The Parable of the Waiting Father

In the parable that we're gonna look at, Jesus talks about losing things – or, more properly, about finding things. In reality, this is a three-part parable in which Jesus talks about three lost items. In the first section of this passage, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd has 100 sheep, and one wanders off and becomes lost. Yet, amazingly, the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to go and find the one who was lost. And there is great rejoicing when the lost sheep is found.

In the second part, Jesus tells the parable of the lost coin. A woman has ten coins. These are possibly part of the dowry that she has saved for her daughter’s wedding. She loses one and quite naturally sweeps the entire house clean looking for it – you wouldn’t expect anything else, would you? When she eventually finds the lost coin, she calls all her neighbours together and says, "Celebrate with me for I have found my lost coin." And finally Jesus tells the longest, the most famous and the most gripping of all three parables, the parable of the lost son, and that’s the one that we’re going to focus on this morning.

So, turn with me to Luke chapter 15… In the opening section of this passage – v.1-2, Luke tells us that Jesus was telling these parables to "tax collectors and sinners." He was telling these parables to the outcast of society, but within the earshot of the Scribes and Pharisees who were grumbling because Jesus was once again associating with the "riffraff". Now, this was a common technique that Jesus used. He would often, for instance, teach his disciples, but within and before wider audience (The famous 'Sermon on the Mount' in Matthew 5-7 is a good example of this). So, when we hear this story, we can’t help but wonder, "Who is the real audience that Jesus is trying to reach? The tax collectors and sinners, or the Scribes and Pharisees – who he knows are listening to his every word?" What you hear when you listen to the parable depends a great deal upon where you’re standing when Jesus tells it.

This is one of those passages of the Bible that Preachers get real excited over – and rightly so. We get excited because there is just so much meaning contained within the story. There are so many different roads we could go down, and they would all be worthwhile travelling. Which character in the story do you associate with? Whose eyes do you see the world through? Where are you standing when Jesus speaks?

The 'Prodigal' Son

You see, we could look at this parable from the perspective of the younger son – and I’d guess that that is what most of us quite naturally do. When we hear the story we can relate to the prodigal son because we know that we have been in his shoes. And this is true for all of us in so many ways. I Peter 2:25 says, "For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." The younger son represents the tax-collectors and sinners that we heard about in verse 1 and in that way we can all relate to it.

So, we hear… about the younger brother who asks for his share of the family inheritance even before his dad is dead; which if you think about it, is pretty much the same as if he’d said to his Dad, "I wish you were already dead!" His dad gives him the inheritance and before long the son packs his bags and literally walks off the farm saying, "See you later, losers ! I’m going off to the big city and have myself some fun!" So, he’s out the door, down the road, as far as he can get from home.

I guess rather predictably, He soon spends all of his money on wild living and, again, rather predictably, because he's now a pauper, all his new friends dump him and he eventually hits rock- bottom. But, he somehow manages to pick himself up and he goes job hunting. But the only job he can find is feeding pigs--not exactly a promising Career prospect! In fact, pigs are not only physically unclean, but Jewish law considered them ceremonially unclean as well. So, this is definitely as far down as he can go; it doesn’t get much lower than this. While he is feeding the pigs, he is so hungry that he actually wants to eat what they are eating. Then, the scriptures say, "he came to himself." He realises that this fun life he’s been seeking is not exactly all that he thought it would be and He longs to go home. And when he remembers, that even his father’s hired servants have more to eat than he does, he says to himself, "I will get up and go to my father and say, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called one of your sons. Treat me as one of your hired servants." So, he picks himself up and begins to head home.

