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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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The 4th Sunday in Lent (C) As we heard in today’s gospel reading: “There was a man who had two sons.” These sons were very different from each other, and yet in many ways they were also both quite alike. They were both consumed by the sin of covetousness. Even though they had everything that they materially needed, and even though they had a father who loved them dearly, they still were not satisfied. They both wanted and coveted more. At this point, let me begin by taking a look at the younger son. He coveted wealth, and he also coveted adventure. He was like many teenagers are today - a restless soul, eager and impatient to get out into the world. He had a growing urge to strike out on his own, to get out from under all of the family rules and traditions. He was itching to be doing something more glamorous than just staying at the family farm doing the same old “boring” things with the same old “boring” people day after day after day! If he could just get away, he thought, then he could make something out of his life! Happiness was always somewhere “out there” over the horizon – somewhere else far away – in the big city or wherever! And oh, how he yearned for it! His desire for this new life (and his unhappiness with his present one!) grew and grew and grew until he finally felt led to take the unthinkable step of asking his father for his share of the inheritance in advance! I don’t think that he necessarily did this because he hated his father. But this younger son was desperate, and he saw this as being the only way for him to be able to obtain his dream of becoming independent and successful and wealthy. And the father, because he loved his son – and could not bear to see him so unhappy – actually granted his request! He gave his younger son his share of the inheritance in advance - a full one third of his entire wealth! The younger son thus became quite rich in material things, but in the area of relationships he was very poor. He did not see his father as someone to love and to be loved by. He only saw him as being an object - as someone to get money from - to help him gratify his own desires. Parents, does this ring a bell in describing how our children often view us?! Does this ring a bell in how we often viewed our parents, and in how we often view each other? And everyone, does this ring a bell in describing how we often view GOD?! Of being a spiritual “sugar daddy” who is supposed to give us whatever we want when we want it?! Like the younger son in Jesus’ parable, we often squander and trash the relationships that we have with each other and with God for the sake of gratifying our wants and desires. Some examples: Here is a student who wants to be popular with her friends. So she joins them in ragging on their parents, discounting them as being dinosaurs in their ideas and in making fun of them and all their “stupid” rules. Her uncomplimentary stories about them provide some entertainment for her friends, as their stories about their parents do for her. But in doing this, she is betraying her parents’ love for her and trust in her – and is throwing away something very precious. Or here is a middle aged man who dumps his wife who has loved him faithfully for many years – leaving her because he has met somebody else he likes better because she looks more “sexy” and makes him feel more “alive”. He may leave, but he doesn’t get away guilt-free. On the most basic level, he knows that despite his rationalizations he has betrayed his vows to be faithful to her “until death parts us”, and that because of this he is now less of a person. Or here is a person who as a child and as a young teenager really enjoyed going to church and Sunday School – and at confirmation promised to faithfully follow Jesus, to hear God’s word and share in his supper, and to continue to be an active part of God’s family. But as he grew older, he began to have other priorities and values in life and has departed God’s way. He knew the joy of God’s love, but now his relationship with God is all but dead. “Religion” (that's what he calls it now!) is just something he practices occasionally, if at all. But yet he knows, deep in his heart, that he has wandered away from something priceless. Yes, like the younger son in Jesus’ parable we too often are willing to squander and trash the relationships that God has blessed us with because we want something more. Or we pervert our relationships into being only a one-way street – of others and God giving and giving to us, while we take and take from them. Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do! Getting back to our gospel parable, Jesus goes on to say that “a few days later the younger son gathered all that he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.” Full of himself, and ready to make his mark in the world, the younger son leaves his father and brother and everyone else in that old life which he had come to loath. He had gotten what he wanted from his father – his share of the inheritance – and now he has no more use for him (so he thinks!). But as Jesus said, he squandered his property in dissolute living. “Dissolute” does not mean “bad” (as the elder brother later implied); it simply means “foolish”. He made some very foolish choices. The younger son thought that he knew so much, but he was actually a FOOL in the ways of the day-to-day world. He probably ran up his credit cards to the limit (if there had been such a thing in those days) and mortgaged all of his wealth in questionable investment schemes. It is like a story I heard about a young single fellow who inherited $250,000 from the estate of his deceased uncle who had died with no direct descendants. He went about living the life of his dreams, but alas – within a year – the large sum had all been spent and he was broke again. When the young man’s father heard this, he asked his son in astonishment; “What did you do with all that money?” “Well,” the son confessed, “I spent $60,000 on a new sports car, and $20,000 taking my girlfriend on a spring break trip to Tahiti, and then I went through $75,000 on my weekend in Las Vegas, and $15,000 on a toga party for my fraternity – and I’m afraid the remaining $80,000 I just squandered foolishly.” Dissolute living. Living for the moment and making foolish choices. Squandering what we have. That is what many of us often