PASTOR'S MESSAGE

   

Forgiven and Forgiving

Luke 15: 11-32

     

               While leading a tour of her Kindergarten students through the local hospital, the teacher overheard a conversation between one little girl and an X-ray technician.  “Have you ever broken a bone?” the technician asked.  “Yes,” the girl replied.  “Did it hurt?” he asked.  “No,” she replied.  Rather surprised by that, he said:  “Really?  Which bone did you break?”   To which the little girl replied:  “My sister's arm.”

            Sibling rivalry – it’s an age-old problem that goes all the way back to Cain and Abel.  Brothers and sisters often fight with one another – not just blood brothers and sisters, but brothers and sisters in Christ.  We too, quarrel and back-bite, and frequently do untold damage to one another.  We see a classic example of that in our Gospel lesson for today – Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son.  Now, when Jesus originally told this parable, his listeners probably figured that the younger brother, the one we call the prodigal son, referred to the Gentiles, while the older brother referred to the Jews.  Undoubtedly there is some truth to that.  But as we listen to the story, we may wonder, which son are we?  And the real truth is, there’s a little bit of both boys in all of us. 

For instance, by nature we are all prodigal sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.  In our text, we are told that the younger son came to his father and said:  “FATHER, GIVE ME MY SHARE OF THE ESTATE.”  In other words, he was demanding his inheritance.  Of course, the inheritance was not normally handed out, until after the father had passed away.  Thus, in not so polite terms, he was asking his dad to ‘drop dead.’ 

My friends, in reality that is what all sin is like.  It is an insult to God, a slap in His face.  It’s like saying our will is better than His will, and we want Him to drop dead, so that we can do our own thing.  And the end result of our sinful nature, is that it destroys our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  It not only puts us at odds with Him, but it alienates us from God and His love.  That’s what our text is getting at, when it says:  “THE YOUNGER SON GOT TOGETHER ALL HE HAD AND SET OFF FOR A DISTANT COUNTRY.”  It means, that he had no intention of ever going back.  He was cutting off all ties between himself and his home, which is precisely what our sin does to us!

            That’s why St. Luke tells us that the prodigal son, squandered all his wealth in wild living.  In fact, that’s what the word ‘prodigal’ means:  ‘to spend recklessly or lavishly with wild abandon.’  And in this case, he spent all his money, so that he began to be ‘in need.’  Interestingly enough, in the Greek text that phrase is the same phrase found in Romans 3:23, where it says:  “FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD!”  To ‘fall short’ is the same word as to be ‘in need,’ and that’s exactly what our sin does to us – it puts us in the greatest need of all, the need for a Savior from sin, a Deliverer from death, a Redeemer from our wretched, miserable condition. 

            Eventually the prodigal son realized that.  As he sat there in the pig-pen, feeding the swine, he realized that he’d hit rock bottom.  You see, for the Jew that would not only be a filthy job, it would be downright scandalous, because pigs were considered unclean animals.  And it was at that point that he came to his senses, literally, ‘he came back to himself.’  Thankfully, that is the same work the Holy Spirit does in our lives as well.  When we are wallowing in the pig-pen of self-induced shame and humiliation, caused by the uncleanness of our own sin, that’s when the Holy Spirit convicts us with the Law, to show us our sin and bring us back to our senses.  He not only longs to bring us back to ourselves, and to restore our new nature,  He also desires to bring us back to God our Heavenly Father, and to restore our right relationship with Him.  And He does that by filling us with contrition and sorrow over our sin, and leading us to repentance.

            Such was the case with the prodigal son.  He returned to his father in humble penitence and said:  “FATHER, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST HEAVEN AND AGAINST YOU.  I AM NO LONGER WORTHY TO BE CALLED YOUR SON.”   It’s interesting to note, that he was so filled with remorse over his sin, that he was close to despair.  He no longer felt worthy to be a part of the family.  And while it is true that by nature we are not worthy to be called sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father.  Nevertheless, in Baptism that is exactly what He has named us – His precious, beautiful, beloved sons and daughters.  And although the Spirit uses the Law to drive us to repentance and to drive us into the Father’s loving arms for forgiveness, He never drives us to despair.  That’s always the devil’s doing, because he wants to destroy us.

            God our Heavenly Father, on the other hand wants to rescue and restore us.  Which is why our text tells us that:  “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; and he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”  The father saw him, while he was still a long way off.  How could that be?  Only because he was watching for him.  I’m sure each and every day, he was out there on the front porch gazing at the horizon, searching for his lost son.  And dear friends, that’s how God lovingly, passionately searches for you and me, when we are lost in sin.  He even sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ to seek and to save the lost.  Jesus came running to this earth, came running to our side to forgive and save us. 