Yet, whilst he’s still a great distance away, the father – who has seemingly been looking at for this day since his son left – sees him and unashamedly runs out to him. For his father to run was contrary to all custom. Aristotle even once said, matter-of-factly, "Great men never run in public." In the Near East, even to this day, a mature man loses his dignity when he runs, but the father doesn’t care! He runs to him, hugs and kisses him. The younger son falls to his knees, says "I’m sorry" and begins to roll off some sorry yarn as a poor attempt at an excuse. And what does the father do ? He picks him up. He embraces him, puts a robe across his back, a ring on his finger, new sandals on his feet and tells the farm hands to get one of the fatted calves ready for slaughter. There’s going to be a party tonight!

I’m sure we can all relate to that, can’t we? We should be able to. We’ve all played the rebel. And maybe some of us still wonder if we have done something so awful that God could never forgive us for it. Maybe we’re just at the point of turning round and slowly tentatively walking home, thinking, "How am I gonna explain this one?" In the parable, we don’t really know all that the rebel got up to. We don’t know if it would be horrifying, maybe even shocking. I suspect so, but the father doesn’t even ask. He just forgives him. He doesn’t even brush him down or say "Woh! Back off, you smell like a pig-sty!" The son came straight from the swine-trough to his Father’s arms, and the Father just grabs him and kisses him and rejoices over His son back from the dead. Whatever we may have done, Jesus has died for it and it can be nailed to the cross when we turn to him; whatever we may have done, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we just realise what a mess we have made of things and turn around, we’ll see that the Father has already started running towards us to welcome us!

That’s the younger son perspective on the parable - and that might even be a good way to preach this parable. And you may need to stay in that place to hear the parable. Maybe, you’ve never really dared to accept God’s forgiveness, maybe you just need to let God hold you and love you. Listen to me - we’ve got to come to the place, Christian or not, where we realise that God is not hiding out and making it as difficult as possible for us to find him, but, instead, HE is the one who is looking for us whilst we are doing the hiding. If that’s you, then I’d invite you to turn around and run into the open arms of God.

The 'Dutiful' Son

That's the younger son perspective and I suspect that that is how we are used to hearing the story. We relate - possibly - to the younger son. But that’s not the only place to stand to hear this parable. Let’s not assume that we are only represented by the Tax-collectors and sinners. Because, I must admit that I find it extremely easy to identify with the older son in the story. The older son who stayed home and diligently worked side by side with his father. The older son who was so ticked off after his younger brother returned home. I mean after all, isn’t He the one who draws the short straw in this deal? It just doesn’t seem fair, does it ? The younger son goes off and does what he wants, comes home - and gets a hero’s welcome and a fattened Calf!

Now, remember that in the ancient world, there was no really effective way to preserve meat. So, when guests came, an animal was killed that could be eaten by all the guests. If another family came, it would be appropriate to kill, say, a chicken. If two families came, they might kill a duck or a goose. If more came, a goat or lamb was killed. The killing of a fatted calf was only done if the entire village was going to be invited or the honoured guest was of the highest calibre.

Meanwhile, the older brother, who has been out working in the fields, comes in for lunch. As he approaches the house he hears music and dancing. There’s a party going on and he doesn’t even know about it. He takes a peek inside only to see his younger brother has returned! His brother who left him to take care of the farm on his own; his brother who publicly disgraced their Father. There he sits in the middle of this party as the featured guest! He can’t believe his eyes. There he sits wearing a new robe and new sandals on his feet. Everyone is doting on him. But not the older son – he sulks off into the fields and carries on with his work.

This older son represents the upstanding religious people, the "churchy" types; like you and me. Jesus is addressing the Pharisees and the religious leaders through him. It’s funny that we tend to think of the Pharisees as the enemies of Jesus, self-righteous do-gooders. But in these days the Pharisees were the good guys. They were the Pastors and Bible College Students and Missionaries – the crème de la crème, if you like. Sure they could get a bit self-righteous, but compared to the way that some people lived, they were spotless. You know, sometimes we can be a little self-righteous; it’s frighteningly easy to do. We may find ourselves saying things like, "I’m always here. Even when I don’t want to be. I’m always the responsible one. I get up early in the morning, go to bed late at night. I work hard all day long. I work hard at the church. A lot of the other members don’t pitch in, but I always do. I don’t understand these people who never go to church! They just sleep in on Sunday mornings! Bunch of heathens!"

