The Return of the Son

The sermon at church today focused on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This was the final part of a series the pastor has been doing and focused on the return of the son to the father. The entire parable is found in Luke 15:11-32

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: 19 I am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and make merry: 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these things might be. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 But he was angry, and would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. 32 But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The following are my thoughts from the sermon.

This parable shows us how even though we may leave God, his grace, love, and forgiveness are always available. We are God's children; however, he allows us to stray. Since the foundations of the universe were laid, God has given us free will as a gift. Often though, like the prodigal son, we squander this gift. This story shows us that we can still return to God and have a new chance at life.

Sometimes we hit rock bottom before we realize that we have strayed from God. In the story, the son is living worse than pigs and realizes that his father's workers have it better than him. He decides to return to his father as a hired hand. This was his confession. His realization that he had a problem. He tells himself that he will get up. This is an important first step. Before we return to God we must realize that we have sinned and that God can help us. We must be sincere and humble about it. The son plans to go back to his father not to regain his former spot as the son, but is humble and wants to be just a hired hand.

As we see next in the story, just admitting we have the problem is not enough, we must act on it. The son gets up and goes! The son doesn't even make it back to his father's place before he is seen and his father's love and compassion compel the father to ran to his son and embrace him. The son begins to repeat what he has rehearsed, that he has sinned against his father and wants to return as a hired hand. But before the son even finishes, the father interrupts him and orders that a party be thrown and that the son be treated better than a son.

This story represents how God's grace and forgiveness works for us. When we stray from God, we must do two things. First, we must admit our problems and confess. We have done wrong and admit that God can help us. But we can't stop there. We must act on our confession. We must turn around and go to God. As we see from the story, God is there waiting for us. The son didn't have to go all the way back home before he was forgiven and back as part of his father's family. The same is true for us. We just have to turn around and see that God is standing there waiting for us to return. What good does it do for me to admit my sins if I don't stop doing them? As Jesus told the adulterous woman in John 8, "go and sin no more." Grace and forgiveness are not there to be used as a free pass for sinning, but to allow us to return to God when we mess up. The son was forgiven before he even headed home, but he didn't receive the forgiveness until he came back to his father. The same is true for us with God. His grace is there for us, all we must do is admit we need it and turn toward God and receive it.

This is Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son