United Protestant Campus Ministries in Cleveland

The Stories of Our Lives

  Luke 15: 11-32

 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’  So he divided his property between them.  A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.  When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs.  He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!  I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’  So he set off and went to his father.  But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.  Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”  But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out a robe – the best one – and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’  And they began to celebrate.

 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.  He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.  He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’  Then he became angry and refused to go in.  His father came out and began to plead with him.  But he answered his father, ‘Listen!  For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!”  Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

Let us pray.  That the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts may be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

Will you be my friend?

There are so many reasons why you never should:

I’m sometimes sullen, often shy, acutely sensitive,

My fear erupts as anger, I find it hard to give,

I talk about myself when I’m afraid

And often spend a day without anything to say.

 But I will make you laugh

 And love you quite a bit

 And hold you when you’re sad.

I cry a little almost every day

Because I’m more caring than the strangers ever know.

And if, at times, I show my tender side

(The soft and warmer part I hide)

 I wonder,

 Will you be my friend?

A friend

 Who far beyond the feebleness of any vow or tie

 Will touch the secret place where I am really I,

 To know the pain of lips that plead and eyes that weep,

 Who will not run away when you find me in the street

 Alone and lying mangled by my quota of defeats

 But will stop and stay – to tell me of another day

 When I was beautiful.

Will you be my friend?

There are so many reasons why you never should:

Often I’m too serious, seldom predictably the same,

Sometimes cold and distant, probably I’ll always change.

I bluster and brag, seek attention like a child,

I brood and pout, my anger can be wild,

 But I will make you laugh

 And love you quite a bit

 And be near when you’re afraid

I shake a little almost every day

Because I’m more frightened than the strangers ever know

And if at times I show my trembling side

(The anxious, fearful part I hide)

 I wonder,

 Will you be my friend?

A friend

 Who, when I fear your closeness, feels me push away

 And stubbornly will stay to share what’s left on such a day,

 Who, when no one knows my name or calls me on the phone,

 When there’s no concern for me – what I have or haven’t done –

 And those I’ve helped and counted on have, oh, so deftly, run,

 Who, when there’s nothing left but me, stripped of charm and subtlety,

 Will nonetheless remain.

Will you be my friend?

 For no reason that I know

 Except I want you so.

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That very tender and gentle poem I first read almost thirty years ago in what was then a new book of poetry by James Kavanaugh.

    Though critics of poetry would not agree, it has always been one of my

         because it expresses so well the vulnerabilities of the writer and the need

             for forgiveness and understanding that we all feel as the results of our

                own shortcomings and our many mistakes in life.

I thought of it as I thought once more of this scripture lesson in Luke, the great story of the Loving Father and the Prodigal Son.

   It is a parable I have spent studying for many, many hours in my life because

        my doctoral work was done in the parables of Jesus, and of course, this

             is a central one.

         What I’ve learned over the years about it, and what I hope to share with

               you today in this season of Lent, is that the story is not about a farmer

                     in ancient Israel, or a son who goes off and lives recklessly and

                         then asks for forgiveness, or even an elder son who feels

                              betrayed for his faithfulness when the Father shows

                                   forgiveness for the younger son….

                        …the parable is not a story about history or an ancient family

                              …I am convinced it is about each of us.

                And it applies in ways that are very interesting and very unusual…

                       …though you’ve heard it many times

                           …I hope that I can surprise you a little bit this morning with

                                  some thoughts about this great parable that might be new.

***************

There is a new word that is used in parables research that I can say and then we can all forget it, but the word is polyvalence.

    The word is not as important as its meaning, which was new to me when I

          started working in the parables and has become increasingly important as

               I’ve continued that work.

            Polyvalence means that the parable… the little story of the parable… can

                 be heard by a group of people and understood in different ways by

                       various people in that group.

                   That’s the nature of the parable.

                        It is not intended to be translated literally.

                                  It is clearly a story that is to be interpreted.

                                        And different people, with different experiences in life,

                                              will interpret the very same parable in different ways

                                                    ways when they hear it.

*************

It is said that Jesus’ audience would often include both those who pretended to be overly righteous and better than others…

     …as well as the poor, and the outcasts, and the sinners.

    And Jesus would start out telling one of his parables of grace….

