Tempted
to withhold forgiveness
031807
Luke 15:11 ff
“Love
is like a magic penny” by Marvina Reynolds
Love,
joy, forgiveness
A
familiar, much loved
parable of Jesus’.
We
know the story; we know the point
But
don’t turn off the
hearing aid cos it’s a warm fuzzy story and Margaret isn’t known for them…..
Surprise,
surprise, God is a surprise, which is in fact the whole point of parables.
This
week this story also became a very Unfuzzy
uncomfortable story for me. Three reasons:
It offers a reality that judges religious leadership
of the
church today
It challenges me to look at myself
It challenges my view of the church
This
is one of three lost and found parables in Luke 15, told to the Pharisees and
scribes, about God’s
joy at finding the lost.
In this one we have two sons, both lost in
some way, one away from home, one living at home. Both are searching: one for himself, one for acceptance and love.
The
Pharisees and scribes, generous, good, people, loyal in worship and people of
prayer, religious leaders of the day, are also searching: they are looking for
Jesus to affirm the status quo, and don’t like that he’s welcoming of all the
wrong sort of people. And they too are
lost.
We’re
all seeking something. In our Friday
class we were challenged to consider our souls’ deepest longing, what usually
brings us to church, and until we find it we are lost, even if we never left
home
One
son is self destructive, in the guise of independence and rebellion. He wants to go his own way, that something
better is out there somewhere. He’s
perhaps seeking meaning – or happiness – or joy.
One
is self-righteous in the guise of being good and obedient. He is the kind of
person, the part of me, that weighs every action for its value, judges every person for what
they deserve. He is seeking a fair deal, and thinks “I’m hard done by if I
don’t’ get what I think I deserve, especially if someone else gets what I think
they don’t deserve!”
But
deep down he’s searching for love and acceptance.
The
leaders are self satisfied in their position because they fit in the society
and don’t rock the boat. They are
seeking for validation.
I
understand all of them completely.
Sometimes
I feel as if we compromise our standards and values to the point we no longer
stand for anything, and wallow in the pigpen of the mess that is our society
today.
Sometimes
I admit to trying so hard to be perfect: the perfect pastor, the perfect wife,
the perfect mother…until we forget we’re loved just as we are.
Sometimes
I see myself as part of a self-satisfied church and denomination that refuses
to change, that won’t welcome homosexuals as full children of God, that
struggles to maintain its clean and locked up houses
of worship.
But
where it gets sticky for me is that all of them suffer from the same dis-ease
that our lives do, our society does—the
“Its
all about me” disease
its about what I
want, what I need
And
that’s the attractive assumption of our culture of individualism. And its attraction leads to that dangerous
temptation that the elder son, and the Pharisees and scribes, all yielded
to: the withholding of forgiveness – in
fact, withholding in general: withholding love, withholding affirmation,
withholding grace, all the things they themselves deeply longed for.
And
withholding blocks the very things we want.
Like the magic penny song: hold it tight and you won’t
have any. But lend it, spend it
and you’ll have so many they’ll roll all over the floor.
Until
that elder son could realize the life giving power of forgiveness
the joy of love that he was
already surrounded with
and
until the Pharisees could realize the life transforming power of acceptance of
others
the joy of
the steadfast love of god the psalmist sang about
they would all continue to miss the party.
So
what IS this party all about?
Well,
I can understand the rebelliousness and independence of son #1.
I
can understand the culturally understandable resentment of son #2
I
can understand the importance of status quo to the religious.
What
I can’t understand is this father.
I
used to wonder where the mother was in this story. But when I realized that
Jesus had just told a story with a woman as the divine figure who celebrates
with joy what was lost and is found, then I began to see the subtlety of this
parable’s maleness.
You
see, men in that day just didn’t act like this father at all. They’d never have given away their money like
this – that’s crazy
They
would never have run in public, that’s undignified
They
would never have publicly embraced a child
They
would never welcome a sinner back without some kind of penance – sure, let them
come in, but let’s make them grovel a bit.
They
would have been hand in hand with the elder son, not go outside seeking to
bring the good elder son in to this party.
God
is not like any one we have ever known.
God does not play by our rules.
God has more than enough to go around.
Enough Love
Enough Grace
Enough Forgiveness
We
don’t need to compete, to resent, to withhold forgiveness
from anyone.
God’s
love calls us here, says our first hymn. Come home, God says in our last
hymn.
God’s
love calls us home
God’s
love calls us to reconciliation, forgiveness, acceptance of the outsider, and
unity as a family
Hear
God’s voice whispering:
You
don’t have to lose your self respect or get separated from God with our self
centred consumerism…we can come home
You
don’t have to be perfect to come in to God’s house of joy…we can come home
It’s
not all about me. It’s all about joy –
God’s joy.
The
younger son went looking for joy in all the wrong places. Let me tell you you won’t find it in money or
sex or drugs or alcohol….tho we do try.
The
older son was resistant to joy – he couldn’t see he was already surrounded by
it because he was so busy being right.
The
Pharisees were immune to joy – religion is about rules, not enjoyment
But
it’s here! Jerry F this week: “it’s great fun”
doing this ministry
That’s
the realm of God – living god’s way.
Being a Christian is about living in the midst of steadfast love and joy
And
that’s where my last uncomfortable challenge came in.… is the church, the
Christian church in the US or FUMC right here, God’s house of joy?
Are
we, like God, not content while even one is missing out on the party?
Are
we, like this father, watchful for anyone who might need an embrace, healing, a home?
Are
we willing to go out and invite someone in who might seem to have it all
together?
Are
we willing to eat with tax collectors and sinners? The homeless? Prostitutes? Unwed mothers? Homosexuals? The mentally handicapped?
Nope,
this is not a warm fuzzy story.
Yes
it is! Because its
not about what we fail to do.
That would mean falling into the temptation to withhold forgiveness.
Rather,
It’s about God’s joy, incredible joy, joy that’s worth
three stories in a row from Jesus,
God’s
joy in giving us another chance to come home, be home, make a home, where
steadfast love surrounds us and those God calls, softly and tenderly, to come
home.
So
come.
Come
home to God
Come
home to the house of joy
Be
the house of joy
Come
home.
Amen.