Morning Message Text: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.
2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32 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.’ ”
Morning Message:
The parable of the prodigal son is a text that I usually skip over. It comes up in the lectionary every three years and I have probably only preached on it one other time. It’s a beautiful story full of meaning and there is so much to be gained by reading and studying it, but it is almost too straight forward and self- explanatory to really dig into. Charles Dickens called the prodigal son story the finest short story ever written. Another described it as “the most winsome picture of God ever drawn on earth.” Yet another said it is “the crown and pearl of all parables.” I think maybe the problem that I have is trying to decide how much of it to preach and how much I can eliminate from a sermon. This is the most extensive description of love that we will ever find.
1 John 4:19 says: “We love Him because he first loved us.” The New Testament was originally penned in Greek, and there are four different Greek words which are translated love. Two of the four are very prevalent in the story of the lost son. First, the word agape represents the essence of divine love—God’s own special love. It’s the love God has for us and the kind of love he gives us for himself and others. Osborne Gordon, a nineteenth-century British pastor, said, “There is no soul so pure and heavenly that it can throw back upon God all that love which he lavishes upon us. God loves us infinitely more than it is possible for us to love him; but whatever feeble flame of love is kindled in our hearts and goes up as a sacrifice to him, we are only giving him his own.” That’s a good description of agape. The greatest command within scripture is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul. It’s the Lord himself who gives us the agape that allows us to do that. Think about this. We must let his love set our hearts on fire and return it like sparks flying upward to him. Our love of God is nothing more than his love to us, reflected back upon him, the source of love.
The second Greek word that we need to look at and the one that best fits the parable of the prodigal son is storge—Our love for family. Romans 12:10 says, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” The Barna Group found that 73% of all U.S. parents are concerned about their children’s spiritual well-being. This wasn’t just a survey of Christian parents. Nearly three-fourths of all American parents harbor concern about the spiritual health of their youngsters. The Lord invented the family unit in the Garden of Eden, and even non-believers long for their children to have healthy souls. God created family.
That’s why we need the kind of family love conveyed by the Greek word storge which describes the love family members have for each other. The word storge is described as cherishing one’s kindred, especially parents or children; the mutual love of parents and children and wives and husbands; love, affection.” In the scripture I just read from Romans chapter 12 verse 10, the word storge is translated, “kindly affectionate.” What can you do to enhance the well-being of members of your family? Sometimes we treat total strangers more politely than we deal with those in our own home. Love begins under our roof. Let’s find a fresh way of practicing it today.
This parable should probably more appropriately be called: The Parable of the Loving Father. The son has done what all of us do from time to time. He didn’t use good judgment, and he went against everything that he knew was right. While we may never have been so disobedient to our parents, I think that we can all confess to occasionally going our own way and not following the ways of our heavenly Father. What this young son did was scandalous and cold. By asking for his inheritance before his father’s death was like him saying to his father, “I wish you were dead.” There is no shortage of sinful behavior in this story. The young man was rebellious, reckless, and wayward. The older brother, while seemingly innocent in all of this, was very angry. I guess you can’t blame him for that, but it seems that the anger became hatred and there was no room in his heart for forgiveness. Family!
What shines through in this story is the father’s love. Some might say that he was far too easy on his children. They seem a little spoiled and in need of correction, but who are we to judge his parenting? What we are left with is a loving, forgiving father who cares so much about his children that he would give every bit of himself and his possessions for them. This story is our story. All of us were at one time or another wayward, reckless, rebellious, and separated from our heavenly Father. Just like the father in this parable, God never stops loving you. God never gives up on you; God will always forgive you. He will give you new clothes, a ring on your finger, welcome you home, and celebrate. Agape and storge. In a grace-filled Christian home, there is salvation. There is forgiveness. There is hope. There is genuine happiness. There is purpose there.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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