             …and all of the people who heard it would get caught up in the simple

                        story he was telling

                   …and then he would come to the point of the story

                       …which often had to do with the first being last and the last being

                               first in the kingdom of God

                          …and it is said that when that message became clear

                               …the poor and the outcasts and the sinners in the crowd

                                        would have smiles on their faces

                                   …and the proud would go away angry.

               The same story…

                       …different messages to different people

                            …that is polyvalence

                                …that is the nature of the parable.

*************

*************

Well, the parable we look at today, this great parable of forgiveness and grace…

             …has that nature.

************

In fact, I hope to convince you that at times in our lives, we have aspects of all three of the main characters in the parable.

    We like to think of ourselves, of course, as the loving parent….

         …unconditionally loving

              …with great wisdom and understanding

                   … and gracious even when we have been tried by experience.

           And it is true that we can be that way.

                We know it is true in our experience with our family and friends.

                     Even if we sometimes have trouble having the same quality of

                           forgiveness for those we don’t know well or for those we

                                may even dislike….

                                   …we have been like a loving parent at many times in

                                            our lives, and a blessing to other people.

************

In addition, there are times in our lives when we, ourselves, need nurture and there might be no one around to provide it.

     We need for someone to love us unconditionally, to accept us for who we

          are – in spite of any mistake we might have committed – and there seems

               to be no one to fit that role in our lives at that moment.

    Perhaps the most difficult thing in life is to be able to nurture ourselves in times

         like that….

              …but it is essential

                   …it is a human need

          …and we all know how important it is, when we are feeling terrible about

                      ourselves or something we have done

               …to have that friend who may not even agree with what we have done

                     …probably doesn’t agree with what we have done

                           …but still accepts us and loves us unconditionally

                             …and is always there, without judgment

                                 …to help us know that we are loved.

************

That kind of friendship is more precious than gold.

     In my years of ministry, now, both on campus and before that, as a church

           pastor….

               …I couldn’t begin to tell you how many people I talked with who told

                        me that they believed they had done something in their lives

                             for which God would never forgive them.

            I would ask them if they had a dear, good friend, and they would often

                  say yes.

                  I would ask them if they had confided this thing they had done with

                       that best friend.

                         Almost always, the answer was yes.

                              I would ask them how the friend responded.

                                    Almost always, they would say that the friend responded

                                        with understanding, acceptance, and unconditional love.

                          When that happens, my final question is simply this:

    “If you friend, who is mortal, can accept and love you

                                                unconditionally….

     …then how could you possibly think that God

                                                                 is not capable of an even greater love

                                                                      than your friend?”

*************

This parable talks about that very God.

    We stray from God.

         We got lost sometimes.

             And when we are lost, we certainly feel as though God is far away.

                  But that is not the case… we have separated ourselves… God is

                         always waiting…

                            …with that love.

         And at certain, very precious moments in our lives…

                …we can reflect God’s unconditional love with a friend who is hurting

                         and needs acceptance and forgiveness.

                  So yes, we have sometimes been the loving parent, the loving father,

                          to a friend.

************

We have also been the prodigal son.

     That’s one we don’t like to admit quite so freely, but we know it is true.

            “All of sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

      The question for us when we are, or have been, the prodigal son…

             …is simply, “how can I get myself out of this and what can I learn from it

                      when I do?”

***********

Some people who have made serious mistakes in their lives and who find it hard

   to believe that God could ever accept them again…

        …live their entire lives in guilt and shame and hopelessness.

        It is a terrible existence… a hell on earth as bad as anything that can be

             imagined in the afterlife.

             There is that passage in our New Testament about the “unforgivable sin.”

  I am convinced that the one unforgivable sin we can commit is to

                            reject or fail to believe that God forgives us….

                                 …because if we will not accept God’s forgiveness

                                     …we will never forgive ourselves

                                        …and we will live in torture for the rest of our lives.

***********

Again, the thought is a Lenten one.

     Acknowledge your mistakes, accept God’s forgiveness, and go on with your

         life.

             Don’t allow your life to be destroyed by the past!

************

The Prodigal Son asks for his inheritance early….

     …goes off into the sunset and does everything wrong he could possibly do.

     I don’t know how any of us could imagine ourselves being any worse.

         He didn’t do a single thing right.

************

Except, one day, when he came to his senses.

    And he didn’t even know if when he returned to his home, he would be

         forgiven.

