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Prelude
Welcome and Announcements Lenten Reading John 3:1-8Betty and Kevin Dennison Reader 1: Friends, we ask you again to observe a holy Lent. With prayer, fasting, and demonstrating the love of Christ through benevolent acts, we prepare for Holy Week and the passion of our Lord and Savior. Reader 2: In John’s gospel we read: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” Prayer (in unison) All: Gracious God, seeker of the lost; draw your children back to your loving embrace, restore us to our inheritance as daughters and sons, and reconcile our hearts to you, that we may become ambassadors of your reconciling love to all the world.Through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen *Hymn“Live into Hope” No. 772 (Glory to God) Prayer of Confession Leader: We pause to consider how far we may have wandered from our home with God. Have we turned away from responsibility in order to seek shallow pleasures and selfish gratification? Or do we consider ourselves above reproach, looking down on those mired in the pigpens of life? Wherever we are, whoever we are, there is much to confess. Hymn Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness Leader: We are assured that God forgives the guilt of our sin. Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom God assigns no wrongdoing and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Rejoice, for God has brought us back to life! First Reading 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21 Moments With Our Young Disciples The Gospel Reading Luke: 1-3, 11b-32 The Morning Message - R.S.V.P. The story of the prodigal son from today’s passage is perhaps one of the most written about parables Jesus ever told. But the word prodigal is rarely used in conversation because of its negative connotation in association with this story. I have never heard the word used outside the context of this parable. Prodigal means to spend resources recklessly or with wasteful extravagance. (as I demonstrated with the kids) Prodigal can also mean doing something on a lavish scale. Here’s the example of its use from the dictionary, “The dessert was crunchy with brown sugar and prodigal with whipped cream.” It sounds odd doesn’t it? The next time you ask for a dessert, tell the server to be prodigal with the whipped cream and watch for the reaction you get! When writing a sermon I normally read the verse several times and think about it, make some notes, and review some commentaries to see if my thoughts are on track. For this sermon I chose to avoid the commentaries because I did not want to be clouded by other people’s ideas of what this parable is about. I didn’t want to fall into arguments about whether the story’s focus is on the Father or the prodigal son or the elder brother. I didn’t want to just restate the work of Henri Nowen who wrote a book that discussed how each of us at some point in our lives plays the role of the Father, the Prodigal, and the Older Brother. BTW – Nowen was allowed to sit in front of Rembrandt’s painting of this parable for two weeks in The Hermitage Museum in then Leningrad, USSR in the 1970s. I’ve had the privilege of seeing it there as well and it is amazing. It’s almost life size. Now all of these are valid for discussion and these different interpretations point out how God’s word really is the living word, but today I want to focus on how this parable is about us, today in 2025, in Barboursville WV. I think it’s really all about the party! If we really listen to the words of the Father – the party never really started or stopped. He says, “Son you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” The sons were free to get whatever they wanted – any time they wanted. They could call upon the resources of the Father anytime and he would provide whatever they needed but it had to come through the Father. (that thought alone is a master’s thesis). The point is they are totally in his care – as are we. They had an open invitation; they just didn’t know how to respond properly in faith. Do we have the faith to know how to respond? We are all familiar with the abbreviation R.S.V.P. It comes from the French, (ree-pon-days C-vu play) which simply means, “please reply.” God, who is characterized by the Father in the story, sends out the invitation to the party and requests an RSVP “please reply.” (repeat) Today, we might think about it as the endless ping sound our cell phones make when we get a message from someone. In the story the Father sees his prodigal son “while he was still far off.” Can you visualize the Father standing on his porch of his large home that sits on top of a hill? Every day his heart pines away – hoping – praying – that his son will return. Every day he looks out over the landscape below searching for some sign of his son’s return. Then his heart leaps for joy when at long last his son returns. The prodigal son didn’t see the opportunity the Father presents until he came to his senses. He underestimated the value of staying with the Father. He had decided years ago to have his own party and asked for his inheritance early so he could be on his merry way. His reply to the Father at that time is an implied – No, thanks you – I will not be attending your party. Note that the Father puts up no argument when the younger son asks for his inheritance. This is our free will. This is our freedom to choose. Sometimes our responses hurt. In Jewish culture the younger son’s request for his early inheritance is like wishing his father dead and in effect, his Father was dead to him. By cutting off his Father, the younger son is really the one who became spiritually dead. The younger brother then falls into dis- solute living. Dissolute is another word we don’t hear or use very often, but we see it all the time. Watch any newscast, read any newspaper, watch most any TV program or listen to popular country or rock music and you will see and hear dissolute living in action. We are bombarded with it! Dissolute simply means immoral conduct; wild, decadent, and self indulgent behavior. The results of this kind of living seem to be inescapable. The younger brother barely survives