Advent Part 26: The father Jesus describes in the parable of the Prodigal Son strongly resembles the father God has shown Himself to be, even in the Old Testament. He gave everything for us, and that is evident through the Incarnation.
Luke 15 (NLT)
15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
Dear God,
I’ve been waiting to get to this one because this one is you. Maybe I should have done it first. I almost did not want to categorize this as “father” because that word just isn’t big enough for what you are. You are more than what Adam was to Seth, what Abraham was to Isaac, or even what Joseph was to Jesus. But Jesus called you his Father and our Father. He used the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son to describe your love for me. So I thought I would take some time to see who this father is and what I can learn from you about where my priorities should be as a father to my own children.
First, I suppose I can look back and see consistency in this description of you and how you treated your people in the Old Testament. You gave them freedom. You gave them rope. You allowed them to go their own way, and you would hear their cry when they came back to you. Over and over again you really were this father. I am surprised I have not heard more preaching or teaching about this, but it is true.
Second, I wonder if we have mis-titled this parable. Maybe it should be “The Father with Two Sons” because this story is about how you handle all your children, not just those that act out in rebellion. In fact, this parable reminds me now of the master who hired people throughout the day and gave them all the same wage, regardless of what time they were hired. That parable was about you too. You are not just the father of the prodigal. You are the father of all of us, and we all have a unique relationship with you.
So now I want to look at this parable. Here are some thoughts about this whole chapter at first glance:
● It’s interesting that Luke is the only one who gives us this story. It is not in the other two synoptic gospels.
● Much like John 3:16 is part of a long speech Jesus gives to Nicodemus, this parable is one of three told in conjunction with one another (lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son) and they should all be considered together when looking at the context.
● I might be getting too specific here, but I have always thought of Jesus telling the tax collectors and sinners this story as well as the Pharisees and scribes, but when verse 3 says, “Then Jesus told them this parable:” it is a reference to the Pharisees and scribes muttering about him hanging around the sinners. Luke’s intimation is that this was directed not at the sinners, but squarely at the Pharisees and scribes.
● In all three stories something is lost, and then there is a celebration when it is found. Not just relief, but exuberant joy!
● Each story intimates that the lost one who returns gives you more joy than the righteous one who stays. It makes me wonder what kind of rejoicing there was in heaven in the Old Testament times when Israel would repent and return to you.
● This third story about the man with two sons is much more complicated than the first two. I suppose stories involving people would be inherently more complicated than stories involving a lamb or a coin.
So what can I surmise about you when I combine these three parables with the stories about you in the Old Testament and who you proved yourself to be?
● You really like us and want us around. You value our presence! You miss us. It is not just that we worship you. Yes, in each case, you are the authority (over the lamb, the coin, or the son), but when they return you do not demand anything in the moment. You just celebrate.
● Your agenda for us seems to be for our good. You want us around because you know it is better for us if we are with you. The lost sheep will surely die on its own. The coin will never live out its purpose. And the son will die in misery and spiritual/emotional emptiness. When all three return, your joy is centered around the fact that it is good for them that they returned. And your joy is complete in their wholeness and the restoration of relationship.
● In terms of the story of the father and his two sons, your ego does not play a role in your responses to the boys. You allow them to rebel. You allow them to insult you. You honor the concept of free will that you gave us all the way back to the beginning. This might be the biggest difference between you as a father and me as a father. None of your decisions appear to be based on how what is happening will impact you. Everything appears, instead, to be centered on how it will impact your sons.
● Jesus seems to imply that you are more interested in the state of our heart than the words we conjure up. The younger son was broken and came home to submit to his father’s authority. That is all the father needed to know. That is all you need to know. It is not about what fancy words I conjure. There is not anything magical I can produce to earn your forgiveness. There was no way for the son to atone for his sins, but you were not looking for atonement. You just wanted repentance, humility, and submission. And you knew that this son was now set for a better life after having come to this point.
● Then there is the older son. I am sure the Pharisees (the audience for this parable) were tracking with Jesus and maybe even buying into the idea that you would celebrate the return of the younger son. Maybe they were starting to soften their stance on Jesus trying to evangelize and bring to repentance the tax collectors and sinners. But much like Chekhov’s gun, Jesus planted an almost-forgotten character in the story, the older son, who must be addressed. He was not just a character of virtue and obedience to contrast with the younger son. He had his own issues.
● Forgetting the lesson that Jesus has for the Pharisees in his decision to link who they are with this older son, I want to look as much at how you responded to the older son as I did with the younger aon. And it is simple. Only two verses (31 and 32):
“My son,” the father said, “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.”
Again, I think I’ve read this wrong over the years. I have always thought of this little speech as a scolding, but that is not what Jesus says. He represents you as saying to the Pharisees, “Hey, you have been good, and everything I have is coming your way. But I also love that person over there. She or he is my child too. You referred to him as ‘this son of [mine].’ Well, he is not just my son. He is your brother. It is time for you to love him and celebrate with me because he is alive again. He was lost and now is found.” Jesus was not taking anything away from the Pharisees and scribes that day. He was imploring them to join him in reaching out to and loving these tax collectors and sinners. He wanted them to welcome them.
So what does this have to say about me and who I am as a father? What can I learn from you, my Lord and my God?
● Not always, to be sure, but I have probably made too many parenting decisions based on how my children’s behavior impacts me, my ego, feelings, and reputation.
● While it is good for me to reach out (see the shepherd looking for the lost lamb or the woman looking for the lost coin), it is also right for me to let my children come to conclusions on their own. Especially as adults. I cannot force my will upon them.
● Sibling rivalry is real, and I need to deal with each of my children differently while still loving both equally. And if I can somehow get them to have empathy and even mercy for each other—at least wishing for the best for them—then that should be pursued.
● You never lightened the consequences for the rebel. Whether it was the Israelites in the Old Testament or the son in this story, you never eased the results of his actions. As a parent, it is very hard to watch our children suffer, even if they bring it upon themselves. But if we get in the way, then it can short circuit whatever lesson you might have for them.
● You are their father as much as you are mine. Since they are adults now, at this point I am now their spiritual brother, and I should care more about their relationship with you than their relationship with me. Yes, they still need the love that an earthly father can give as long as I am alive, but this is no longer about them submitting to me. My goal should be for them to submit to you.
Father, thank you for being who you are. Thank you for being the God you are. Jesus could have taken this parable in a lot of ways, and I am grateful for the portrait he painted of you. Help me to be the son you need me to be for your glory’s sake and not mine.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
