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Lent 5 “Being Right Is Not Enough” March 21, ‘10 Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32 Craig M. Whitcher Well, here is an old favorite story Jesus told: a parable so familiar that when the Church school teacher asked; “Who was not at all pleased with the return of the Prodigal Son and didn’t want to attend the feast?” One half-bored student shot back, “The Fatted Calf!” Still, there are things in this parable we can learn again for the first time. When Jesus told this parable, his audience consisted of type “A,” nose to the grindstone, obedient, elder brother types: the Pharisees. We almost always find Jesus in conflict with the Pharisees. But I think that is because Jesus loved them so; they were virtuous men, they were hard working, biblical scholars, keepers of the Law of Moses, leaders of the community. The problem was that they just didn’t get the big picture of God’s Word. They could not see their own sin; especially the classic sin of Pride: known as the “spiritual cancer.” When we forget that we are a child of God… that we have been blessed and privileged…then our worship is less prophetic and more self-congratulatory… remember, Jesus spoke of the Pharisee who was at prayer and said beating on his chest: “Lord I am thankful that I am not like other men.” Jesus’ complaint about religious leaders of his day was their self-righteousness…their belief that they had earned their place and were justified in judging others. They could not receive the true gift of God, which we call salvation (God’s gracious, unconditional love), because in their pride-fulness they saw no need for that which they deserved. So, as Jesus described the younger son in this parable, the Pharisees were all nodding their heads. Many of them may have had younger brothers, who, because of their place in the family dynamic, were not very focused. The younger brother or sister can sometimes be laid back, looking for the easy way in life. Jesus lays out the story in the way most older, sibling type-A’s would expect. It begins with the younger son having the audacity to ask his father, before he is even in the grave mind you, for his share of what will be his inheritance. Unbelievably, his father gives it to him. What does he do? He goes to Mohegan Sun and blows it all in what the gospel calls “loose living.” Well, suddenly, the economy takes a down turn and he can’t find work, he’s practically starving. Because he knows something about farming, he asks a local pig farmer to give him shelter in exchange for work. (Note: According to Levitical Law, pigs are considered an unclean animal, and therefore Pork is a forbidden food for Jews…pig faming is the work of gentiles, foreigners, the ungodly and lowest of the low. Jesus wants his hearer’s to know how low he has sunk). It doesn’t take long before the younger son realizes that his life really sucks. He hits bottom. In his hunger and desperation he ends up eating what the pigs eat. Jesus says as sums this up in verse 17, “When he came to himself...” (I love that phrase…the boy has an epiphany). Naturally, he begins to think of home and his dad. Fully repentant he swallows his pride and takes the first steps in what is called today, a 12-step program. He will go to his dad and confess his sin, his utter failure and youthful arrogance. He will confess that he is unworthy, even to be considered a son. He will throw himself at his father’s mercy and beg to be taken in as just a hired servant. OK. The Pharisees and most of us “You made your bed now lie in it” folk are with the story up to this point. But Jesus’ story begins to shift. Good ole’ dad is quite the softy. The Dad you never had! In verse 20, Jesus says, “While the younger son was still at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced and kissed him.” You can hear the Pharisees in the crowd… “Son of a….” Where has the father been all this time while his younger son was in the far country? Personally, I see him standing at the kitchen window, looking down that long driveway, praying everyday for that day when his son would come home? What we have here is a parent’s unconditional love…it’s called GRACE. The father won’t even wait to hear the excuses, the confession, the words of contrition. He interrupts… orders a robe…the best robe…the family ring…and shoes for his son’s feet. Not enough! It’s time to party…get the fatted calf… “it’s veal tetrazzini tonight!” The old man practically shouts, “Let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Amazing Grace! I once was lost but now am found! Do you know what it is to have been “dead” and then alive again? No? Then maybe you have always been a good boy or girl. Nose clean, you’ve obeyed, straight arrowed yourself through life…from birth to now. Maybe, you don’t need to pray so much… be forgiven so much, or have another chance because you’re already so good and, of course, you are always right! Pharisees were the elder sons in Jesus day and are today usually the elder brothers and sisters in the world. They tend to make our culture and society what it is. They give our culture its DNA which is now based on a “works righteousness” set of core values (making earning every reward, being entitled a virtue). The problem is that this is not at the core of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me be clear, they are not bad people. The Pharisees of society are not bad people. Jesus truly loves them and us: in part, because they/we take pride in loyalty, keeping the law, following the rules. We are the responsible