Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

The story of the Prodigal. Many of us know the story. I have preached on it a number of times and it has been in Sunday School lessons and Bible studies. Many of you know the story already. So maybe you can help me.

A father had how many sons? "2" The youngest came to him and what did he ask for? "His share of the inheritance." Did the father give it to him? "Yes" What did he do with the money? "Spent it on extravagant living." When he had burned through his money and was destitute, he came to his senses and decided to do what? "Go Home." Did the father welcome him? "Yes, with open arms."

Everyone has an A on this test now the bonus questions: Did the older brother welcome him home? "Not at first." Many of us are familiar with the story of the prodigal, perhaps too familiar with it. For instance we call it the story of the prodigal but the word prodigal does not appear in the story? What does "prodigal" mean? It means "recklessly extravagant." We call it the prodigal "son" because the son was extravagant in his life style. The Father was also extravagant in his acceptance of the son. But they may not be the only prodigals in this story.

So to illustrate what I mean let me tell you another story.

Tom was a farmer. But he wasn't your average run of the mill farmer. His wife liked say that he was all thumbs and they were all green. Tom just had a natural affinity for growing things. He and his wife had built up the best organic farm in the state. They only used organic fertilizers and natural pest repellents. The result was that Tom's farm was known all round and the best source or organically grown fruits and vegetables. He had by far the best tomatoes in the county if not the state. Organic markets and upscale restaurants from all over did business with him. This farm was his life's work.

Tom loved his farm but if there was anything he loved more it was his kids. And working the farm meant her could spend time with them. He could take them out and they would pick tomatoes or care for the strawberries together. He tried to instill in his children his love and respect for the gifts of God and for the beauty of growing. Tom enjoyed watching plants grow and felt a huge sense of pride from his farm but he received so much more from watching his children grow.

Tom's farm wasn't the biggest farm around. In fact it was small compared to most others. He could have expanded. He had the room. There were portions that they left fallow and let grow wild. It was partially out of respect for the natural ecosystem but Tom felt no need to cultivate those areas. He always said "Quality not Quantity" so he concentrated on doing the best with what he was already doing.

All this came under attack one day when the police showed up on his doorstep with a warrant. But they didn't search the house at first. They went out to one of those undeveloped parts of the farm. And the officers came out of the woods with the evidence: Marijuana. They cuffed Tom, read him his rights and took him to the county lock-up where he was fingerprinted and held. He could lose the farm and everything he had built up.

But when the truth came out it was worse than that. The investigators soon realized that Tom was not the guilty party even though the drugs were on his land. It was his youngest son. He had been growing it a clearing and dealing at college.

Tom was cleared of all charges, but it had already been in the newspapers. His reputation in the community had been soiled. The phrase "from the Organic farm" was said with snickers and meant more than good fruits and vegetables. He even lost a few contracts because of it all. But that was nothing compared to what happened to his son. The boy was tried and sentenced to the State prison. Tom and his wife tried to visit the boy but he refused to see them. They finally stopped trying.

When the time came for his son to get out of prison Tom waited and watched. He imagined a scene like the movies where the greyhound bus pulls up the front walk and lets the wayward son off. But it didn't happen. The time of his release came and went. Tom's youngest son seemed to fall of the face of the earth.

After years of getting in and out of trouble the boy finally found himself in a hospital dying. He knew his opportunities to apologize to his parents for all he had done to them were fading quickly. He didn't even know if they would accept his apology but he had to try. He had the hospital chaplain contact Tom.

Tom made the 500 mile drive to see his son. It was a tearful reunion healing all the hurts of the years. As Tom questioned the doctors about his son's condition they said that there was a new experimental treatment. It was promising but there were no guarantees. It would require a bone marrow transplant from a suitable donor. Tom was tested immediately and was a match. It would require that they stick large needles into the largest of his bones and extract marrow. He would be sedated but he would be very sore for a few days.

They did the procedure and after months Tom's son came home. They had a huge celebration for him. Some of the other children didn't come, which disappointed Tom, but his youngest son who was lost was now home!

No, it's not the story of the "prodigal son." It lacks some of its finer points. But it was inspired by Jesus' story. Tom, the father, had been truly hurt by what his son had done to himself and others. Yet in the end he went out of his way to reach out to the boy. He even allowed them to stick needled deep into his bones to save his life.

