Story: I have to tell you that, in continental Europe, the Swiss are known as being as parsimonious.
In fact they make the Scots look generous - apologies to any Scots listening.
At the turn of the 19th Century, the roof of the a little Swiss church was in serious need of repair.
So the congregation held regular prayer meeting in the church hall after the service - to pray for funds to repair the roof .
An old man, well know for being “tight fisted” even by Swiss standards - used to regularly come to the prayer meeting.
But he would always come in early so he could sit at the back of the prayer meeting.
In that way he could sneak out just before the collection plate came round.
One Sunday he was held up by the minister after the service and could only find a seat at the front of the church hall.
During the prayer meeting a piece of the roof fell and hit him on the head.
Feeling spoke to by the Lord, he stood up and said "Lord, I'll give 1000 Swiss francs"
And a voice at the back of the church was heard to say “Hit him again, Lord"!
Jesus’ parables were always aimed to hit the self righteous Pharisees again and again until they got the point
And with the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus hit the righteous Jews yet again with a Parable to get them to understand that repentant sinners were welcome in the Kingdom of God
In the parable of the Prodigal Son three things would have been shocking to Jesus’ hearers:
1. The first shock of the parable to a Jewish audience would have been that the father agreed to the Prodigal's demand for his part of the family fortune before the father died.
It has been suggested that the prodigal’s request would have been tantamount to telling the Father that he wished him dead.
And the father’s reaction in giving the son his inheritance was simply - contrary to conventional Jewish wisdom.
In the apocryphal book of Sirach, we read,
"To son or wife, to brother or friend, do not give power over yourself as long as you live, and do not give your property to another in case you change your mind and must ask for it…...
For it is better that your children should ask from you than you should look to the hand of your children." (Sirach 33:20 &22)
Nevertheless, in this parable the father grants the son's request.
And we see this as a picture of God letting us go our own way until we realise, we have a need of God.
2. The second shock of the parable to the Jewish audience was the reaction of the father when he saw his prodigal coming home.
No self-respecting father would have run to greet a wayward son.
It was too undignified for the head of the family to do that.
The father’s action broke all Middle Eastern protocol.
But - as is often the case in Jesus' parables - the twist in the story makes the point.
The father is so pleased and thrilled to see his prodigal return that he literally “drapes himself on the neck of the prodigal”.
And this links in well with Jesus’ teaching that
“there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:7)
3. The third shock to the Jewish listeners would have been that it was unthinkable that the Father the Patriarch of the family would have simply forgiven the son, rather than given him a good telling off.
Indeed what was even more unlikely was that the father would have rewarded the prodigal by throwing a feast!!
How would you have reacted if you had been the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son
Jesus’ point is that we should NOT dwell on past sins but by repenting we look forward to the future.
For repentance - turning from our sin to God - is the key to unlock the gates to eternal life. (see James 5:20)
St. Paul tells us that “God demonstrated his love towards us that while we were sinners Christ died for.” (Rom 5:8)
And so what should our response be?
Salvation is both unconditional and conditional.
God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ is extended unconditionally to all who desire it.
Salvation is a gift of God grace and so is not earned.
However that is not the end of the story.
When we accept God’s gift of salvation then we start an ongoing relationship with God which is conditional on our being
i) willing to repent of our old ways,
ii) requiring faith in God as he leads us and
iii) faithfulness from us in response to that leading.
It is a process we call sanctification
When looking at the story of the Prodigal Son the fact that the Prodigal Son repented is often overlooked.
He was a changed man
In Jn 8 1-12 When the woman - who was caught in the act of adultery - was brought to Jesus for stoning, Jesus did not condemn her.
But He did add a rider: "Go and sin no more"
When we receive the grace of God, we are called to respond in love and to turn away from sin and follow Christ.
That is what the Christian faith is all about
Jesus in John 8:12 said: “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life"
If we really follow Christ, people will see Christ in us and so be attracted to Jesus, the light of the world.
Isn’t that our mission as the Church?