          He was willing to work as a hired servant, believing that would be

                preferable to what he had been through.

    And his lesson to us is this.

          Because we have all been the prodigal son at times in our lives.

               We’ve made mistakes for which we are sorry and cannot change.

                     And those sins, or mistakes, leave us with a choice of either living

                          the rest of our lives in guilt and shame….

                              … or doing what he did….

                                    …acknowledging the mistakes, and asking

    … “How can I get myself out of this

                                                 …how can I repair any damage I have done to

                                                           myself or others…

…and what can I learn from it when I do?”

***********

But there is a third character in the parable, as well.

    Apparently, the elder brother is a minor character, but I am not so sure.

         He represents the Christian attitude of pride and superiority.

              Those are things that Jesus and Paul talk about extensively in our

                   scriptures….

                        …and they are obstacles to the truly gracious nature of the

                                 Christian life.

The elder brother is out working in the fields all this time his younger brother is away… working hard… being faithful.

     He is not even aware that his brother has returned until he hears this great

           party going on in the house…

             …sees that his brother is the guest of honor

                 …and worse yet, that they have killed the fatted cow to serve as

                            the entrée.

                Now, fatted cow might not be that important to us, but evidently to the

                       elder son, it was a big deal and even more, a sign of disrespect

                             for all he had done.

************

I’m not sure any of us would be any more gracious than he was.

   In fact, usually when I have talked about this passage in a Bible study, there is

      a great deal of empathy for the elder son…

           …and a feeling that he got a pretty raw deal.

           And so, this part of the story might even be the most important part in

                understanding the true meaning of this parable.

*************

What is God’s love like?

   It’s okay with us that the loving parent was so gracious with his son and so

        understanding and loving…

          …because we have experienced that with our own friends and family.

         We can understand bloodlines and forgiveness.

                 We know about that.

But now, we’re talking about something more… very different….

         …perhaps a little uncomfortable for us.

        We’re talking about justice.

             What is fair?

                  And it is not hard for us to feel badly for the elder son, who behaved

                      himself and never got a party.

                           He conformed to all that he was supposed to do and be…

                                 …and his younger brother gets the fatted calf!

***********

***********

What is this?

   What kind of God?

      How are we to understand it?

************

************

I’m not sure we appreciate this part of the passage, and I’m not sure that many

   Christians even would agree with what it says.

    Because what is says is that God’s love never leaves us.

        God’s love and forgiveness is totally unconditional.

            We stray, God stays and waits for us.

                It’s not because we deserve it.

                     It is not because we have any control over it.

                           It’s simply the way God is.

                               We can argue with it; nothing changes.

If the Prodigal Son comes walking down the road, there is going to be a celebration.

    Period.

       That’s a grace so radical….

               …I’m not sure we can even comprehend it.

             The Elder Son has a problem.

                   He feels slighted… but it is only his pride that is slighted.

                        His Father reminds him that he has been blessed all along.

                             He’s had it all, all along.

************

He is jealous because of a party.

    He is angry because he has been faithful and the unfaithful one is loved

         just as much as he is.

          We understand and empathize.

               Because all of us have, at times, felt like that.

                    Like we have tried to be faithful to God, and what does it get us?

                         Look at the people who steal and cheat and get richer?

       The question is…. what does it mean to be rich?

            What does it mean to be happy?

               Parties?  Living without accountability?  Exploiting other people?

                   Or is happiness something deeper….

                                 …something without a price tag

                                       … something independent of materialism

                                            …something deep in the heart that makes us happy

                                                   with ourselves

…even when the loving parent is dishing out

                                                                unconditional love to others, as well.

***********

We are all three of these characters, at times, aren’t we?

    It’s part of discovering ourselves as Christian people, and how we are to live

       out the life of discipleship Jesus has presented to us.

        It’s a life long effort.

            We Methodists, you know, believe that we never quite get there in this

                 lifetime… we’re always striving for perfection….

                    …but we never quite get there….

                       …we see glimpses in ourselves and other people

                          …little signs of light that reflect perfectly the light of Jesus and

                                 of God

                               …but we ourselves are always striving to get better.

       This remarkable parable reminds us of that.

             And of a God… and a Savior:

  “Will you be my friend

  who will not run away when you find me in the street

  alone and lying mangled by my quota of defeats

  but will stop and stay – to tell me of another day

  when I was beautiful.”