That brings us to the other prodigal in the story: God. Jesus story is really about God's love and extravagant acceptance of us. The things that we do to hurt ourselves and each other truly hurt God, just as Tom's son's action hurt him. God loves the world He has created and had tried to teach us how to care for his garden, but we often end up growing things in it that are sinful and hurtful.

Yet the Prodigal God is always ready to welcome us back. In fact in Jesus he came to us. Some rejected him but some accepted him. And our prodigal God let them drive nails into his hands and feet to save us. We are all prodigals.

We have all extravagantly cultivated weed of sin on our lives. But God has even more extravagantly saved us. The story of the prodigal is not about some guy who lived way back in Bible times. It's about us, God's prodigal children and the love of our prodigal Heavenly Father.

Luke 15:11-32

One day some of the church folk - you know the kind: the ones always carryin' Bibles to church and wearin' ties with religious stuff written on them. Well some of these folk began complaining that Jesus was hangin' around with the wrong sort of people. And he wasn't just polite to them. He spent time with them. He even went to their houses to eat.

So Jesus told them a few stories. One was about man who had a hundred sheep and lost one. He searched for it and then rejoiced when he found it. The other was about a woman who had ten coins and lost one. She searched until she found it and she rejoiced too.

Then in conclusion he told a story that, if he had told it in our day, might have gone something like this:

Once upon a time there was a man who had two sons. They owned a family business - a hardware store: "Father and Sons Nuts and bolts." One day the younger son stormed up to his Dad in the middle of the plumbing department and said, "Drop dead old man. I am sick and tired of painting supplies and hedge trimmers and hammers and you! I need to get out of this place. Just give me my half of what this dump is worth so I can go and make somethin' of myself. That way I won't end up like you; up to my hips in toilets." Now most dad's would have taken that boy out to the wood shed to teach him a lesson. He had his choice of five models in the parking lot. He knew that even at his age he could have taken the kid and given him a righteous wuppin' that he wouldn't soon forget. But instead he took his son to the bank. There he took out a loan on half the value of the business and gave the money to his son.

Well the first thing that boy did was buy himself a brand new car and drove it to Atlantic City. Once there he stayed at the fanciest hotel and spent his days drinking and gambling. Finally one day they threw him out of the motel because he couldn't pay his bill and he had lost the car in a poker game. He was about to starve to death when he finally got a job at a chicken farm. He seriously entertained the idea of pocketing some of the chicken feed to eat later. Then it dawned on him. Even the lowliest clerk or shelf stocker at his Dad's hardware store had enough to eat and a decent wage. But how could he go back? After all the things he had said. On top of that his Dad was now paying a 20 year mortgage on a store the family had owned outright for generations and It was all his fault. Suddenly painting supplies and hammers didn't seem so bad. He made up his mind. He would go back and tell his Dad how sorry he was and ask him to take him on a shelf stocker. Maybe he would send him to the plumbing department to handle the toilets.

After thinbin' rides for a week he finally arrived at town. As he walked down the road he saw the sign over the store: "Father and Sons Nuts And Bolts." He had half expected to see the "s" taken off of "Sons" or maybe stricken with read paint. But his dad had left it there. He was standing in the street staring at the sign when his father saw him. He had been helping a customer load up some lumber. He ran across the parking lot and grabbed the boy and hugged him as hard as he could right there in the middle of the street. Before the son could say a word the father whisked him through parking lot into the store. Everywhere customers and clerks stopped what they were doing to look at the commotion. When they got inside the father grabbed the mike at the first register he could reach and said over the load speaker, "All customers and clerks this is Dad of Father and Sons. And my boy has come home!" He choked back a tear and continued. "Everything's half off!" Then the Son stopped his Father and said, "Dad I was rotten to you and I don't deserve to be called your son. I just want to be one of your employees." "Nonsense, you are my Son and you will always be no matter what you do." Then he slipped a hundred dollar bill to the assistant manager and told him to run across the street to the clothing store and get him some new clothes. Then he hollered, "Pete fire up that new industrial grill we got in last week, and send someone over to the meat market to buy up all the ribs. We're gonna have a barbeque. My son was dead and is alive."

Later that afternoon the older brother was driving the delivery truck up the street after making some deliveries. A block away he could smell the barbeque and knew that there was a party going on behind the store. He pulled the truck up beside the lumber yard and got out. One of the workers was closing up the place. So the older brother asked, "What's going on?" "It's the darndest thing, your brother came back after spending all your dad's money and the old man's throwing him a barbeque."