So, the father sees the older brother and He goes out to him. Notice that - the Father goes out to him. Don’t think that it’s only the wild and reckless prodigals who are far from God. Very often, those of us who are working hard out in the fields are actually hiding in the shadows. But the Father doesn’t leave him where he is or let someone else deal with him – rather, just as he did with the prodigal son, the Father goes out to find him. And they have words. And the older son says, "Listen ! I have worked my fingers to the bone for you ! I have never disobeyed you. Yet, I have never even had a party with a few friends and a Goat. But now this creep shows up, this so-called 'son' of yours, after blowing all his money on prostitutes and wild living and you kill the fattened Calf, invite the whole village and have a party for him ! Well that’s just great, isn’t it!" Notice, that we're never told how the younger son spent his money; the older son just assumes that it had to be really bad.

The father tries to reason with the older son. He says, "All that I have is yours. You were always here with me. But your brother was dead and has come back to life. He was lost but has been found. That is why we are celebrating. Now come in and join us, please !"

I think it would have been obvious to the Pharisees that Jesus was talking about them. They moaned that he welcomed sinners into the Kingdom of God and then he tells a story about an older brother who whinges when the Father accepts his sinning son. In telling this story, Jesus invites them to regard the tax-collectors and sinners in a different way, from the basis of their shared humanity. The Pharisee's desire to be seperate from what they regarded as a corrupt and lost world had meant that had lost all connection with their wider family. Where they might complain like the older sibling "These so-called sons and daughters of yours", they hear Jesus gentle rebuke, "These are your brothers and sisters"

As far as the older brother goes, Luke doesn’t tell us what finally happens. We are left to our own imaginations. Did the older brother stay outside pouting ? Or do you think he eventually came in and joined the party ? Or did he say, "I’ve had enough of this!" and walk off the farm himself. We just don’t know. That’s the power of the parable. It leaves us to figure out some things for ourselves. Where do we stand? How would we respond? How do we respond?

Do you ever see new Christians with all of their over-flowing enthusiasm and bubbling joy, going on and on about how great God is and do you ever think, "Oh, give it a rest, will ya'?!" Do you ever hear someone talking about how God has really blessed them that week and thought, "Well, bully for you!"? Have you ever seen someone seemingly get all of their prayers answered – you know the sort of people who pray for your Headache and goes away when you really wish it wouldn’t – just to teach them? Or they pray for a new Car and get one? And you know that they're not as holy as you! And it’s as if their naïve faith is never questioned and never challenged; do you ever long for the day when they’ll fall flat on their face? And you know what the worst thing is? From time to time they may fall back into the former ways and get entangled in some old sin for a little bit. But then they repent and come back to church and God just picks up where He left off and carries on blessing them. It's just not fair.

Well, for those of us who sometimes feel like older brothers, there’s a verse here that I want to emphasise – it’s verse 31. ‘"My son," the father said, "you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours."‘ "You are always here with me, and everything I have is yours."We may be seeing others getting blessed by God and thinking "when is it my turn?" Or we may be standing outside the party, not wanting to go in. But God comes out to us and begs us to come inside. The party brings love, forgiveness and healing. We are invited with the entire village to share in the party of God’s love! Listen, it’s your turn now. The party is not about fattened Calf’s, though they will be there. The party is not about music and dancing, though they do express the joy of those inside. The party is in words of the Father to each one of us here this morning. "You are always here with me, and everything I have is yours." It’s your turn now.

You see, what the older son didn't realise, was that he could have had a party any time he wanted it. And, maybe, if he’d asked his Father for a just a little bit of his inheritance, maybe the Father would joyfully have given it to him. But this brother is too busy out in the fields, doing his family chores, being the good guy – doing the right thing. And the Father is saying to him – and God says to each one of us this morning – "I want you to be my son, before you even think about being my servant." The older son didn’t enjoy the love and grace and joy of his Father, not because it wasn’t there for him, but because he wasn’t there for it. So, just as the Father goes out to the prodigal and invites him home, he also goes out to the dutiful and invites him home.

