25 Now his elder son
was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick
and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these
things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy
father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and
sound. 28 And
he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated
him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do
I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou
never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the
fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all
that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is
found. (Luke 15:25-32)
The
Collect
Fifth
Sunday after Trinity
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G
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RANT, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this
world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may
joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Today's text covers the last half of the rich and memorable Parable of the
Prodigal Son. There have been mixed and varied interpretations of its meaning
and my own interpretation will not satisfy every facet of its meaning – for,
like a well cut diamond, there are many facets to this portion of the Parable
and each may be as true as the next. The hands and minds of men are
vulgar and insensible when compared to the infallible and Holy Word of God, so we
each will benefit in taking no man's word for meaning or measure without
resorting to the Crystal Stream that flows from the Fountain of Living Waters –
the Holy Bible itself, and with the Holy Ghost as an interpreter thereof.
At the outset, we might agree that the principles that rule in the Kingdom of
Heaven are not worldly. There is no seniority of time and labors in that
Kingdom. God is more concerned about the DIRECTION we are going and the PRESENT
condition of our hearts than in the tireless amounts of labors performed by
men's hands.
25 Now
his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he
heard musick and dancing. Can you sympathize with this faithful son who has
remained at his father's side while his younger brother fritted away half the
wealth of his father in consorting with harlots and false religion (for
harlotry is compared in God's Word to Idolatry)? He has not even heard that his
younger brother has returned, so he is astonished at the sound of music and revelry
coming from his father's house. No one even showed him the courtesy of sending
for him to partake in the celebration. Examine your own heart at this moment
and answer: "Would you, too, not be offended?" He has labored
throughout the heat of the day (and years). He has sacrificed much of his young
years on his father's behalf. He is tired and weary, but now he hears the sound
of celebration and party! 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these
things meant. At the present, he is only curious, but soon he
will be outraged. Would we not be as well?
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy
father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and
sound. As we have stated often before, love is not
divisible. It is whole cloth and cannot be divided between siblings. A mother
loves the eldest just as dearly as the youngest and will never make a choice
between the two. Her love is increased in exact amounts, and never diminished,
to cover each child equally in showers of blessing. The same is true of
fathers. The father has not killed the fatted calf in honor of his prodigal
son, but in expression his own joy at the son's recovery. Please recollect the
Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin and the joy in heaven over their recovery. But
here is revealed the joy of a father at the recovery of a LOST SON as if
restored from death. Can you even imagine the great joy in the heart of the old
man? Can you even imagine the joy in Heaven at the recovery of a son or
daughter of God, who has wandered afar, yet returns in sorrowful contrition and
repentance?
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore
came his father out, and intreated him. I am afraid that I would have responded
PRECISELY as this elder son. We are constantly mindful of unfair treatment,
especially from those we cherish the most. Our hearts can never be as
large as that of our Maker and Redeemer who bore all for miserable sinners. The
marvelous thing is that God understands, and makes allowances for our weak
spirits and faltering love. I find one salient and inexcusable fault with the
elder son: he should also have been able to subdue feelings of jealousy and
unfairness for the moment of reunion with a lost brother whom he has not seen
for many, many days. The event of greatest importance (more importance than
personal jealousy if familial love is the concerned) is that a lost BROTHER has
returned. When I was a lad, I
certainly resented the partial treatment extended to my younger brother for his
tender years but, if he had gotten lost for ANY reason, I would have had at
least as much joy at his being found as my mother and father would have had.
Just as my father often explained to me of the reason the younger son must be
treated with a special affection because of his youth, so the father here comes
to the elder son with that same love that prompted the celebration to explain
to him his feelings and reasons for joy. Like as a father pitieth
his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 4 For he knoweth our
frame; he remembereth that we are dust. (Psalms 103:13-14) It is such a comfort that God
understands even our weaknesses and cares for us nonetheless.
29 And
he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither
transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid,
that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath
devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. It is altogether reasonable that
the elder son, in view of worldly principles, would be taken aback by this
expression of attention given an unfaithful son. It is not so much the love
showered on the prodigal that bothers the elder son, but the seeming slight of
love shown to one who has been, beyond doubt, the more faithful of the two in
times past. The feeling of slighted treatment was comparable to that
which the early Jewish believers felt when the gates of mercy and grace were
thrown open to the Gentile nations. The Hebrews had been first to take up the
Word of God – not by virtue of their own goodness, but by the foreordination
and will of God in establishing His people upon the earth. The Hebrew people
had been privileged to maintain the oracles of God, to field prophets called by
God, to build the Temple in Jerusalem. They could easily see their present
blessing, but were blind to the greater plan of God in not limiting the
promises of Israel to a single race of people. His plan was decided long before
there was a Canaan, an Abraham, or even a Garden eastward in Eden.
The elder son is hurt to the core. His father has killed the fatted calf, the choice of his stock, for his prodigal son who
has returned home. But the father has not so much as killed a kid goat for his
elder son who has remained faithful. Please look beyond the limits of our
selfish concerns and see the great generosity and grace of God in forgiving,
always and fully, our past transgressions and rejoicing at the present
contrition of a heart that returns to Him. We always look at the outward
evidence, but God ALWAYS looks at the inward motive. "………the
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the
LORD looketh on the heart. (1 Sam 16:7) Is it not possible that the One who made the heart can
also repair the heart that is broken? It is a strangely wonderful truth that
God loves the broken heart more than the whole: The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise. (Psalms
51:17)
We all enter in this life with a heart full of imperfections. If we fail to
confess those imperfections, we shall bear them to our graves, but only that
which is broken needs fixing. This, the Pharisees failed miserably to grasp and
placed themselves, for the most part, beyond the bonds of mercy. Have you known
of your heart needing fixing? Have you taken it to the Master Heart Maker who
only can restore that heart? My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:
I will sing and give praise. (Psalms 57:7) Please remember the depth of sin into which David, a
man after God's own heart, sank; yet see what David can say after a trip to the
Master. A heart, sure of itself and unaware of hidden imperfections cannot be
`FIXED.' Only a heart that is BROKEN can be FIXED! Do you have a broken heart
that has been FIXED by God, our Maker?
31 And
he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. The good
father, who loves his elder son every bit as much as the younger, acknowledges
the elder son's faithfulness and devotion. I can imagine that he spoke
with deep regard and affection as he placed his arm over the shoulder of the
despondent one, just as God our Father comforts us when we believe we have been
wronged. The elder son has lost NOTHING by remaining faithful to the father. In
fact, all that the father has remaining belongs to the elder son. Not only has
he retained his original inheritance from his father, but much has been added
by years of labor and improvement. The younger, on the contrary, is destitute
of any inheritance. He has squandered it away in a Far Country separated from
his father. There is a stark lesson here for us. Even though we are pardoned by
God and warmly received back into His loving care, our sins and disobedience
have consequences of eternal impact. We are often unable to restore the loss
and pain we have caused by our sins. Though forgiven, sin leaves scars. Look at
the terrible scars of the whip, nails, and lance that our sins caused on the
body of our dear Lord and Redeemer – and these were only the outward evidences
of a terrible anguish He felt in His Spirit for us.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad:
for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. It is always right and meet that we should rejoice
in the reunion of one separated from his loved ones of the One who loves more
than heart can know. The elder son has done that which is expected and proper
in serving his father these many years, yet, the son, who was lost, has come
home. THIS is a true cause of rejoicing! We do not make a fuss over a
friend who is continually by our side through hard times and good, but we DO
make a fuss over a friend who has returned after a separation during which we
believed him to be dead. Do we realize that we are all in a state of
death and dying when apart from our Father God? Do you?