At that the brother blew his top. "What, do you mean my no good dead beat brother come back. We should have him arrested. And Dad is throwing him a party!?" When the Father got to the lumber yard the older brother was taking out his anger on a pile of 2 by 4's with a sledge hammer. When he saw his father he looked at him and said, "What were you thinking, throwing him a party? We're goanna' be paying off that loan until after you retire! I work my hands to the bone while he wastes your money and you never threw a party for me but you pull out all the stops for him!" The Father just shook his head and said, "My son was dead and is alive. He was lost but is found. I appreciate all that you do and there will be time to make up for the past, but your brother is home. Come and rejoice with us."

The story of the prodigal son is one of the most well known and loved of Jesus' parables. I think that is because it gets at the heart of the Christian faith. It exposes and accents the nuts and bolts of faith and makes us aware of the grace of God. We call this story "The Prodigal Son." The word "prodigal" means extravagant but perhaps a more contemporary word would be extreme. Because the son is so extravagant in his lifestyle it is called the prodigal son.

But the son is not the only one in this story that goes to extremes. It could also be called "The Prodigal Father." The Father goes to extremes of grace in welcoming the son. Any boy of mine wouldn't have gotten away with what he did. But that just shows me how much I need to grow.

Perhaps we should call the story "The Prodigal God." That is ultimately what the story is all about. God's love for us is extravagant and His grace is amazing. We rebelled against Him and yet He sent His only son to die for us. You just don't get more extreme than that!

But the story doesn't end with the grace of the father. It ends with the choice of the older son: the one who stayed at home and helped out, the one who did the right thing. Will he join the party?

Jesus tells three stories of things that were lost being found and their owners rejoicing. Then he tacks on to the last one someone who is not happy about it. Perhaps because the religious people of Jesus' day were not happy about the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus wanted them to join the party and rejoice that the lost were being found.

So "The Prodigal Son" demonstrated for us the extravagant love and grace of God. But it also invited us to join in. It invites us to show the same extravagant grace and love. And that is the nuts and bolds of faith. God has loved us with an extravagant love, so we should love others in the same extreme way!

Luke 15:11-32

I became a Father at about the same time I became a preacher. Mary was born 3 months after I arrived at my first appointment as a preacher. As my experience of Fatherhood grew my understanding of the Fatherhood of God has grown too. Being a father can be such a joy! To watch our children learn and grow. To experience the world through their eyes. But being a Father can also be frustrating. Sometimes we tell our children to do one thing and they do another. We do it for their own good but they still disobey us.

Sometimes God our Father get frustrated with us. He tells us not to worship other gods or to steal or to hate our neighbor, and then we do it. He tells us for our own good but many times God�s children still disobey.

Well our passage from Luke tells of God the Father having one of those frustrating times. God had led the children of Israel out of slavery and put them in a promised land and then they got feeling superior. When God sent his Son, Jesus, he made it a practice to minister to everyone equally; even tax collectors and sinners! Some of the religious Israelites didn�t like that. You know the type. The ones that go to church and carry their Bibles around and wear ties with religious symbols on them. Well, yeah, folks like you and me. Well, some of these religious folk didn�t like Jesus spending his time on these sinners.

So Jesus told them a story which, if he were telling it in our day, might have gone something like this:

Once there was this man who had two sons. This man owned a business with a large corporate headquarters in an industrial park out near the airport. His two sons were his partners: "Father and Son�s Inc." The younger son barge into his office one day and said, 'Drop dead old man! I�m sick and tired of this Job and I m sick and tired of you. I�m tired of waiting for you to croak so I can get mine so just give me half of you assets now." The Father could have fired the son then and there, had security escort him off the premises and then called his lawyer to have him written out of the will. But instead he called his accountant and arranged for half of his assets to be given to the boy.

Then the younger son caught the next plane to Los Vegas where he threw away his fortune on wine, lose women, and gambling. Soon the money ran out. The country was in the middle of a recession so the only job he could get was as a migrant worker. So he traveled from place to place picking crops for less than minimum wage. He was so destitute that sometimes he would put the produce he was picking in his pockets and eat it later. Then one day when the boss man was particularly mean he realized, 'My Father never treated anyone like this. Even the people in the mail room got a decent wage and benefits. I'll go home and beg him to take me on at the bottom of the ladder for I am no longer worthy to be his son.'

