Readings and sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

 

Here are this Sunday's readings and sermon. The video will follow when it is available.

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First Reading:  Joshua 5:9-12 A reading from the Book of Joshua The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year. The Word of the Lord.

Psalm:  Psalm 32 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Second Reading:  2 Corinthians 5:16-21 A Reading from Paul’s Second letter to the Corinthians From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The Word of the Lord

Gospel:  Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” This is the Gospel of the Lord.

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But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

·        Have any of you heard of a “flash mob”?

·        It’s a surprise concert or performance. A few days ago, I watched one where a single musician in white tie and tail coat stood still with a bass violin in a city square. A young girl came up and put a coin in the hat on the ground. The man began to play his bass and was soon joined by a cellist and the theme was the finale of Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony, the “Ode to Joy.” Over the next few minutes, the rest of the orchestra came out of shops and alleyways and they all – including a choral group – finished the piece to great applause. Quite a surprise for the little girl and her coin. Surely not what anyone expected.

·        This parable, one of the most beloved in the Gospels, is somewhat like this. A surprise that goes against all the wisdom and usual behavior we’ve ever known. After all, the younger son’s plan was a good one: work hard as a farm hand until he earned his way into Dad’s good graces again. At least he’d have enough to eat!

·        But that wasn’t to be. At his first sight of the boy ‘way up the road, Dad came a-running. That is not how an older man, the head of the family, or a respected landowner should behave. Before the boy could speak his rehearsed request, the father hugs and kisses him, dresses him in the finest clothes, puts the signet ring on his finger, and called the caterer for a huge feast.

·        We know of course that Jesus is talking about God and forgiveness rather than family dynamics. So then is God a “push-over”? Shouldn’t there be some serious negotiation over the particulars of being reconciled to the family? Isn’t that what we’d do?

·        Let’s face it; we might be more comfortable with God as a brutal task-master, a punisher of sin and infidelity. If we put ourselves in the role of the returning son, then we might spend our days wondering when the other shoe would drop, when the father would lower the boom. That could be a sort of living hell.

·        In normal human terms, what the father in the story has done is ridiculous. If we heard of this on the evening news, we’d be shocked and might shake our heads in disbelief at the shear irresponsibility of it all.

·        Maybe, just maybe, we’d rejoice at the reconciliation and generosity found here. Maybe, we’d rejoice at the ridiculousness when we see the outcome.

·        No “maybe” involved; this is how God treats people who are turning from sin to God. I think we can see why the tax collectors and so-called sinners took such joy in having a meal with Jesus. It shocked and angered the “right” and “proper” people, so that’s why Jesus told this parable.

·        God asks for change, so the prodigal father watched for his lost son. The boy didn’t earn his forgiveness or his reconciliation to the family. (The elder son certainly wasn’t interested.) Yet that forgiveness and reconciliation was given.

·        In the video I watched, the little girl was given an unexpected gift and excellent concert when she dropped a coin in what she saw as a busker’s hat on the ground. The silly younger son, who at first acted as if his father was dead, receives far more than he expected.

·        If sinners like us turn to find forgiveness, what we find is our God waiting with open arms, eager to welcome us home. Not waiting for us to change, but welcoming us so we might change. Always the surprise is waiting.

But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.