+ + + Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. + + +

          Have you ever noticed how Jesus' parables typically include moments of odd behavior?  Those are usually the clues to understanding the deeper meaning of Jesus' teaching.  They depict God's ways as alien to our own usual expectations and conventional wisdom.  In the familiar parable of the Prodigal Son there are odd moments for us to ponder about repentance and reconciliation during this season of Lent

*The son affronts his father. His request for his part of the inheritance is out of line, perhaps the equivalent of wishing his father were dead. The son could have expected a share of the family estate, a much smaller piece than that due to the elder son, but only upon his father's death. Nothing compels the father to grant the request.

*The father appears recklessly indulgent. Because the son's request would bring such shame to the household, granting it makes the father appear foolhardy, not generous.

*The father appears recklessly credulous. Dignified men in Jesus' culture would not run like this man does. Clearly the father longs for the son's return, for he sees him "while he was still far off." But by welcoming him as he does, greeting him before hearing a word, the father appears ripe for exploitation. He does not wait for his son to express contrition (only a brief confession) before restoring him to full status in the household, symbolized by the robe, ring, and sandals.

          Is this what grace looks like? Is God's grace a grace so eager to give and restore? Will not those who value responsibility and propriety consider it dangerously permissive?

That's a Surprise

          Now, here is where the parable challenges us.  Does the younger son earnestly repent, or is he a manipulative scoundrel?

          Some argue that the son's repentance is implied, even if it is not clearly named by the ambiguous expression he came to himself (verse 17). After all, he hits rock bottom, longing to eat what unclean animals eat, once he is done in by a trio of calamities: "dissolute living" that squanders his resources, a "severe famine," and a social neglect in which "no one gave him anything." As signs of contrition, he confesses sin and plans to ask his father to welcome him home as a slave instead of a son. As signs of sincerity, he rehearses his speech and begins to deliver it even after his father embraces and kisses him.

          On the other hand, "he came to himself" can indicate that he came to his senses and got clarity on his situation (see Acts 12:11). The absence of repentance language is striking, particularly since the previous two parables condition readers to expect it. The son's rehearsed speech smacks of insincerity and a plan designed to tug at his gullible father's heartstrings. Perhaps Jesus' point is that even scoundrels are joyfully welcomed in God's household. Just pointing oneself toward home is what unleashes God's welcome. Any motive will do.

          However we judge the younger son's motives, still the story retains a deeply scandalous flavor in the father's exuberant response to his returned son. The father welcomes home a loser, as a loser, and restores him to his standing as a son. Coming home at rock bottom was all he had to do.

          How about the older son?  Do we learn a lesson about repentance from his odd reaction?  The elder son makes the parable especially complex and interesting. He surprises us by breaking the pattern set by the two parables in 15:4-10. One sheep was lost while ninety-nine stayed together. A woman searched for a coin while holding onto nine. But both sons in this family are lost, including the one who never left home.

          As soon as the elder appears in 15:25 we sense his alienation. No one bothered to call him in to join the party! Accordingly, he does not enter the house. He does not address his father as "Father" and speaks to him about "this son of yours" instead of "my brother." His refusal to celebrate stems from his deep resentment.

          Why is he resentful? He is taken for granted. No extravagance celebrates his reliable service. He accuses his father of showing preferential treatment. He expresses this with the visceral intensity that such unfairness can generate within family systems. The elder son forces us both to digest just how scandalous are the father's actions and to ask what this son's reactions say to us.

          This son cannot see the situation in any way but according to his own conventions of justice and through the torments of the lack of appreciation he suffers. The father's response to the younger son utterly confound the rules, doctrines, and convictions that confine the elder son.  Is the elder son correct? By his own reckoning, he surely is. And many of us need to be brought to the realization that, deep down, we tend to reckon things in similar ways, according to similar standards of fairness and belonging. How can we not?

The Scandal of God's Grace

          Church folk fall into a trap when they write off the elder son as different, an outsider, or especially reprobate and self-righteous. He is the consummate religious insider, for he understands and articulates the scandal of God's grace better than any theologian.  Perhaps he is closer to "us" than is the younger son.  Yet, God loves us unconditionally, too!  The father calls the elder son "son" and confirms his full place and favored standing within the family. All that remains to be seen is how this son will respond. 

          Each son,in his own way, misunderstands the workings of grace. The younger seeks to bargain or manipulate, while the elder cannot let go of sacred canons and grudges. Yet both are welcomed home, regardless. They call us to reassess our own standards and the basis of our relationship to God.

          The elder son crystallizes questions about who has the right to enjoy benefits as a member of God's family. Who rightly belongs to this family? Who gets to determine the benefits? Who in God's family remain objects of our disdain?  As insiders, we begin by looking at ourselves before we judge others and then we get to rejoice at the grace of God for them; but even better:  the grace of God for us!

(With thanks to Matt Skinner, Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, on www.workingpreacher.org.

Texts for the Week
of Preparation for
March 14, 2010

Lent 4

• Joshua 5:9-12
• Psalm 32
• 2 Corinthians5:16-21
• Luke 15-1-3, 11b-323