Sermon for May 14th, 2017

Luke 15:11-32

11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself 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 when 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 property 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.’”

Small Stories, Big Ideas: The Prodigal Son

A mother was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter, when the little girl picked something up off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. The mother stopped her, patiently explaining that the item had been lying on the ground and probably had germs. The little girl looked at her mother in absolute admiration and asked, "Wow, Mommy...how do you know stuff like that?"

"Well..." said the mother, thinking quickly, "...all Moms know these things. It's in the Mommy test. You have to know all these things to pass the Mommy test before you can become a Mommy.

The little girl pondered this new information as she and her mother walked on in silence. After a few minutes, the daughter suddenly stopped and said, "Oh, I get it! If you flunk the test, you have to be the Daddy."

So today is mother's day, and some of you are probably wondering why, of all the texts to preach from on this day, I chose a good Father/Son story, like the Parable of the Prodigal Son. That would be a great sermon on any other day...but not this one--so what's the deal?

Well, usually I wait until later in the sermon to talk about who's who in the parable, but just this once, I'll cut to the chase and let you know that the Father in this story represents God. And despite much belief to the contrary, the Lord God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe...is neither male nor female.

While we often refer colloquially to God as "Father," Jesus himself is not nearly so exclusive in his own use of gender-imagery for God: In Matthew 23 and Luke 13, Jesus compares God to a mother hen, "gathering her brood under her wings." In John 16, Jesus describes God as giving birth to humanity like a woman in labor," and in the parable immediately before this one in Luke 15, God is represented by the woman who rejoices over finding a lost coin.

And then there's something about this parable, too--the parable of the Prodigal Son--that I hope will convince you that it is not quite the stereotypical Father/Son story we often make it out to be, but rather a very fitting text for the day we set aside to celebrate the great love of those who have mothered us.

But first, how many of you actually know what the word "prodigal" means? Most people, because of this famous parable, when they says something like "he's a prodigal" or "look how the prodigal returns" mean someone who has wandered off or gone astray, just like one of the main characters in this story. Actually, two of the characters in this story (but more on that later).

If you look the word prodigal up in a dictionary, you'll find that it actually means--and has always meant, right back to it's Latin origin (prodigere = pro/forth + digere/drive) one who is extravagant, who spends lavishly, to the point of being wasteful. And that makes sense. We can see how the younger son spends his father's inheritance extravagantly, wastefully--hence, "the prodigal son."

But there are three main characters in this story: The father, the elder son, and the younger son. I'm going to make the case that all three are "prodigal," extravagant, wasteful, in their own way...One prodigal parent, and two prodigal children.

I said "one parent" and an obvious question that some people have on reading this parable is, "Where's the mother? Didn't she have any say in the matter? Why didn't she stop her youngest son from leaving? Where was she to welcome him back?" I'm going to suggest that the mother is right there in the heart of the story, if you know the right place to look. Or, rather, if you know the right "way" to look, and that is to look at the story through first century Middle Eastern eyes.

At this point I need to acknowledge that much of what I'm about to say doesn't come from my own first-hand knowledge of first century Middle Eastern customs, but from a Presbyterian pastor, scholar, and missionary named Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey, who spent 40 years living, studying and writing in Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Cyprus. Dr. Bailey is famous in the field of New Testament Studies, and taught at Princeton Seminary, though long before my time there. I actually came to know of his work through his son, David, who was a friend of mine, and perhaps equally famous as a Presbyterian Folk Singer and a brain cancer survivor. My friend David passed away in 2010, and his father, Dr. Kenneth Bailey passed away right around this time last year. For this sermon, and many others, I am indebted to them both.

So let's dive in.

Verse 11: There was a man who had two sons. In those few opening words, a first-century Middle Eastern audience would have quickly grasped several things: First, "a man." Much more so than today, there were clearly defined roles, responsibilities, expectations, and behaviors that went along with that title, "a man." That's important. We'll keep coming back to that.

Next, "two sons." Middle Easterners in the First Century practiced primogeniture--that means all or most of the father's lands and possessions would pass to the firstbornson...upon the father's death. So in verse 12, when the younger son says, "Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me," that would have been...nothing. Or next to nothing. But what would have shocked those hearing this parable most was the fact that the son made such a ridiculous, insulting request--presuming his father's death before the fact, and presuming he deserved more than he actually did.

What would a first-century, Middle-Eastern "man" of any dignity and worth say to such a request? How dare you. And who do you think you are? Whatever little you might have gotten, will now surely be nothing. If I am dead to you, then you are now dead to me. Go--and make your own way in the world.

That's how the audience probably expected the story to go. And the next sentence probably caused a few jaws to drop: "So he divided his property between them." Divided. That's half of the father's wealth, to live upon (since he's still alive), and to pass on to his rightful inheritor, the eldest son. That would have been absolutely scandalous. No decent, dignified man would behave in such a way.

In the next few verses we read that the younger son takes all that wealth and squanders it wastefully, extravagantly...but the first act of wasteful extravagance (at least in the eyes of Jesus' audience) would have been on the part of the waseful, extravagant, "prodigal" father, who is clearly not acting like a father should.

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A little boy forgot his lines in the annual church play. Luckily, his mother was in the front row especially to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. The little boy was nervous, and his memory was completely blank. Finally, the mother leaned forward and whispered the line, 'I am the light of the world.' The little boy's face lit up, remembering, and with great feeling in a loud clear voice he announced, 'My mother is the light of the world.'

Happy Mother's Day, First Presbyterian Church. May the light of Christ and the love of those who mothered us shine for all the world to see.