|
||
|
● The story is prompted by the “religious insiders”
complaints concerning Jesus’ “lack of discretion” in his treatment of the
“un-righteous”.
The
responsible, dutiful, highly respected religious leaders are provoked by
Jesus’ casual attitude toward “outsiders”.
It appears that Jesus was
always loving all the wrong people. ● [more going on that just what’s going on] For Jesus to
tell a story about a wicked son, lost in a foreign land, who was being
welcomed back with a lavish celebration, this was bound to be heard as a
reference to the hope of Israel.
“This, my son, was dead and is now alive”. Resurrection was used as a
picture of true return from exile. It’s happening right now! ● Jesus’ interactions are actually helping to answer
questions: “How does God feel about
irreligious, broken, hurting people? Is there a place for them? Where do
they fit? If I were to encounter him, how would he respond to me?”
Ultimately, he is answering the question,
“What is God like?” ● When we tell stories about being “lost”, it suggests…
… that there
is someplace that we need to be, but aren’t there yet.
… that the
thing/person identified as “lost” is of value and is worth the effort to
recover. ● When Jesus says that he came to
“seek and save the lost” (Luke
19:10), he is declaring that his mission involves helping humanity to get
back to where they were meant to be; where they belonged--- in relationship
with God and with each other By describing us as “lost” (not stupid, or expendable),
Jesus is declaring that we have value; that if we are not where we are
supposed to be, this is of concern to God and worth the efforts to find us. ● Jesus’ mission involved pursuing lost people. He knew a
“thing-or-two” about human nature:
1) we have a tendency to ‘wander’ (it’s our nature),
2) we often get lost as a result of
the decisions we make.
Some observations about “lostness”… ~People don’t get lost
on purpose.
People don’t
set out to “self-destruct”; to devastate their lives; to damage their
relationships. People make choices that get them lost.
Lost sheep---
got “distracted”.
Lost coin---
irresponsibility or carelessness of another. Maybe they didn’t have the same
opportunities and advantages you did. Sometimes we get lost because people
gave us the wrong directions.
Lost son(s)---
was “disillusioned”. ~Lostness is certainly
a waste of time and resources, but it’s not an irreversible condition.
No matter how
far you were from where you were supposed to be, you could always find your
way back. ~When you’re lost,
most often your instincts can’t be trusted. In fact, they are likely what
got you lost in the first place.
You need some
trusted and reliable means of discovering “where you are” and “how to get
where you’re supposed to be”. ~You can be lost and
be really close to where you were supposed to be. There really are not “varying degrees of lostness”. Is
there really such a thing as being “more lost” than someone else?
You may be
just over the hill or a hundred miles from where you are supposed to be. You
might be just out in the field (older brother) or miles from home,
but you’re still lost.
~It’s easy not to notice our “lostness”
(Matthew 7:21).
It doesn’t
matter if you feel lost or are even not yet aware that you are lost… you can
still be lost. ● Both sons were “lost” to their grieving Father. Both
willful disobedience and arrogant self-righteousness have a way of
contributing to the distance we experience. Self-righteousness is just most
often harder to notice. ~When challenged about
your lostness, it sometimes just strengthens your resolve to stay on the
predetermined course.
Sometimes
people have to discover they are lost on their own; in their own time. They
have to come to the “Highway ends in
one mile” sign before they are ready to turn around. ~It’s hard for some
people to admit their lost.
How do you
respond when someone suggests your lost?
“Do you want to drive?” “Excuse me,
this is a short-cut”. “What, you think I don’t know where I am going?”
The focus
should never remain on their lostness (or decrying the painful consequences
of their decisions), but on helping them get back to where they need to be.
How many of you love having
someone show up to “rescue” you and spend the first (10) minutes rehearsing
how inept you are for having ended up here?
[“How’d you miss that exit?
It was clearly marked!” “How’d you end up here, can’t you read a map?” “Why
didn’t you just turn back at I-95 when you were supposed to?”….