            Keep in mind, in Jewish society it was considered very undignified for an older man to run anywhere.  But the father in our text didn’t care about that.  He didn’t care about his dignity.  All he cared about was his son.   And likewise, God our Heavenly Father cares only about you and me and our salvation.  Which is why He sent Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin, and to rise again for our justification.  You might say that He came to embrace us with His pardon and forgiveness, and to kiss us with His love and grace.  Which is why some have said that this parable really should be called: ‘The Prodigal Father.’  If the word ‘prodigal’ means: ‘to spend recklessly or lavishly with wild abandon,’ that’s exactly what God does with His love and forgiveness.  He spends it on us recklessly and lavishly in Jesus Christ our Savior. 

            For example, one of my favorite songs is called:  “At the Cross,” and it says:  “I know a place, a wonderful place, where accused and condemned find mercy and grace.  Where the wrongs we have done, and the wrongs done to us were nailed there with Him, there at the cross.”  Not only the wrong things we have done, but the wrong things done to us are all covered by the blood of Christ.  They were nailed to the cross with Him, so that they were pierced to death and destroyed for good.  And that’s why we accused and condemned sinners have received mercy and grace from our Heavenly Father.  All the accusations and condemnation against us have been removed once and for all: “for there is therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

            And yet, God’s grace doesn’t end there.  He continues to pour it out to us abundantly in the Word and the Sacraments.  We are told in our text that the father placed a robe on his son’s shoulders, and put a ring on his finger, and sandals on his feet, and made him a special banquet.  Well, God the Father has done no less for you and me in the Means of Grace.  He has placed upon our shoulders a very special robe – the robe of Jesus’ righteousness to cover up all our sin and shame.  And He has also placed a ring upon our finger.  In ancient times the giving of a ring was the sign of the conferring of authority, giving someone the power of attorney over your affairs.  So too, God has placed upon us the ring of Holy Baptism, in which has given us the power and authority to be His precious, blood-bought, forgiven children, heirs of His heavenly kingdom!  And He has also placed sandals on our feet, which in Jesus’ day were the sign of a free man.  Slaves went barefoot, but free men never did.  Likewise, God has placed on our feet the sandals of the Gospel of peace, to demonstrate once and for all that we are free from the terrible consequences of our sin.  Last but not least, He has prepared for us the best of all banquets – His Holy Supper, in which He feeds and nourishes our souls with pardon and redemption for all our iniquties.  That is how completely and totally God has forgiven us prodigal sons and daughters in Jesus Christ our Savior!

            Unfortunately, it is at that point that all too often we act like the older brother in our text.  He refused to come into the banquet and forgive his younger brother.  As a matter of fact, he referred to him only as ‘this son of yours.’  But his father reminded him that he was really ‘this brother of yours.’  By Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on Calvary, that pays for all our sins, we have all been made members of the same heavenly family, brothers and sisters inChrist.  And out of thanks for all that, God our Heavenly Father wants us to treat each other that way, to freely forgive each other.  Not to hold onto our anger at those who have hurt us, not to harbor a grudge in our heart toward those who have sinned against us, but to abundantly, lavishly forgive one another, just as God has forgiven us. 

As the LWML Pledge puts it:  “In fervent gratitude for the Savior’s dying love and His blood-bought gift of redemption, we dedicate ourselves to Him with all that we are and have.  We consecrate to our Savior our lips to proclaim His redeeming love, and every power of our life to the great task of bringing the lost and erring into eternal fellowship with Him.”  That is the mission of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League – to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus, not only with each other, but also with all the world.  And that should be our mission as well. 

Almost hidden in a secluded corner of a New York cemetery is a small gravestone, polished smooth by the wind and weather of many years.  The stone bears no name, nor is there any date inscribed upon it.  To the stranger passing by it tells nothing of the man or woman or child whose final resting place it marks – nothing except one thing.  Still legible on the face of that fading stone, in letters that neither wind nor weather have been able to erase, is one solitary word – the simple word:  FORGIVEN! 

Dear friends, that is the heart and soul of the Gospel – forgiveness!  We have been forgiven by God’s grace, through the gift of faith in Jesus Christ!  And having been freely forgiven by Him, He calls us to freely forgive each other.  The mission He has given us is not only to proclaim the Gospel, but to live it out in our relationships with one another by forgiving each other.  May God equip and empower us to do that by His Spirit’s help, for His name’s sake.  Amen.

                    

               

            

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