The Way of Love

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 wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. 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. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that region, and he began to be in need. 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. He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. 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! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before 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 as 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 assets 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.’ ”

The God Jesus reveals when the Pharisees and scribes challenge him for eating with tax collectors and sinners is very different from the God they imagined. They had a tidy theology: God rewards the good and keeps a safe distance from the bad. Holiness, in their minds, meant purity.

But Jesus tells a different story. In an earlier part of this section from Luke, Jesus speaks of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that wandered off. He describes a woman who turns her house upside down to find a single lost coin. And then in our reading, he tells of a father who scans the horizon for a son who has squandered everything – inheritance, dignity, and trust. When that son finally stumbles home, rehearsing apologies, the father does not wait for a confession or demand repayment. He runs. He embraces. He throws a feast.

Jesus is redefining God before their eyes. God is not a bookkeeper tallying moral achievements. God is not a judge eager to make an example of the wayward. God is one who loves. One who seeks healing and wholeness. God is relentless in mercy and extravagant in forgiveness. While we are busy measuring worthiness, God is busy restoring relationships. “Your God is too small,” Jesus is saying to the Pharisees and scribes. If your vision of God cannot account for joy over finding one lost sheep, one lost coin, one broken child – then you have shrunk the heart of heaven.

The father in this parable does not love his son because the son has earned it. He loves because that is who the father is. The son can fall into recklessness, humiliation, and hunger – but he cannot fall out of his father’s love. The embrace comes before the explanation. The ring before the restitution. The party before the probation.

We often assume the question of faith is, “How good must I be?” Many people would answer, “Be good enough and perhaps God will welcome you.” But the parable turns that assumption on its head. The turning point in the story is not the son’s moral reform. It is his decision to go home. To stop running. To say, in effect, “Help.” That is the gospel. You can fall from virtue. You can fall from reputation. You can fall from self-control. But you cannot fall from grace. Grace is not a reward for the righteous; it is a lifeline for the lost. And the truth is – we are all lost.

This parable is not a story about fairness. It is a story about love. And love, thank God, has the final word. Amen.

prayer

Grant, most merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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