“Why’d you marry her? Why’d you start
experimenting with drugs? Why’d you start drinking anyway? Why’d you cheat
on your spouse?”] ~When people are lost
and not ready to admit it, there is little you can do to alter their
direction. As the stories are being told, you notice that the Father
does not go out looking for the son in the same way that we look for a lost
animal or coin. There are situations in which aggressive-energy is
counter-productive. It prevents us from interrupting all that God is
attempting to do and helps ensure that we don’t interfere. It must have been terribly difficult for the Father to
“not” aggressively pursue his
son. Interestingly, the young son had to “come to his senses”. ● It’s about finally admitting that this is not the place
you’re supposed to be. That discovery may take place while you’re standing
knee deep in pig manure, or it may be sitting at your office desk or at
dinner with your ‘secret friend’. Brokenness is often
the appropriate response to life.
It’s right, at
times, to experience the painful consequences of your decisions; it’s right,
at times, to feel the hopelessness of your lostness because then, and only
then, can you know what it’s like to long for something else. The point of experiencing your own lostness is not the
damage realized, but the repentance and restoration that experiencing
lostness is meant to produce. As the young so
contemplates his return, there’s no reason to assume that he will be
received/accepted. It’s just not the way our world works. We’ve all incurred the wrath of a disappointed parent or
society. We all know what to expect: the icy-stares, the isolation, the
cold-silence. ● We’re a bit unsettled at his reckless expressions of
grace and mercy. We’re not as eager to forgive. You can’t let him do this
stuff and get away with it.
“Do you know what did? Do
you know where he’s been? You better be careful, God, about setting such a
precedent. If you love and accept him, people are going to lose respect for
you. They’re going to continue to think that they can just get away with
such behavior!”
“In fact, let’s put him on
probation; let’s make him live out with the hired-hands for awhile, then
he’ll appreciate it what he left behind.” God views humanity,
not so much as “good or bad”, but “lost or found”, “dead or alive”.
We are always
either walking down the driveway, back toward God,
or on our way toward the porch,
longing to be received and restored. ● It’s as if God is saying,
“If even just one is lost, I can’t be
content with those odds; I can’t truly celebrate all that are found as long
as there is even just one out there that’s not where they’re supposed to be.
If even one is missing, I’ll turn the place upside-down to find them. I
won’t be satisfied as long as one of my children is out there is
self-destructing and if he comes home, I’ll have no issue with jumping from
the porch and running to him in my bathrobe and old fuzzy slippers, because
the one who was dead is now alive… lost and is now found.” Matthew 18:14 “…
your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be
lost”. ● We would expect the story to reveal God’s disgust and
irritation with the (1) sheep who wandered off from the (99) really
compliant and obedient sheep.
“And the shepherd left the
(99) good sheep and tracked down the one stupid, rebellious sheep and they
feasted on him and chalked it up to “natural selection”.
Or,
the lady had so many liquid assets that she really didn’t care about the one
coin… it was expendable.
Or,
we expect the Father to say, “What
son? You mean the one that gave me the finger and said, ‘I wish you were
dead’, and cashed in his inheritance and party-ed it all away? You mean that
son? He had his chance. He’s dead to me.
I only have one son; the loyal,
compliant, hard-working, ‘good’ son”. ● That’s what we expect, but that’s not the moral matrix
which governs God’s responses. Imagine the shock to hear that God pursues the wandering
and the wayward; imagine how stunned people would be to hear that no one is
disposable—that all matter… all are welcome; imagine how repulsed they would
be to hear that God longs for the return of those who have willfully and
thoughtfully treated him with contempt. ● The story is just too much for us. It highlights, once
again, the injustice of forgiveness: the radical, scandalous nature of
welcome. Sometimes you just don’t know it until you come home. Love says, “You can
always come home”, but be cautioned about all that can be lost while you’re
gone.
Be reminded
that although God’s love in “unconditional”, our decisions are
“consequential”.
The story suggests that the only thing more resolute than man’s rebellion is
God’s determination to show mercy and offer restoration.
The only
person more stubborn than man is God! ● As the son returns, you get the feeling that only
something other than punishment will suffice in restoring the damage done.
This is the only response powerful
enough not just to “rehabilitate” us, but to actually “transform” us!
The son must
be forgiven before he even asks; the Father must seek us before we are aware
of our lostness; he must love us first, in spite of ourselves. ● Most of us have never really considered that God might
actually celebrate us; that we were actually “that big-o-deal” to him. We
assume that God is happier with the righteous group he’s gathered and we’d
just mess up the dynamic. |
