3rd August Trinity
Luke 15:1-32
Now many customs officials, despised by the people,
who called them sinners and expelled them from their community, sought to be
close to Jesus. They wanted to listen to him. The Pharisees and teachers of the
law however were upset by this and said, “This man accepts sinners and eats
with them!”
So he told them this parable:
“What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and
loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open and go looking
for the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his
shoulders rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and
neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that
was lost!’
I tell you, there will be more joy in the heavens
over one human being, living in denial of the spirit, who changes his mind,
than over the ninety-nine righteous who think they have no need of repentance.
Or which woman, if she has ten silver coins and
loses one, does not light a lamp, sweep the whole house and search carefully
until she finds it? And when she has found it she calls together her friends
and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had
lost!’
In the same way, I tell you, there will be joy among
the angels in the world of spirit over one human being living in denial of the
spirit who manages to change his heart and mind. “
And he said further: “A certain man had two sons.
The younger of them said to his father, ‘Give me the share of the estate which
falls to me.’ And he divided his wealth
between them. And not many days later the younger son gathered everything
together and went on a journey to a far country and squandered his estate in
the enjoyment of loose living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine
came over the land, and he began to be in need. So he went and attached himself
to a citizen of the country who sent him out into his fields and let him herd
swine. And he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were
eating, but no one gave him anything.
 |
| Charalambos Epaminonda |
Then he came to himself, and said, ‘How many of my
father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here of hunger.
I will rise up and go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against
the higher world and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Make me one of your hired men [workers].’
So he rose up and traveled along the road to his
father. When he was still a long way off, his father saw him, felt his misery, ran
toward him, embraced him and kissed him. And yet the son said, ‘Father, I have
sinned against the higher world and against you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me one of your hired men [workers].’
But the father called his servant to him. ‘Quickly!
Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and sandals on
his feet, and slaughter the fattened calf. Then we shall eat and be merry. For
this my son was dead and is risen to life. He was lost and is found again.’ And
they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile the older son was in the field. When he
returned home and came near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants to him and asked him what it meant. He gave him
the news: ‘Your brother has come home again. So in joy your father has
slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back again safe and sound.’
The son grew dark with anger and didn’t want to go
in. But his father came out and pleaded with him. He however reproached his
father saying, ‘Look! For so many years I have been with you and have never
neglected one of your commands. But you never gave me so much as a goat that I
might be merry with my friends. And now comes this son of yours who has eaten
up your wealth in scandal, and you offer him the fattened calf.’
The father however said to him ‘Child, you are
always with me and all that I have belongs to you too. But now we should be
glad and rejoice, for this your brother was dead and lives; he was lost and has
been found again.’
August 9,
2009
In today’s reading, when his
second son asks for his share of the estate, the father generously gives it to
him, even though it means diminishing his own goods. Those goods the son seems to
have squandered. But in fact they have bought something very precious—they have
bought experience. They have
purchased the indelible experience of both the limits of “the good life” and the
value of want and need. They have made possible the highly prized moment of the
experience of ‘coming to oneself’. They have purchased a keen self-awareness,
combined with deep humility, and the desire for reconciliation, to work off
indebtedness.
3rd August Trinity
Luke 15:1-32
God created the world with a
certain economy in mind. There are two forces at work in us. One is the burgeoning
force of life. It is that in us which is warm and, ever-changing, generating
the new. The other force is a cooler preserving force. These two forces are
meant to work together in balance. Too much new, too much life, overwhelms
awareness. Too much preservation gradually destroys life. Working together in
balance, they help us along our path.
 |
| The Prodigal Son, John Macallan Swan |
The elder brother, in his narrow,
small heartedness, worked to preserve and accumulate only outer wealth. He
never even threw a small party for his friends. The prodigal son, through his
dearly purchased experiences, is ready to become truly responsive and
responsible to the father in an open-hearted way that the elder brother could
never be.
The theme of the story is generosity. It demonstrates the
evolution and the workings of great-heartedness. The prodigal son may have been
wasteful, but he spent freely on others. The father is lavishly magnanimous
with both his goods and his forgiveness.
This is the picture of the Father
of us all. Our Father has sent us all out into the world, loaded with His
riches. He recognizes that we are all purchasing our experiences, partially at
the expense of our relationship with Him. He feels our misery. He hopes with
all his heart that we will one day come to ourselves. He waits for the moment
when we can pray this traditional prayer from Ghana :
Journeying God,
pitch your tent with mine
so that I may not become deterred
by hardship, strangeness, doubt.
Show me the movement I must make
toward a wealth not dependent on
possessions,
toward a wisdom not based on books,
toward a strength not bolstered by
might,
toward a God not confined to
heaven.
Help me to find myself as I walk in
other's shoes.[1]
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