The Lost Son

160 years is a very long time. Today we celebrate the fact that the Christian community of which we are a continuing part, began in Greensborough that long ago. That was a Wesleyan Methodist Church, but that Church has a direct line of decent to what we now call Living Faith Church. Before the beginning of the Uniting Church in Australia, that Methodist Church combined with the Presbyterian Church to become the United Church in Greensborough, and later when union occurred Congregationalists were also welcome in the new Uniting Church. Finally, nearly four years ago, Living Faith Church began because the Church of Christ congregation joined in cooperation with the Uniting Church. So we are all linked to this 160 year history and it is good that we should celebrate.

You will notice that our history is one of welcome and inclusion of Christian people from a variety of denominations. We have seen how flexible this community can be in the development of Living Faith Church and it is a credit to us all.

Today we are looking at one of Jesus parables about inclusion in the Kingdom of God. The Prodigal Son is one of the best know parables in the Bible. You can’t understand it without looking back to the beginning of the chapter (Luke 15) where Jesus is criticised by the Pharisees and Lawyers for including in his friendship group various outcasts and sinners. He them tells three stories; The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Lost Son. All three illustrate Jesus’ mission of seeking out the lost and bringing them into God’s Kingdom. Even though the prodigal son wished his father dead by asking for his inheritance, and even though the son was culturally dead because of what he had done, when the son returns, the father breaks all the rules to restore him to his original place. He is completely restored. This means that he again has an inheritance. Suddenly we are struck by a paradox and a seeming injustice. Even though the father tells the older son that “everything I have is yours”, we begin to realise that everything he has is also for the prodigal as well. That doesn’t seem fair. Is the older son’s share to be divided again to benefit his brother? We are left with a puzzle. It is a paradox because the story is not about a property inheritance at all, but the Kingdom of God, which can’t be divided like that and is available in totality to all. Yes, the story is about how far God goes to forgive and include his failing children. He wants all to belong and is prepared to break all the laws of legalistic justice to bring that about.

At the end of the story we have the big switch. While the younger son put himself outside his father’s home, when he returns he is greeted with forgiveness, restoration and a great celebration. Now the older son puts himself outside his father’s home because he will not participate in the forgiveness and restoration. He will not celebrate that. Now the younger son is inside and the older is outside and we are left to wonder which son is lost.

People of God’s Kingdom and Jesus mission are those who deliberately put themselves out there to help lost people find entry points into God’s Kingdom. They will include anyone and everyone (especially the very different) who finds their way home or who can be brought home by loving caring Christians. And they all celebrate together.

I pray that the future of Living Faith Church will continue the theme of welcome and inclusion, especially for those we might find difficult to include. I don’t want to be out there with the older brother.

Adrian.