Becoming Prodigal - A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent 2025

GOSPEL: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

The holy gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus tells a parable about a son who ponders his father’s love only after he has spurned it. The grace he receives is beyond his hopes. That same grace is a crisis for an older brother who believes it is his obedience that has earned his place in the father’s home.

1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
  3 So he told them this parable: 11b “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that region, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that region, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 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. 21 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.’ 22 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. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate, 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
  25 “Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 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.’ ”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

I tuned into the Working Preacher podcast this week,

Preaching scholars Karoline Lewis, Matt Skinner

and Rolf Jacobsen made an important observation:

It matters what you call the parable.

The title you give the parable

will inform how you interpret it.

For example,

If the parable of the Lost Sheep

was renamed “The Parable of the 99”

our interpretation might shift a little bit.

So it matters what title you give this parable.

We’ve known today’s parable as the Prodigal Son,

and we will explore this title,

and a couple other possible titles.

So - the Prodigal Son,

By way of definition;

prodigal means spending money or resources freely and recklessly;

being waste-fully extravagant.

Or to give something on a lavish scale.

The son is wastefully reckless.

The son asking for the inheritance early

might seem surprising to us,

but it should be shocking.

I shared some of this with you 3 years ago,

Rev. Naveen Sarras, is a

(https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-luke-151-3-11b-32-5 )

pastor in the United States,

and a Palestinian Christian,

born and raised in Bethlehem.

She offers some cultural insight into this story;

particularly the shame-honour culture.

Asking for an early inheritance is incredibly rude;

it is the equivalent of saying to your father

“I wish you were dead.”

Those hearing this 2000 years ago might add

And I can’t believe the son got away with it!

How could the father give him the inheritance!?!?!?

Back to the shame-honour culture,

this child would have lost his respect and honour,

and he would be ostracized from the community.

Any father would be furious,

beyond angry.

For the average Palestinian,

in ancient times and in current times,

the relationship would be irreparable,

irreconcilable.

The child and the parent would be dead to each other.

This is what happens in the parable;

it takes the son a couple days to gather all his things,

and he takes off.

The father is dead to the son.

The son squanders this wealth

and ends up feeding pigs.

The son does this partially to get by in a famine,

but the son still had choices.

He could have found work tending a field,

or feeding cattle,

or something.

He chose to feed pigs,

and choosing to feed unclean pigs,

making himself unclean

would be another act to shame the presumably Jewish father.

We should be shocked by the levels of the son’s disrespect.

As the parable continues,

the son came to his mind

- another way of saying he repented -

and came crawling back home.

Thinking again of the shame-honour culture,

returning as a failure would cast additional shame on the family;

multiplying their embarrassment.

It doesn’t get any lower than this for the son and the father.

When the title is the Parable of the Prodigal Son,

when the focus is on the depth of the sin and shame of the son,

I find myself anxious,

I had better not squander what God has given me!

Remember the context.

Jesus shared this parable,

and the parables of the Lost Coin and Lost Sheep

with Pharisees.

They were upset, offended, grumbling,

“This fellow welcomes sinners…. And eats with them”

This parable is about celebration:

and who does God celebrate with,

Who ought we celebrate with?

A little faithful tangent in today’s message,

to eat with someone forms a bond,

we who feast at the Lord’s Table of Grace know this.

My wife and I like to watch the Reality TV show Survivor.

The green team kept losing challenges,

and losing members - voted off at tribal council.

They did not work well together.

In Survivor, when you don’t win,

your tribe is given a name:

the losers.

Kind of like how the Pharisees

gave the name “the sinners”

Well, the losers, the green team won a reward,

and they broke bread together.

While they ate,

they shared stories of their past,

where they came from,

how they got here,

and you could see their defences drop:

all of a sudden, they really cared about each other,

they each said

“how could I possibly vote one of them off the island now?”

Anyhow, refreshed by food,

and by seeking understanding and connection,

they finally worked well together,

they won the next challenge,

and it was thanks to the bonds forged at the banquet.

Here’s a possible title for the Parable,

one given by Karoline Lewis:

Will You Join the Celebration?

Will you forge bonds at the Table of celebration?

For many people, this parable is about the older brother,

after all, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees,

and they sound like the older brother in the parable.

Perhaps you and I are the older brother in the parable.

Here are some facts:

They didn’t invite the older brother to the party.

He was just off, working in the field,

and then finds out about this party.