So the son hitchhiked home. Well the Father was looking out the window of his office when he saw a lone figure walking down the road. He quickly took the executive elevator down to the lobby and ran across the parking lot. He stopped only for a moment at the security booth to borrow a pare of binoculars. When he saw it was really his son he ran to meet him. When he got to his son he threw his arms around him and hugged him and kissed him. The boy tried to tell his father that he was unworthy to be his son and that he just wanted a job no matter how menial. But by then the security guard had caught up with them and the Father told him. Get my son some decent clothes. I have an extra Armoni in the executive wash room. Get him and executive ID and key card. Call the caterers and give everyone the afternoon off with pay! My son who was dead is alive again; he was lost but now is found.'

Now the older son had been off on a business trip was just coming back from the airport. As he pulled up to the security booth he could see through the large plate glass windows and party going on in the lobby. He though "who could they be having a party for. Maybe its for me! After all I have been picking up a few extra accounts lately. Maybe his father wanted to congratulate him." He tried not to act like he already knew what was going on when he asked the guard, "Who�s the party for?" It was a shock when the guard said, "It�s your brother. He came back earlier today and your father is throwing him a party!"

This infuriated the older brother. He had been working twice as hard to fill in for what his lazy brother had taken. "This lazy bum had thrown away half his father�s hard earned money. And now they were celebrating his return. What next!" The older brother slammed his car into park and just sat there fuming.

It wasn't long before the Father heard about it and went out to the parking lot to talk to his oldest son and to ask him to come to the party. But the oldest son said, 'Look, my whole life I have been working my fingers to the bone for you. I have haggled with vendors and gone off on trips to visit clients and close accounts. I have always done what you wanted, and never once did you throw a party for me. I am the one who deserves a party not this freeloader. He took your money and wasted it on gambling and show girls and you welcome him like the is the prince of England for heavens sakes.'

But the father said, "Look you have been with me and all that is mine is yours, and let me tell you I really do appreciate all that you have done for our family, but your brother was lost. We didn't know if he was dead of alive, but now he is found. Let's rejoice and be happy that he is alive and back home."

What was that? Oh yes, what did the older son do? Did he go join the party? Well, I don't rightly know; Jesus never said. What would you do?

I believe Jesus ended the story the way he did to make all religious folk ask themselves if they were joining the party and rejoicing when the lost are found. It is meant to make us ask what we would do and then answer by our actions. I believe Grace has chosen to join the party. Like the older brother, Grace has been hard at work taking care of the Father�s business. You have been teaching Disciples Bible Studies. You have been studying God�s Word. You have been building habitat houses. You have been helping the preacher get moved into his house. But unlike the older brother in the parable Grace has been rejoicing at people finding their way home to the father.

There are a lot of prodigal sons and daughters all through Irmo and the Columbia area. This parable tells us that the Father is looking for them to come to their senses and start the journey back home. And just like the Father in the parable God meets them in the road to help them finish the journey. And all the angels in heaven rejoice when one lost soul is saved. Grace has been reaching out into the community and rejoicing at the salvation of lost souls

I don�t know where each of you individually fit into this parable. We may have some prodigal sons and daughters here today. If that is the case let me tell you that the Father welcomes you back to his house and wants you to make yourself at home here. But to all who are rejoicing with the angels, I want you to know I am here to join the party. I want to join you in celebrating and sharing the joy our Father feels at the redemption of one lost soul. As your new pastor I want to continue to lead you in seeking the lost and rejoicing in the found.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Truly I tell you, the Kingdom of God is like a Prince who comes upon a man sick and dying. Taking pity on the man the Prince orders his servants to pick him up. Then he orders his physicians to care for the man and nurse him back to health. When the man is healthy the prince orders that proper robes be made for him. The prince learns that the man has no family so he adopts him and makes him his heir. Discovering that the man is uneducated the prince orders the royal teachers to train him to read and write. Finally, realizing he is without employment, the Prince makes him an ambassador for his court.

One day this "pauper made royal ambassador" was traveling about fulfilling his duty of representing his Lord. And he came upon a man in a condition similar to his own previous condition: naked, hungry, homeless, and friendless. After taking a good look at the man he realized that he knew him. This man had been one of his acquaintances in his previous life. They had shared their sorrow and helplessness as they suffered.

