There are probably endless ways to look at this story of the prodigal son. But my reading of it, and consideration of the text on this go-around with the story, led me to focus on the question of "worthiness."
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Text: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Prayer: May the One who makes peace in the high heavens make peace for us and all who inhabit the earth. Amen. (Shabbat Morning II, Mishkan T’filah, 219).
Outside of the parable of the Good Samaritan…this one called “the parable of the Prodigal Son” is probably one of the best known, most cited, most beloved stories we have in all the Gospels. It is…therefore…probably the MOST preached on text…and hence…leaves very little room for each preacher to find something new or exciting to talk about.
But I’m gonna strive to…at the very least…give us something that we might chew on for upcoming week. Because no matter how many times we hear a particular story out of the Bible…there is always likely to be something that we can gain…some thought or idea that we might twist and turn like we’re trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube.
So…let’s start with the beginning of this passage.
We’re told that there were Pharisees and scribes grumbling because Jesus was hanging out with the tax collectors and all kinds of other so-called sinners. We can imagine the complaints being something along the lines of:
“Look at Jesus hanging out with ‘those people’”
Those “unworthy” people!
“Worthiness” seems to be the central theme of this parable.
I don’t know about you, but in my own faith journey, there have been countless times where I have felt that I couldn’t possibly be worthy of the extravagant and unbounded love of God.
We fall victim to a belief that somehow we need to “earn” God’s love. We must perform some extraordinary acts of outlandish righteousness in order to receive this gift which is already unwrapped and simply waiting for us accept it.
Jesus explodes that myth about God with this parable.
The younger son…the prodigal…commits multiple sins in this story.
First…he demands his inheritance right now. This went against the custom that a child would get their inheritance at the time of their parent’s death (Sir. 33:24).
Then he goes to a distant country…and blows all his money. So we get the sense that this kid has wandered way off the beaten path and isn’t responsible.
Now he’s penniless. So this Jewish boy gets hired to tend to pigs. Working with pigs was about as off-putting and culturally offensive as one could imagine.
It’s clear the younger son has drifted so far afield that he’s lost.
And “Lost” is an agonizing feeling. We are creatures who don’t do well with that sensation of not knowing where we are… where we’re going…and what might happen next.
We read how “no one gave him anything.” (15:16b).
He has become a true nobody…a forgotten…an easily ignored soul.
We hear that “he came to himself” (15:17a).
Now…I suppose we can read that any number of ways. But there’s a sense in this text that this son has figured out that he ought to go back to his Father. I’m not certain it’s because he realizes that he’s been wrong. I think it may be more because his belly hurts from hunger. Even the way in which he plans to present himself suggests he hasn’t grasped why he needs to go back home.
He’s rehearsing a speech, using the words of sinning against heaven…and the father…I am not worthy, I am not worthy…lots of words.
Even Pharoah confessed to have sinned when all the plagues were hitting Egypt.
But once the locusts went away…he doubled-down on hardening his heart. Who’s to say the younger son isn’t just as likely to forget his confession once he’s eaten his first meager meal as a hired hand?
But before this prodigal son can begin to utter any of his well-crafted speech…the father rushes out to meet him.
And as the boy is speaking…his father…ignoring the speech…gives him a big ol’ bear hug…shouts with joy to get this kid a robe…and a ring…slaughter that fatted calf…’cuz we’re gonna have a party! Woot! Woot!!
The father didn’t ask any questions.
The father didn’t want to hear a speech.
The father didn’t do any kind of self-examination or interrogation as to whether this child was worthy or deserving.
All that mattered was the boy showed up.
And just for showing up…without any words…without any explanation…without any groveling…this father explodes in so much joy…and can’t wait to shower abundance on this son.
This is not the expected behavior. The younger son was probably floored by all this lavish attention, this giddy excitement.
“You mean to say I don’t have to be hired back? You’re gonna just take me in and more so…we’re gonna party?”
“Yes!!!”
We can imagine the father leaping and dancing and clapping his hands as if this was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Meanwhile…as the tunes are thumping the walls…and the celebration is loud and raucous…the elder son is on his way from the field and toward the house. He can’t comprehend what is going on?
What’s the occasion?
Am I really hearing “Dancing Queen?”
He makes an inquiry and finds out that his no-good, greedy, little brother has come home. And…just like in the biblical story of Cain and Abel…he becomes jealous, and angry, and resentful. Fortunately…he doesn’t become murderous. But when the father leaves the party to meet him, this son complains.
Oh, boy does he complain!
“Here I am…doing all this back-breaking work…following all the rules…I’ve always been the good son. And what do I get? Not even a tender scrawny little young goat let alone a fatted calf for dinner! But you’re gonna celebrate this son of yours! This reprobate! This whore monger?!”
The father listens to all of this. He sees how tight the elder son’s jaw has become…how his eyes have narrowed and grown dark. The boy’s rage is palpable.
And then the father speaks.
“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”
What a loving and compassionate way to address this hurting soul.
In the same way that this father went wild with excitement when his lost son found his way home…this father says to the one that has been the best son, the loyal son:
“Honey, I haven’t taken away your inheritance in this moment or ever. You’re still in my will. You’re going to inherit my farm and all the property. I do love you!”
And then he goes on to explain that when those who have been dead or lost come back to life or are found…you don’t interrogate whether that is OK…or even if they’ve learned their lesson.
You simply rejoice.
You welcome.
And you play disco and dance the night away.
I think the reason this story is so popular is because this is such an extraordinary father…teaching us and showing us an amazing way in which are to live and move and have our being in the world.
This father’s response to this question of the “worthiness” of the younger son is to totally ignore it as a non-issue.
His refusal to get drawn into the pit of anger of his older son and deflect this son’s assertion of his own worthiness was to acknowledge it and speak with such caring and tenderness.
The love for both the good child and the bad child is there in abundance…whether it’s serving up the sumptuous meal and having a party…or the promise that everything of the father’s will be given in due time.
Just as last week’s lesson about tending to the tree was about not looking around at others but doing our best to live into our faith and trust in God…tending to our own hearts…the elder son is reminded that he may not get a fatted calf…but he’s going to be getting a pretty nice spread of land and a roof over his head.
And the right response to the return of one lost is to be happy and throw a party.
That’s the God we love and worship.
A God who pops open a bottle of bubbly when we come back home to repair the break in our relationship…and doesn’t require anything more than for us to show up.
A God who loves the elder and the younger equally…and encourages the privileged one to experience the joy of compassion toward the one who has come home.
A God who shows us the way of love.
In our Prayers of the People…we ask God to help deliver us from hardness of heart so we can show this extravagant love of God to those around us. I hope for all of us that we trust in that prayer…and open ourselves to let God do the work of softening our hearts.
In the name of God…F/S/HS.
