Two caterpillars are sitting on a wall when a butterfly goes past. One says to the other
“You won’t get me up in one of those things.”
Jokes and parables have something in common. They rely on a good punchline. The punchline, not just to the parable of the prodigal son but to all three of the Luke 15 parables is found in the last few verses of the chapter as the Father and the older brother talk. The older brother refuses to come in to join the party for his brother.
Notice how he spits our the words
“this son of yours…”
The Faither responds
“your brother… “
The older brother holding on to understandable anger distances himself from the younger brother. He is lost to him.
The punchline is further understood as we are reminded of the story’s target audience:
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”[1]
The religious leaders have been horrified by the company Jesus has been keeping, those who due to their sinful and treacherous lifestyles were considered “unclean”. If Jesus were truly from God, he surely would have recognised the righteousness of the religious leaders but instead he goes and spends time with those whose behaviour was surely, or at least should have been earning God’s displeasure. Jesus was going to the ones whose lifestyles were destructive, not just self-destructive but harmful to their community.
And Jesus’ point was simple. He had specifically come for those who were lost. That’s why he talks about a shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one.
But the third and longest parable intentionally expands on the theme. There are two lost sons. There’s the one who realises it and comes home ready to be his dad’s hired servant. However, there is the one who has been at home and not realised his lostness but in heart had become a like a servant, not a son.
We will hear the story as one of two sons. Are you the lost older brother at home or the lost younger brother, far away. For some of us, we can easily recognise our need of a saviour. You don’t need anyone to tell you how you’ve messed up. You know. There’s good news for you, an invitation. The Father says “come home”, not as a servant but as a loved and forgiven child. It may be that you have been hearing that good news for the first time, I want you to hear what God the Father has to say to you. There’s an invitation to find life, joy, peace, hope. For some of you, that day when you came home was a long time ago but the memory is still vivid and sweet. I want to encourage you. The Father’s invitation has not changed. You are still his cild, loved, welcomed, forgiven, healed, restored.
There’s a risk that we can forget that day. When we do, we become like the older brother. Some of us have grown up in church or have been here so long we feel like part of the furniture. We are meant to be part of the family, but something isn’t quite right. It shows up in how we react to others when they seem to get let off lightly. It shows up in how we think about what it means to be part of church. It has become a duty.
Hear the two things the Father says to older brothers
“This brother of yours”
Recapture the joy of salvation. Remember that we all come into the family the same way. Encourage one another to take delight and share the father’s joy as prodigals come home.
“Everything I have is yours”
You too are a child of God, not a slave, not a servant, not the hired help. All of God’s riches are yours by grace. It’s free gift. You cannot earn it, you haven’t earnt it. Yet God chooses to lavish his love on us. Let your heart be warmed by his grace, love and mercy again.
What wonder of grace is this,
What story of passion divine,
Where judgment and mercy kiss,
Where power and love are entwined?
No tongue can speak this glory,
No words express the joy You bring
As I enter the courts of the King.
My desire is to come to this place,
My desire is to look on Your face,
Perfect in beauty, in truth and love,
Your glory shines over all the earth;
The King who lavishes grace on us is here.[2]
[1] Luke 15:1
[2] Stuart Townend What wonder of grace is this (my desire).
Faithroots 