At first this acquaintance did not recognize the ambassador as his friend. When he finally did he exclaimed, "But you are a different man, how did this happen? When I knew you, you were weak and frail, now you are strong and powerful! Before you had no hope, now your life is so hopeful. What did you do to accomplish this transformation?" The Ambassador explained to his old friend, "I didn�t do it! The Prince my Lord nursed me back to health and made me what I am. I am a different man, but it is not my own doing. Left on my own I would be where you are, but the Prince made me his royal Ambassador." Then the ambassador did for the dying man what his Lord had done for him.

This parable puts in story form the essence of what Paul is saying to us in this passage from 2 Corinthians. In the parable a Prince found a man sick to the point of death. In reality that is how Christ comes to us. He is the Prince of heaven: royalty from another realm. And like the sick man, we were dying if not already dead of the illness called "sin." Because we had been separated from God our source of life we were without hope.

Prince Jesus could have just ridden by. After all he is the King of Kings. Like any prince I am sure he had earth-shaking matters to attend to. But we needed him, so he stopped and took pity on us. We were dying from sin, so he cleansed and healed us. We were alone, so he adopted us. We were naked, so he clothed us in righteousness. We were ignorant, so he gave us his Word and the training of the Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote, "All this is a gift from God who through Christ reconciles us. (2 Cor. 5:18) He also wrote, "For our sake God made to become sin the one who knew no sin." God sent Christ to reach out to us because we were separated from God. We were doomed, so the prince of Glory took on the sin of the world for us. And through his action he clothed us in righteousness.

In the parable of the prince and the sick man, the prince transformed the man. In the beginning of the parable the man was dying and helpless, without hope. But at the end he was a royal ambassador for his Prince and an heir of the royal dominion. He no longer wore rags; instead he wore fine silk clothes. He no longer lay in the gutter; instead he rode on a horse. He no longer, lay sick, ignorant, and hopeless. Instead he was strong, educated and full of promise.

What made the difference? It was the Prince. He worked the transformation. It was not the man who healed himself and fed himself. It was the prince who reached down and lifted the man out of his hopelessness. And in the end, one would hardly recognize him.

Paul said, "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old has passed away - the new has come."(2 Cor. 5:17) In the same way God transforms us. God takes us, as hopeless, sin sick people, and changes us. Once we were separated from God, orphans in a hostile world, but Christ reconciled us to God. He makes us heirs to the fortunes or glory that our Heavenly Father desires to gave us. Now we are children of God; something we were not before. Through Christ, God has taken us and remade us into something new and wonderful.

In the parable, the man became ambassador for his Prince. An ambassador is one who represents a Ruler to the other countries. An ambassador must be fiercely loyal. He or she must know the wishes and interests of the one who sent them. The ambassador is the spokesperson for that ruler before the people of the world. And that was this mans new job.

Paul writes, "We are ambassadors for Christ, God making appeal through us. (2 Cor. 5:20) Elsewhere the Bible says we are a royal priesthood. It is the same idea. God saved us in Christ so that we could be God�s representatives before the people of the world. Christ reconciled us to God and now gives us the task of reconciling others to their maker.

Remember how the ambassador in our parable carried out his duties? When he came upon a man in the same circumstances he had been he took pity on him, just as his Lord had. And he told him what his Lord had done for him. We are called to do the same. As royal ambassadors we are sent out to represent God�s interests in the world. What are God�s interests? Love, mercy, peace, righteousness. We are sent out to let people know that they can be reconciled to their Heavenly Father.

We were all helpless and hopeless. Dead in our trespasses when Christ came to us. And out of mercy Christ picked us up and cared for us. He nursed us back to health and clothed us. He slowly transformed us from orphans in the world to children of God and ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now we are called to that same ministry. If Christ can do that to us, then God can do that in others.

As ambassadors it is our job to take that good news to everyone. It is not the church�s job. Jesus did not command boards and agencies and committees. He commanded disciples. And don�t think it�s the job of the one at the other end of the pew. It�s your job. Go into the world and when you come upon someone tell them that Jesus loves them and that God wants to adopt them. Tell them through your actions as well as your words. They may not hear what you say, but they cannot miss it when you live out Gods love for them.

You know it�s difficult for one nation to communicate with another. Often times they must wait for the ambassador from the other country to speak to know what the true intent of that country is. We may think we know what France or England or Russia will do, but we are never sure until we hear from that country's representative. That is how the world is. They are unsure about God and Christ. And they are afraid. You are God�s representative, and until you speak of God�s grace and love and forgiveness they are in the dark. God has saved us. Not so we can sit on our salvation. God saved us so we could go and tell others that salvation is theirs if they will only accept it.