The Waiting Father

And, depending on where we are standing, we can hear this parable of Jesus’ as talking to us as either the younger son – the Prodigal – or we can hear it from the perspective of the older son – the dutiful. But there is another way to look at this parable, and it is that perspective that I want to close with. What’s the one thing that each of the three parables have in common? I guess we could say that they’re all about losing something, but that’s not strictly true is it? If that was the point then they wouldn’t all have the ending that they do, but they would stop at the point when the sheep or the coin or the Son are lost.

The point of these parables is that, regardless of the different ways the things got lost - the sheep through ignorance, the coin through carelessness and the son through sheer bloodymindedness - in each situation there is someone who goes out and finds that which is lost and rejoices when it is found. The heroes of these stories are not the sheep or the coin or the Son, but the Shepherd, the Woman and the Father. This parable that we are looking at this evening is not about the prodigal Son, but THE WAITING FATHER!

And the great thing is - when we consider the characters in this parable - we don’t have to choose between the two sons. Jesus’ challenge to those who would hear it, his invitation to those who will receive it, is that we can choose to be like the father! By God's grace and the power of the Spirit, we can demonstrate the gracious love of God our Father by welcoming all who turn to him and seek the blessings that he offers - over and against the blessings of the world. We’re not encouraged to be sinners, and Jesus clearly is not telling us to be like the Pharisees. Though we may - at this point - be like either of those groups - we are invited, by His grace, to become like God.

There’s a verse in the Bible that I love – Ephesians 5:1... "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children."

I love that verse. I’ve always loved it from the first time I heard it. In fact, inside one of my first Bibles, I wrote in massive letters, "BE LIKE GOD!" Awesome. Be imitators of God. Wow. And I used to think about the righteousness of God and the holiness of God and the faithfulness of God and the power of God and the integrity of God and so on… Be Like God. But you know, one day I took the surprising step of reading the context that this verse refers to. I say surprising, because you’d think that I would have done that when I first stumbled upon the verse. I’m gonna tell you something now that will hopefully stop you from making the sorts of mistakes that I have made: every time you see a "therefore," see what it is there for. I mean, be imitators of God – what does that mean? Be invisible? Be a know it all?! I didn’t even think about that. But one day, I did venture back into chapter 4 and I read the passage that this summons is based on.

So, I particularly want to draw your attention to 4:32, just one verse before our memory verse. If you have time this afternoon, you may want to go and look at the whole passage, but for now let's just focus on 4:32. You see what it says, forgiving each other – how? why? "Just as in Christ God forgave you." THEREFORE, in the light of that, because of God’s forgiveness of us, be imitators of God. You see what the passage is saying? Be kind, compassionate, forgiving, live a life of love, for this is what God has done for us in forgiving us through Jesus. Therefore, if God’s done all that, be like God - forgive one another. But there’s one more bit in this passage that I want to draw your attention to. Hear what it says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children."

Notice that this is to children; plural. It's a corporate thing and we cannot fulfil all that God calls to be and do on our own. We, together, are called to be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And our invitation in this passage, and the perspective that I want us to hear this parable from is simply this – be like Dad. Be like your Father in heaven. As children of God, be imitators of God. By the way you act, show people what your Father is like. I’m not saying it’s easy, we know it’s not. But I am saying that when we come to fully comprehend how God feels about us, whether we are older or younger sons, sinners or Pharisees, when we see the cross of Jesus and understand just how much God loves us, how willing God is to forgive us, and how eager God is to welcome us home and have us back in a right relationship with Him, then we will be able to start showing the family likeness of our God.

We don’t have to choose between the two sons, we can choose to be like our father.