Prodigal Son

For the past few months, Pastor Rick has been preaching on hospitality and has used Luke 15:11-32--the story of the prodigal son--for a major part of it.  Before this series I probably could have told you every detail about that parable.  I could have told you I sometimes relate more to the elder son than the younger, and I would have told you that's not a good thing.  I knew the story.  I knew the reason Jesus told it.  But I hadn't stopped to think about everything behind it.  There are times when you really need to remember what society was like when Jesus was telling this story.  The elder son was not just grumpy, he was downright disobedient and rude.  Eep.  The father was not just forgiving, he was completely selfless.

Back then, and even now, asking for your inheritance would be highly insulting.  It would be basically saying, "I'm eager for you to die, get on with it."  The Pharisees listening to the story would have been shocked to hear the father actually giving the sons their inheritance.  A Jewish patriarch NEVER would have granted this request.  The father would have been looked down upon as well.

The father RAN to the son when he returned.  Back then, men did NOT run.  It was highly improper and would have been humiliating.  Why did he do it?  Was he just so excited he couldn't bother with societal rules?  Or did he decide to do something so humiliating people would be talking about HIM instead of this son who should be shunned?  Or did he run to get to the son before the community could publicly declare him unwelcome, which they definitely would have done?

The father gave him his robe, saying he was forgiven and welcomed back into the family.  The father gave him a ring--like giving him the family credit card--saying he was trusted.  The father gave him shoes, setting him apart from the slaves.  The father called for the fattened calf, saying he was inviting everyone in the community, not just family.  A family celebration would have made do with chickens or something less extravagant than a calf.

Instead of being an object of ridicule, the son became an object of sympathy.  The message to the prodigal?  "If you are lost, TURN and go Home."

Now the elder son...apparently while the father was planning this party, the older brother was working in the fields and didn't even receive an invitation, or maybe was too busy to stop when a servant came to tell him?  When he returns to the house and hears the music and dancing, he is angry and refuses to go in.  His first insult to his father.  In that society, the elder son would have been the one welcoming people as they came so the father could mingle.  Then, when his father comes out to plead with him (another insult--making his father leave the party), the first words out of his mouth were, "Look!"  Never would you address someone without a title first.  Even those who hated Jesus addressed him as "Teacher."  The son says he has been "slaving" for the father.  But, technically, he was working his own fields since the father had given HIM his inheritance as well. (Another insult, since decency would have demanded he refuse his inheritance when the father was splitting it up.)  He also lies.  He says he has "never disobeyed your orders."  But he just refused to go into the party.  "This older boy who looks so good on paper was just as lost as the younger."

The older brother wasn't necessarily upset his brother was back--he was upset his father had welcomed him.  And even more upset that he was giving him a party!  But the party wasn't for the son, it was for the father.  If you look back at the parables Jesus linked to this one--about the sheep and the coin--you see parties being thrown.  Not for the sheep or for the coin, but for the shepherd and the woman because they were happy the lost thing had been recovered.  The father threw a party because he wanted to rejoice.  So, the younger son, who completely messed up, is at the party. And the older son, who followed the rules, is stuck outside.

We need to decide if we are going to stay outside and grumble or go in and party.  Incidentally, where is the father at the end?  He is outside with the older son, still pleading with him.  We have a God Who seeks the lost.