hitting bottom and is not even allowed to eat the pods given to the pigs. The pods are the horned shaped leathery shells from the carob tree native to Palestine and the Mediterranean area. Inside the pod are several pea like seeds separated by a sweet, sticky, edible pulp. Through the grafting of trees we now can produce a higher quality and sweeter carob which is used as a substitute for chocolate. Well, there was nothing sweet about how the prodigal felt. Yes he survived hitting bottom but he did not survive his guilt, shame, and remorse. He considers himself unworthy and returns to his Father hoping to become a slave. Perhaps, he thinks, he can at least serve the guests at the party, but again, he underestimates the love and grace of the Father. This is when the real miracle happens - Without a judgmental word, the Father restores him as a prince and gives him the royal symbols of a robe, a ring, and sandals. Now the prodigal’s response is yes. Yes, I will enter into the party. Yes, I will be part of the kingdom. Yes I will let go of the past. Yes, I will be a son of my father. ------ He was given a second chance. The prodigal was dead and REBORN in the eyes of the father. And the Father too was brought back to life in the eyes of the son. This is what it means to be born again by faith through grace. Just as in our earlier reading about Nicodemas from John. God says, “Please reply.” (ray spon days c-vu play) R.S.V.P. And when we say yes, we come to life spirituality because God’s spirit comes to life in us. Through Christ we are adopted into the family of God. His death on the cross becomes our re-birth right. Later in the parable we are introduced to the older brother who is also invited to the party. He was out in the fields and tells the father he has been working like a slave. This refers to seeking righteousness through our own efforts. The older brother can never work hard enough to obtain what the Father possesses. Just like we can never be good enough to earn God’ favor. Grace is a free gift. God’s grace is the gift of unmerited favor and like the older brother all we have to do is ask. The Father tells the older brother and us, “All that I have is yours.” We gain a lot of insight into the older brother in this brief passage. He follows all the rules yet does not comprehend love and grace. He is possessed by pride, envy, and resentment. He indicates his harsh feelings towards his father when he whines about not being given even a young goat for him and his friends. Notice he even excludes the Father in his celebration! No, it will just be he and his friends. He also behaves in an unacceptable manner in the Jewish tradition by saying no to the Father’s invitation to the party. Like the younger brother, the older brother also underestimates the love and grace of the Father. He cannot understand how the father can have compassion for the younger brother. He has also underestimated the love of God since he has been blinded by his sense of duty. He has followed the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. In the end we are left to wonder how the older brother replies to the Father’s invitation to enter the party. “Please reply” (ray spon day c-vu play) God asks – please enter into a relationship with me. We are given a very subtle hint, though, in the last few verses. Listen for the use of the word “yours” in the ending dialogue. First when talking to the Father, the older brother refers to the prodigal as, “this son of yours.” He disavows any kinship with the prodigal son and his phrase is derogatory. Second, when the older brother asks for the goat, the father says “all that is mine is yours.” All of God’s riches are in plain view. (like in the painting). At this point what God owns includes the younger brother who while restored to royal status, is really a dependent of the father. Third, the father confirms this to the older brother, when he turns the tables on the elder son and refers to the prodigal as, “this brother of yours.” The point is, they are interconnected in a family relationship through blood; he is a son and brother and that relationship; that connection cannot be undone. Being an optimist, I believe the older brother ultimately gets it! I believe the older brother cannot deny the grace revealed to him by the father and the model of repentance shown by the younger brother. And so it is among us today. We are all connected: daughter, sister, mother; all of us are connected to God’s family. We belong to each other and there is enough for everyone. Remember what the father says, “All that is mine is yours.” The party never ends. The invitation is always there. (ray spon day c vu play) – “Please reply.” Amen. *Hymn 450 Be Thou My Vision *Affirmation of Faith Apostles’ Creed p. 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 606 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication Thank you, God, for proclaiming our worth when we do not value ourselves. Thank you for welcoming us to a celebration of life with so many precious gifts. Thank you now for the privilege of sharing so others may be led to your joyous embrace. Help us to be generous in gratitude for your lavish provision for all our needs. Amen. *Hymn 611 “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” *Blessing Return (inspired by Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) let this be the welcoming place the place of return and let it be built by a love that bends towards those who return here for it is a love that has been waiting like a candle in the window ever lighting the way back and never willing to let go the hope that each child will return home let it be the place where the only appropriate response to love that has come to the end of its longing is to kill the fatted calf, feast and celebrate send up balloons and prepare the party for that which has been lost has returned to be among us once more ~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws. http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws *Postlude Comments are closed.
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PastorCinda Harkless Archives
April 2025
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