do. And that is what the young man in today’s parable also did with all of the inheritance he had gotten from his father. Perhaps he still would have done OK, except for the “severe famine” that took place in that country. Unexpected, bad things sometimes happen, and this was one of those times. Because of the famine, people had less money to spend, and all of his foolish and questionable investments came crashing down like a house of cards. And so the younger son began to be in need. Instead of being wealthy, famous, and successful, he was reduced to being nothing more than a HERDER OF PIGS! And no one gave him anything. He had not cared for having relationships before, and now there was no one to care for him. But then, Jesus says, he “came to himself”. What this means is that he came to realize the value of what he had given up as being his father's son. He figures that by his selfish and foolish actions he has blown any chance of having a loving relationship with his father, but he would be satisfied with at least being his father’s hired servant. And so he returns home, full of dread, embarrassment and humiliation. The punch line, of course, is that the father is more than willing to receive him back as a son! With hugs and kisses! The father then tells his slaves to put a robe on him, and a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet – these are all symbols of “son-ship” which slaves and hired servants did not wear. And finally, to top it off, the father then orders the fatted calf to be killed for a feast. He threw a party – complete with music and dancing – to celebrate the fact that this young man had not only returned home, but that their relationship has been fully restored! And now the younger son understood how much he is really loved! Before, he had seen his father as being a “sugar daddy” – or as someone who was keeping him from achieving his dreams – but now he sees his father’s heart! He is welcomed “home” – not just to a place, but most of all to a relationship that he had previously spurned. Now he finally understands how much his father loves and cares for him. As in the words of the hymn that we’ll be singing later; “He was blind, but now he sees!” That is what God does for us. Even when we are foolish and self-centered like that younger son, God’s heart is still overflowing with love for us! As I heard it once expressed, we may often be foolish, sinful, backsliding, and even runaway children of God – but we are never, ever ex-children of God! No matter what we do, God is going to keep on loving us and yearning for us to return home! And when we do, our Heavenly Father is more than willing to welcome us with hugs and kisses and a celebration to acknowledge that we are still his beloved children. Jesus’ parable does not go into that much detail about the elder son, but he also represents where a lot of us are at. He may have stayed at home on the farm with his father, but that does not mean that he was satisfied with his life there. It seems that he only viewed his service with his father as being a means to better himself. He figured that if he did all the right things, he would advance in his career and receive promotions and accolades – and at the end, in due time, he would finally inherit the family business. But in the meanwhile, he does not appreciate what he already has – especially his father’s love for him. As I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, the elder son – like his younger brother – was also consumed by the sin of covetousness. He was not satisfied with what he had. Instead, he coveted more recognition and rewards for his loyalty. And when his brother comes back, he also begins to worry that this would cost him part of his inheritance – which he wants all for himself. His entire focus in life is upon what is in it for him. There is no happy ending for the elder son in Jesus’ parable. All he sees is the sheer UNFAIRNESS of his brother being welcomed home by his father! At the very least, he feels that his brother should be required to wear sackcloth and ashes as symbols of his penance – instead of being clothed with the best robe and being given a ring and sandals to wear. He feels that his brother should be chanting penitential laments instead of being treated to a festival of music and dancing and eating the fatted calf! His father tries to emphasize the positive with him. He tells him that he will always be his beloved son. He also reminds him that “all that I have is yours” – that is, he will still inherit all of the remaining property – which is true since his brother had already received his share. The elder son does not have to worry about having less now that his prodigal brother has returned home. But the elder son refuses to share in his father’s LOVE and COMPASSION and JOY. He ends up materially wealthy, but every bit as poor relationship wise as his brother had been. In the end, even though he has everything he is still a miserable person who is consumed by jealousy, anger, and covetousness. Jesus’ parable shows us that there is a difference between having God’s love and actually experiencing it. The father in this parable loved both of his sons completely and unconditionally. But the sons could not experience their father’s love as long as they were filled with covetousness, self-centeredness, and pride. They could not truly experience his love as long as they kept on being dissatisfied with what they already had. The same is true for us in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. But when we, like the younger son, finally repent and “come to ourselves” – and realize just how wonderful God’s love for us is – that is when we can begin to experience a new life. We can begin life anew – knowing that God does not hold our past sins against us. And most of all, instead of always focusing upon and striving for what we don’t have, we can treasure all that we DO have right now! We can give thanks to God for providing us with all that we need, and rejoice in knowing how much he loves us. That is when we truly experience what it means to be the children of God! Through his grace – in baptism – our Heavenly Father claims us to be his beloved children forever and promises us every blessing that he can give. May we always treasure that love, abide in that love, be satisfied with it, and share it with each other in all that we say and do – in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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