Luke 15:11-32
A Sermon prepared for Sunday of the Prodigal Son, February 24, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forgiveness is something we discuss within the life of the\nChurch. We have a system for forgiveness and we designate numerous cognates for\nit: remission of sins, washing, cleansing, and often enough, we dive into the\nlanguage of atonement, of the payment of a debt that cleans the proverbial\nslate for us. We explain Baptism as the forgiveness of sins, we point to the\nreception of Holy Communion as renewing us each time we receive, and we prepare\nourselves and our children to engage the Church\u2019s system of forgiveness through\nthe mystery of Confession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The images produced by our explanations are profound, especially the picture we behold of God as the one who removes our sin and withholds punishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But ultimately, we probably do not know how to receive forgiveness\nand how to honor it when it is given by God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today\u2019s Gospel lesson is given to us in preparation for us\nto become recipients of God\u2019s forgiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be sure, the proclamation of this Lukan Gospel within the\nliturgical setting illuminates numerous aspects of how forgiveness works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, we have already been told that we must become\naccusers of ourselves \u2013 and not others \u2013 in last week\u2019s Lukan lesson on the\nparable of the publican and the Pharisee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presumably, we are aware of our sin \u2013 a habit of sin that distances us from God. Again, let\u2019s be clear about this: when we sin, we increase the gap between us and God because sin is selfish, oriented towards fulfilling imaginary needs that can never satisfy us, however we perceive or experience those needs (hunger, thirst, passion, desire, anger, and so on). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week\u2019s lesson tells us both about how satisfying these\nimpulsive passions makes us miss the mark that God has set for us, and how the\ndistance between us and God increases. In the story, the prodigal son\u2019s\norientation to his own impulses, his own passions, drives him far away from\nhome. He seeks fulfillment in carousel \u2013 eating, drinking, being merry,\npartying \u2013 when he should be saving his inheritance for the future (and for us,\nthis means living in such a way that is an investment in the kingdom of God).\nIt\u2019s on this day that we begin singing Psalm 137 at Vigil, \u201cBy the Waters of\nBabylon\u201d \u2013 when we sing this psalm, we are lamenting our self-imposed exile\nfrom God. The song reminds us that we are far from home \u2013 we\u2019re supposed\nto want to return home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story then unfolds in such a way as to instruct us on\nhow we should act by reminding us that it is not too late \u2013 we can come home\nbecause we are assured \u2013 promised! \u2013 that God will greet us with great joy, the\nkind of joy evidenced by an old man running from the steps of his home to greet\nthe one who has been lost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The outcome, then, is a happy one \u2013 right? It\u2019s happy\nbecause the prodigal is not shamed, but restored without question. His decision\nto go home is decisive \u2013 he realizes that receiving forgiveness means to move on from past sins<\/em> and develop new\nhabits of living \u2013 habits that revolve around investing in the kingdom of God\nthat is our destiny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The holy editors and compilers of the biblical texts are\ngeniuses in their understanding of the human condition. They compiled and\nordered these narratives in such a way so that we find ourselves written into\nthe stories (and this should not be surprising, because the Bible just tells us\nabout ordinary humankind). <\/p>\n\n\n\n We learn today that receiving forgiveness is complex because\nwe\u2019re not only the prodigal son \u2013 we are also his older brother who is consumed\nby envy and anger when he had invested properly and received no tangible\nreward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How often does this classical parable play out in life? God\nremoves the label of \u201csinner\u201d from someone who seeks restoration, and we pick\nit up off the ground and try to pin it back on. We want validation and\nvindication for our accomplishments, but when it comes to those whom we deem as\nunworthy or uncanonical, not only will we refuse to show up for the feast in\ntheir honor, but we will wait until the host of the banquet withdraws so we can\nreturn all of the prodigals and unrepentant to Hades, push them into the depths\nof Sheol as far as possible, and then lock the door behind them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today\u2019s Gospel is not only about the prodigal son. We can\nfind ourselves to be like the older brother who is so choked by bitterness and\nenvy that he cannot himself enjoy the hospitality and charity of his father\u2019s\nhouse. In other words, there are two prodigal sons in this parable. One has\nalienated himself from his father by trying to satisfy his passions. The other\ndistanced himself from his father and his brother by indulging in anger and\nenvy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gospel tells us that the younger brother returned to\nreceive forgiveness; we do not know the fate of the older brother. We know that\nat any given time in our lives, we could be either brother \u2013 tempted by the\nfalse promises of vices, or alienated from the love of God by our disdain for\nour family, friends, and neighbors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What God promises us in this Gospel is a warm welcome and\ncomplete restoration to God\u2019s household, if we simply approach and come home.\nThis is forgiveness: to be restored. And God\u2019s forgiveness is always there; we\nare the ones who cut ourselves off when we choose envy and bitterness. \n\nAs we prepare for Lent, brothers and sisters, we\nhave the opportunity to put the bad decisions and brokenness of the past behind\nus. Every day, our society invites us to find a reason to demonize our neighbor\nand declare them to be our enemy. We confront these demonic temptations in our\nChurch, too, when we are asked to join the bandwagon of demonizing those we\ndeem as unworthy of God\u2019s forgiveness. The world needs the witness of\nChristians who confess their sin and have the courage to return to God, of\nthose who join the heavenly father at rejoicing upon the repentance of sinners.\nLet us continue our offering today with thanksgiving for the lifegiving word of\nGod and a prayer that God would grant us the courage to come home and receive\nthe forgiveness he freely gives to all who approach. \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are two prodigal sons in this parable. One has alienated himself from his father by trying to satisfy his passions. The other distanced himself from his father and his brother by indulging in anger and envy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":45988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3118,3294,1321,84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ars-celebrandi-new-ws","category-ars-praedicandi","category-homilies","category-lectionary-liturgy-of-word"],"yoast_head":"\n