A Blessing That Never Ends
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Our story opens with the Pharisees once again being offended by Jesus. This time it’s because, as far as they’re concerned, He’s hanging out with the wrong people. People like sinners and tax collectors.
But Jesus isn’t very tolerant of their intolerance, so he begins a remarkable story: “There was a man who had two sons…” The gist of the story is that the younger son asks his dad for his inheritance early and leaves the country where he squanders his money through loose living. He finally ends up in poverty and shame, feeding pigs to get by. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, his elder rule-following brother lives responsibly. He helps his dad with the chores and is basically the epitome of a good son.
But as Jesus tells this story, it’s easy to imagine his listeners becoming offended. Why is it that the prodigal son, the one who disgraced his father, is getting a homecoming fit for a king? On top of that, the elder brother has to watch their father unconditionally forgive his no-good brother, so of course he’s outraged. (I can’t help but see hints here of Jonah and the people of Ninevah!)
But that’s because this kind of grace, love and forgiveness fly in the face of big brother’s – and Jonah’s – careful system of playing by the rules as the basis for goodness and worth. It often seems to fly in the face of our rules and systems, too.
But here’s the kicker. We assume that this parable hinges on the redemption part of the story, found in the moment when the prodigal son “comes to himself” among the pigs. We think that’s the moment he repents and feels really bad about what he’s done, and that’s why he decides to head home. But the text never mentions repentance. We’ll never know whether he’s sincere or just scheming to get back into Dad’s pocketbook because his father forgives him either way.
We often assume that if we just live our lives better, behave better, and get better at letting go of our vices, we’ll be more worthy. We’ll be more deserving of God’s love and favor. But the moment we think that we can somehow earn God’s grace, or that someone else can or can’t, then we’re not talking about grace anymore, and that’s important. Jesus is telling us pretty clearly that it doesn’t work that way.
This parable isn’t really about the prodigal son’s redemption story of getting something right as he sits among the pigs. And it’s not just about some other individual redemption story, either. It’s about a much bigger redemption story. God’s own redemption story. It’s about His love and His redemption of all of us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that’s a blessing that never ends.