Oh, and by the way,

we killed your calf for dinner.

The younger brother demanded his inheritance and it was given,

so everything left in the father’s household

is now the older brother’s inheritance.

When the younger brother returned,

he got a pair of sandals,

he got a ring,

he got a robe

and they were taken out of the older brother’s closet.

He’s got every right to be mad.

Another possible title for the parable:

“The Lament of the Responsible Child”

How could the father possibly welcome home

such a disgraceful, wasteful person?

How could Jesus eat food with such a person?

So, will you join the banquet?

If the banquet of celebration is with that person

that hurt you,

if the people at the banquet are actively working against you?

Think for a moment about the so-called,

worst people in society;

Those who you struggle with the most,

the people you might name “sinners” or “the losers”

These are the people the Pharisees wont eat with,

they aren’t worthy.

Jesus doesn’t just love them.

Jesus eats with them.

They’re invited to dinner.

God’s arms are open wide for them.

And what if you are the one feeling shame,

if you are the one who has begged for forgiveness,

if you consider yourself worst of the worst,

will you join the banquet?

God celebrates over those who are not celebrated.

we ought to pay attention to who we celebrate.

Jesus pays attention to the people

we deem unworthy to dine with.

Here’s my title for the parable,

I call it the Prodigal Father.

Again, by way of definition;

prodigal means spending money or resources freely and recklessly;

being waste-fully extravagant.

Or to give something on a lavish scale.

This is the Father, the Prodigal giver.

Wastefully extravagant in the first place,

giving the inheritance.

reckless in forgiveness,

not just embracing the sinner son,

but running out to meet him.

No head of the household would stoop so low as to run,

they have too much dignity for that,

let alone to run to the son who essentially said,

“I wish you were dead”

It doesn’t get any lower than this for the son and the father.

This is the priceless grace of God,

our actions,

our inaction,

our words or our silence

that disrespect God,

that causes shame and guilt,

is met with warm embrace,

radical acceptance of you, as you are.

You don’t even need to come crawling on your hands and knees:

“But while the son was still far off,

his father saw him and was filled with compassion;

the father ran and put his arms around him

and kissed him.”

The son,

covered in filth and shame

is instead covered with a fine robe

sandals on his feet and ring on his finger.

His empty insides

are filled with the father’s gift of finest food.

The family’s shame and embarrassment,

the son’s failure,

is replaced with worth and celebration.

God, our prodigal Father,

has arms wide open

even for the one who says “I wish you were dead”

That’s how priceless God’s Prodigal grace is.

Think now for a moment about the parable of your life.

Maybe you are like the younger son,

and you have come back home.

Maybe you’re like the older brother,

and you’re struggling with others.

Maybe you’re waiting for your own child to return home,

Maybe you’re in the kitchen preparing the dinner.

It matters what title you give to your story.

Are you the victim, or are you the victor?

Are you beyond saving?

are you redeemed?

What title might you give the Parable of your life?

I think a good title for the parable of my life

is Becoming Prodigal,

but not like the sons,

I want to become Prodigal like our God.

The parable of the Prodigal is your parable.

You are the beloved son, daughter, child of our God,

you have a place in God’s house, forever.

you are created good, in God’s image,

and yeah, you are broken,

you’ve ran off,

you’ve rejected God,

you’ve given into temptation,

but that does not define you,

you are more than your failings,

you are defined by the Prodigal Father.

God doesn’t call you “the worst of the worst”

God does’t call you sinner,

God doesn’t call you “the losers”

God calls you beloved.

God calls you mine.

And yeah, you’ve been the older brother,

you’ve been jealous,

you’ve been the one doing all the work,

and maybe not thought the best of your neighbour,

but held and forgiven in God’s arms,

you are reconciled to God,

that you may be reconciled with one another.

God, our Prodigal Father, loves you, as you are,

Our Prodigal God accepts you, as you are,

Our Prodigal God welcomes you, as you are.

Believe it.

You belong in the Prodigal Father’s arms.

In God’s family,

God Spirit moves us to become Prodigal ourselves,

joining God,

participating with God

in sharing God’s prodigal welcome and invitation, recklessly.

May you trust that God’s arms are wide open to you

and to all of us.

May you put on that baptismal robe

and be filled with good food at the Lord’s Table.

And may you live in the Prodigal Father’s presence always,

participating in God’s priceless grace.

Thanks be to God. Amen.