A Father had two sons, and the younger one asked his Father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” And his father divided his property between them…..
So begins one of the most familiar stories in our scriptures.
And so begins one of the most interpreted stories in our scriptures. We’ve called it the story of the prodigal son though many interpretations of it remind us not to forget about the elder brother. After all the story begins “a father had two sons”.
Interpretations of a story help us to mine the story for its meaning.
But just like strip mining that takes everything away from the earth to get at the gem and throws away as refuse everything that is not considered the gem, mining a story for meaning may cause us to overlook or do harm to all that the story longs to give to us.
Some of the Christian interpretations that have sought to help us find the gems in the Story of the Prodigal son include several different ways of looking at it.
Clement of Alexandria suggests an allegorical understanding where the robe given to the Prodigal is baptism, the ring symbolizes the mystery of the trinity and the shoes are those who ascended into heaven.
Karl Barth sees the doctrine of the atonement in this story. The Son who is lost and found, dead and made alive, first humiliated and then exalted by the Father is apparently none other than Jesus Christ in his work of atonement.
Some Christian Interpreters would also like us to see the doctrine of the incarnation in this story. The father who humbles himself by running in an undignified way towards his son and embracing him is like Jesus who comes to humanity and empties himself of his Divine Status in order to seek and to save the lost.
In recent years there has been much more emphasis on understanding this story in its original Jewish context. Understood in its Jewish context, this story is about the forgiving and compassionate nature of God and the need for the rebellious or estranged sons to repent. There are Jewish Rabbinic parallels to this parable that emphasize that God is like a father who not only patiently waits for his sons to return home, but is willing to meet the sons part way.
One of the parallels from Rabbinic Literature sounds like this:
It begins by quoting Hosea 14:2 “Return O Israel to the Lord your God. (Hos. 14:2) and then moves into a brief parable: The matter may be compared to the son of a king who was far away from his father – a hundred days’ journey. His friends said to him, “Return to your father!” and he replied, “ I am not able.” His father sent him a message, “Come as far as you are able according to your own strength and I will come the rest of the way!” The Holy One Blessed be He said, “Return to me and I will return to you” (Mal. 3:7). – quoting Malachi 3:7.
Another insight from Jewish interpretation reminds us that this is a story about two sons and a father – therefore it’s the story of a family crisis. When the younger son requests that his father give him his share of the estate, the older brother does not take on the role of family mediator as might have been expected in a Jewish household. When the estate is divided between the two of them, both brothers benefit and the older brother does nothing about this. In fact the older brother’s anger and estrangement at the end of the story suggests that both brothers have gotten lost. In this interpretation, being lost is about broken relationships. Repentance then involves restoration of relationship with the father and each other.
And what about that elder brother – will there be restoration and reconciliation with his younger brother and with his father? Will he also repent and return to his father? The story doesn’t even finish neatly. It leaves us with this question.
I have given us just a glimpse into the possible ways that this story may be mined for meaning. In this overview I have given us ways to wrestle with this story, But sometimes as we seek understanding, and in our longing to be certain, sometimes we claim that our interpretation is the right one or the only one or the way it was “meant to be heard.” When we do this we risk wrestling the story to the ground and making it cry “uncle”. If you’re not familiar with that term “cry uncle” it means to cry out something like “I surrender”. (in this way we wrestle it to the ground and make it surrender) Complete certainty about interpretation can grant us an odd sense of satisfaction and mastery and/or superiority over the text. Sometimes even without realizing it we can be trying to get it to surrender its meaning to us.
What if we let the story get up out of the dirt where we’ve wrestled it and invite it to live and move on its own terms. I think the children began that process of letting the story live on its own terms this morning. What if we try to shake off our need to master our understanding of it? What if we let it be the story that it is, a story that every time it is told has a opportunity to speak to us, inform and transform us, just because today in this moment we hear it in the way that God has prepared our hearts to hear it.
So for the rest of my sermon this morning, I’m simply going to retell the story. I will be telling all of Luke chapter 15 – with the parables of the lost sheep, and the lost coin as well as the story of the lost brothers or the prodigal son as we know it most commonly.
And just before I do I invite you to quiet your mind and your heart in silence and ask that whatever God would like you to hear is exactly what you will hear this morning.
The following stories were told by heart (not read)
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3Then Jes
us told them this parable: 4″Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8″Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Lost Son
11Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13″Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17″When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21″The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[b]’
22″But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25″Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27’Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28″The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31″ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “
My prayer is that this story as well as many other stories in our Bible will stay free so that they might have the opportunity to wrestle us to the ground and make us cry “uncle.”