3rd 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:
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Julia Stankova
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“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing
one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open and go looking for the
lost one until they find it? And when they have found it, they lay it on their
shoulders rejoicing. And when they come home, they call together their friends
and neighbors and say 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 their 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 carefully search
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 their 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.
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John Macallan
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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 of being 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 of
being 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.
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| Charalambos Epaminonda |
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.’
3rd Trinity
August 9, 2020
Luke 15:1-32
Our effectiveness, both in the earthly and in spiritual
matters, often comes down to one point. That point arrives when we recognize
our own responsibility for the results of our actions. That point arrives when
we finally realize that the consequences of our actions will require us to make
compensation; when, as in the story of the lost son, we come to ourselves.
The parable emphasizes the joy that the father feels upon
his son’s return. He expresses it as his dead son coming back to life. Implied
is a rebirth, a new beginning. In realistic fashion, the story also expresses
the anger the father’s joy arouses in the older self-righteous son.
The story assures us that despite our errors and weaknesses,
that despite our
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| Kathryn Doneghan |
grand failures and horrific mistakes, the divine world
rejoices when we come to ourselves and to our desire to take responsibility for
making compensation. And although the story ends on this note of rejoicing, we
might imagine how things developed after
the celebration. For although it is implied that the lost son won’t have to
resort to being a day-laboring servant, we cannot imagine him wasting his new
beginning, that precious moment of self-recognition and the opportunity to make
compensation. Likely he went on to work hard to rebuild his father’s diminished
estate. Perhaps his experiences in the world gave him the ability to find
creative new ways to manage the estate and repay what he had squandered. And we
can hope that he will be able to repair his relationship with his brother. In
any case, we can be sure that his father’s love supports him in his efforts to
make good. The story encourages us to begin again. For as the poet says:
….Every beginning is a promise
born in light ….
Begin to the loneliness that
cannot end
since it perhaps is what makes
us begin,
begin to wonder at unknown faces
alone together while making
good.
Though we live in a world that …
always seems about to give in
something that will not
acknowledge conclusion
insists that we forever begin.*
*Brendan Kennelly, “Begin”, in Do Not Go Gentle
Light itself is invisible. Light only reveals itself in its
working with darkness. In permeating the darkness, light creates color. Color
is a manifestation of the creative work, the deeds of light.
