know that Jesus told the parable to illustrate how LOST
mankind has been generally,
and how we are cut off or separated or ALIENATED from our Creator
because of Adam and Eve’s FALL
and because of our personal sin or HAMARTIA – falling short.
Jesus never actually used the word PRODIGAL,
but the dictionary definition – EXTRAVAGANT or WASTEFUL,
certainly seems an appropriate description of the younger son’s actions,
because he went through his father’s money
in a much shorter time than it took the dad to earn it.
The situation in the parable must have been relevant
to the people Jesus was addressing, or he would not have used it,
and it is still relevant today,
because most young people, if not all, want to do their own thing,
be free of their Mum’s apron strings and independent of their Dad’s nagging.
Like the son in the parable, if they haven't done so already,
our children will some day want to leave home
and we should not see this negatively.
Obviously we cannot keep our children – CHILDREN – forever.
We should want them to stand on their own feet
even if it means their leaving the nest.
I remember watching a NATUREWATCH programme on TV about foxes.
The father fox was very dutiful and went out hunting,
chasing rabbits as best he could
until he was able to bring something back for his mate,
which the vixen then gave to her young cubs.
The father and mother foxes were really thin while the cubs were growing
but as soon as they were considered able to find their own food
their parents pushed them out, and snarled at them
until the cubs left the area and found their own food supply.
The parent foxes were then able to put some weight back on.
We should want our children to fend for themselves
and we should not be happy if they are always dependent on us,
never able to stand on their own feet,
BUT we should encourage them, rather than SNARL at them.
Young people have minds of their own and develop their own values,
moral standards, likes and dislikes, and attitudes,
and these are often different from those of their parents.
They often model themselves on people such as TV soap stars, pop idols,
and fashion models, and so many of these are awful.
I’m sure most parents have prayed
‘Please God don’t let my son model himself on Adolf Hitler or Ossie Osmond ,
or my daughter on Myra Hindlay or Madonna’.
If our children modeled themselves on Jesus, or Mary or Joseph,
the world would be wonderful, it would be Heaven on Earth.
Back to the parable: the Prodigal Son modeled himself on his pals,
and probably thought his dad “Old-fashioned”, a “Square”, not “Cool”.
Not for him slogging his guts out on a farm 7 days a week,
so he asked his dad ‘How much are you worth?
How much will I get when you die?’
He didn't want his dad to die, but he was impatient.
He wanted his inheritance now, when he was young enough to enjoy it.
And his dad gave in; maybe to get rid of him,
to get the waster off his back, maybe to get a quiet life.
So many parents today seem to give in, rather than say NO!
Maybe he pleaded for his son to stay at home a little longer.
Maybe he gave in hoping the boy would soon fail
and come crawling back for forgiveness, admitting he was wrong,
and prepared to be a dependant for ever.
The dad WAS waiting for the boy when he did come back
with his tail between his legs,
but Jesus never suggested the dad gloated over his son’s misfortunes.
Maybe the father sent his son off with his blessing,
hoping he would make his way in the world,
and be a success that the father could be proud of, boast about.
Anyway the son in Jesus’ parable went off,
with a small fortune, hoping to make a bigger one.
Our children leave school and go off somewhere,
University, Army, Navy or RAF, to train to be nurses, etc.,
or they work locally until a promotion forces them to move away,
and then the day inevitably comes when they meet someone,
fall in love, and want to set up their own home.
Will we argue, like Steve Martin, in ‘Father of the Bride’
that they’re too young, too immature?
Will we say things like ‘How can you love someone else more than me?’
Do we let them go with our blessing,
or make them feel bad for leaving us behind?
Or will we be Prodigal Fathers, and Mothers,
in the sense of being EXTRAVAGANT in our love for them?
Because that is what the father in the parable was like,
and Jesus made it clear that the father is representative of God,
the God who ‘loves us to bits’, even when we fail and fall.
Anyway, the son went off, and for a while, life was great.
Freedom from grumpy parents; eating, drinking, parties, the ‘fast life’,
and the world, the flesh and the devil have much to offer,
until the Day of Reckoning comes, and it always does, in some shape or form.
A case of live ow, but pay later!
And when the bill came in, the Prodigal Son came to earth with a bang.
He realized he had made a mess of things.
He knew he had let his dad down,
but also knew in his heart of hearts, that his dad,
that old-fashioned, grumpy, dad, would take him back.
The son knew he would always have a roof over his head,
even if it was the roof over the servants’ quarters,
and he would have an income, even if only the minimum wage,
which had to be better than living with pigs among foreigners.
And the father in the parable took him back;
not only took him back, but welcomed him back, made a fuss of him
and restored him to the position the boy had initially thrown away,
and Jesus’ message to the world and to the Church
is that God will take us back,
no matter what wrongs we have done,
or rights we have failed to do,
so long as WE also come to our senses and repent.
According to Jesus in Luke 15:7
‘there will be rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner who repents’.
The friends the boy had when he had money,
all deserted him when he was broke,
but God never deserts us, no matter how far we stray from Him.
So the boy came home, fearing the worst, but hoping for the best,
and hoping that his dad would be there for him,
and he was, good old dad,
so good that his other son accused him of being too generous,
Prodigal, EXTRAVAGANT, WASTEFUL, with his love,
and God is like that towards us.
Isaiah 55:7 says
‘Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him’.
How much compassion; how much grace?
An infinite amount; an extravagant amount; a Prodigal amount.
As Christians, members of God’s church and family,
we have the assurance that God is not only like the father in the parable,
His love exceeds even that of any human father,
and that if we do not take advantage of it,
we will not only condemn ourselves to eternal damnation,
we condemn ourselves to a life of emptiness and frustration.
So the parable contains a beautiful message of forgiveness
and also a challenge to us as parents, or neighbours, or church members:
are we like the Lost Son’s father?
Like the son, we want forgiveness when we have done wrong;
but are we like the father when it comes to forgiving
and giving others a second chance?
Do we forgive our debtors as quickly and as fully
as we want others to forgive us?
Are we Prodigal, extravagant, over-generous
towards those who sin against us?
When we see someone in trouble, do we say
‘I told you so’ or ‘Can I help you’?
I hate waste, and go around the house turning lights off
But I am glad God is extravagant with His love for me,
and I hope it is not wasted on me,
In closing, let us thank God for His love for us,
for being a PRODIGALLY generous and forgiving father,
and let us ask God to make us Prodigal People,
not reckless and wasteful with our money,
but generous with our love for those around us
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