ones who often stay close to home and take care of mom and dad in their old age. We are likely to enter the family business. We are unquestioning patriots and high achievers. We are on time all the time. We are dependable, the mainstays of the community and pillars of the church. In fact, we sympathize with the elder brother’s complaint: “Look, all these years, I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your command…” But, if you listen or read carefully, you’ll notice that the older brother doesn’t sound that happy with himself and his lot in life…that’s the sign of the sin of Pride… He thinks what he has done all his life has been slavish, a sacrifice that he made grudgingly, and for which he has never been appreciated. From this attitude about all his hard work and earned sense of privilege, he certainly knows a sinner when he sees one. Sinners are undeserving of rewards, special privileges, affirmative action, or even in some cases membership or citizenship. They have not earned it, they have broken the rules; and what they have gotten, freely; surely, they have misused and abused. In Jesus story, which is really a parable about Pharisees, such folk suffer that deadly sin of Pride, the enemy of GRACE and love. They do not realize that they are already beloved, that so much of their privilege has been freely given… that they have their place in the world, mostly without merit, often because it was left to them, opportunity provided for them, the way made clear for them. They just can’t see nor can they accept that they have always been in their father’s, yes, their heavenly “Father’s” good graces. Consequently, the elder brother like the Pharisees of any society can not stomach and will complain about the apparent injustice in any blessing, accommodation or legislation for the “undeserving:” “You never in all these years have given me, even a goat, let alone a fatted calf, so that I might celebrate with my friends.” One might say to the elder brother… “O please, do you want wine with that?” Are we to believe that the elder son has been literally working like a slave for his old man, that he was totally obedient, kept his nose to the grindstone, simply to get his father to reward him? Are we to believe that all this loyalty and stick-to-itiveness has been to gain personal honor and glory? Is the elder son saying that he has not been at all happy with his chosen lot in life, his sense of values and straight living? There is a prayer for these two boys: Lord, make the bad good and the good sufferable. You know, it just may have been that the younger brother needed to leave home in order to escape his insufferable older brother! Jesus wants the Pharisees, the self-righteous, to look at themselves, especially in relation to the Grace of God. The OT prophet, Isaiah, characterizes the older brother’s attitude as one that God confronted in Israel herself. Isaiah in 65:5, has Israel say, Stand by yourself, come not near me, for I am holier than thou. And God responds, Such ones are like smoke in my nose. If God can’t stand the smell of the pridefulness in the self-righteous, neither can the younger brother; and, even the father probably found the elder son a bit insufferable. Again we might pray, Lord, when I am wrong, make me willing to change. And when I am right, make me easy to live with. The elder brother is filled with resentment. It wasn’t a virtuous relationship he had with dad, but one based on a better deal, which he believed he had earned. Being right and good was not enough. He expected a big return for his goodness. While Jesus never condemns the sinners he meets, he obviously does chasten the righteous, moralistic Pharisees who so violently oppose all whom they consider as evil doers. Jesus will pay for preaching Grace and claiming that God loves and accepts sinners…the last, the least, the lost and the alone. Jesus will be crucified in part because the self-made and self-proclaimed righteous can not tolerate a social order that does not recognize that there are those who deserve the prizes and those who do not; nor delineate those who are superior from those who are inferior. The elder brother can not forgive his younger sibling. Having chafed so long in his jealousy, forgiveness and accepting him back home is just too painful. Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel: “If you do not forgive others, then your heavenly Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done. (Mt 6:15) The elder brother is in his own far off country…he is moral, but loveless…it’s a hell of his own choosing, worse than a pigsty. So, what happens to those brothers? Jesus doesn’t tell us. The parable asks us two things: First, accept all that God provides. It is yours free of charge, by God’s grace. God loves you and forgives you. You can’t earn it, just accept it and live, live knowing you are beloved. Christ has shown you the way. That is your salvation. Secondly, remember it can not be grace for you and good works for those you dislike or judge not to be so worthy…no double standards in God’s kingdom. All we are prodigals, all we are elder sons, at one time or another. But like the father in our story, God welcomes us home and wants us to join in the party of reconciliation. So the son set off and went back to his father. But while he was still far off (still in the far country?), his father saw him (waiting by the kitchen window) and was filled with compassion; he ran, put his arms around him and kissed him. Simply being right is not enough.
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