"A man had two sons . . .": Repentance and the "and" of Salvation ~ Luke 15:11-32 (Short Stories Jesus Told series)

With most parables, one of the worst things one can do is to try and explain it. An overly explained parable is like someone endlessly talking through a movie – you lose the power and joy of it. Yet it’s tempting to dive deep into the weeds of the parable, to look under every pig and pod and extricate meaning and unintentionally wreck Jesus’ beautiful story with endless underlines and footnotes. And while looking at the Mona Lisa through microscope might help you know more about the painting itself. It won’t help you see it, might even distort it. I want to help you see our parable today not know it better. Because by seeing it you will be able to do what it calls you to do – repent. And that means to better see yourself and God. Our story begins . . .

“A man had two sons” – which son are you?
This is probably the worst named parable. The very beginning challenges the whole title – The prodigal son. Because there wasn’t only one son but two. And one son doesn’t mean much. But two sons – uh, oh! That’s Biblical code for juicy drama. Did he just say, “two sons”? Two sons? That’s a recipe for murder and mayhem like Cain and Abel, of rivalry and banishment like Ishmael and Isaac, of trickery and favoritism like Esau and Jacob, of blessing and comparison like Manasseh and Ephraim. Yikes. But, at this point, every listener knew two things when they heard “two sons”: 1) this was going to a white-knuckled, pulp fiction like drama; and 2) you should identify with the younger son. “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one . . .” Yep. You wanted to be the younger one because that’s the one who was going to win, going to be blessed, expected to prevail. Abel, not withstanding (at least he was the dead hero), all of the younger ones – despite cultural conventions which gave priority and status to the oldest – were the ones blessed and chosen by God. But yikes – what kind of son is this? Jesus tricks us. This can’t be right – for the younger son was an irresponsible, self-indulgent, self-centered, sinner. “That cannot be the son who is blessed,” some must have thought. Others, however, “the tax collectors and sinners” who were listening must have recognized – that’s the son I have been.
And this son does terrible things and comes to a horrifying conclusion, “I’m dying.” He is brought to the beginning of confession – where he sees clearly the terrible state he finds himself in. And no one had to say to him, “You idiot!” No one needs to. And so he surmises that he should just go home and that it was better to be a slave in his father’s house than a son with the pigs. And so he head’s off for home.

A man had two sons. Repent!

With his rehearsed confession – the younger son heads home only to be surprised by his father. The Father ran “threw his arms around him and kissed him.” He “kisses” him [kataphileo] with the same fervor that the woman who “showed great love” kissed Jesus’ feet at the home of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:38, 45).
He discovers that we are not forgiven because we make ourselves forgivable or even because we feel bad; we are forgiven solely because there is a Forgiver who “runs and kisses.” Confession is not some transaction or negotiation to secure our forgiveness – it is merely waking up to the fact that we can go “home” and that Dad is ever ready to receive us. So I want to talk about a dusty, old, potentially boring, often feared, word – repentance, and bring it to our story.
Repentance isn’t accomplished when we first realize our need, our hunger, our pain. It doesn’t occur when we imagine that we're bad, or broken, or even mistaken. It “happens” when we repent and realize that God, our Father, is FOR us. It happens when we acknowledge that God is generous and then become dumbstruck by how much. He recognized he was lost but that’s not repentance. Repentance may be one of the more misunderstood words in the Biblical canon and misleadingly conjures up feelings of self-loathing, unworthiness, even terror. So now it’s time for the Greek of the Week. “Repentance” in Greek is metanoiete which is the joining of two words, meta (beyond) and nous (mind or spirit), and thus it means something like “go beyond the mind that you have.” The English word “repent” has a moralizing tone, suggesting a change in behavior, whereas Jesus’ use hints at a change on a far more fundamental level of one’s being. His call to repentance through the parables urges us to change our way of knowing, our way of perceiving and grasping who we are and who God is. When this is understood we recognize that the younger son’s confession wasn’t the whole story – couldn’t be the whole of repentance. The Son rightly knew he was in trouble but wrongly thought he was something “less,” something “no longer.” He wrongfully believed that his bad choices and sinful actions reflected the most important thing about him. But deeper than being sorry for his own actions, true repentance began when he “came to his senses” and remembered that the father was kind and generous and repentance finished when he encountered the kissing father and he learned he wasn’t less. The Apostle Paul understood Jesus - it’s God kindness that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). God’s repentance plan involves God running, kissing, and giving a “best” robe, a dazzling ring, the fattened calf, and a spectacular party. The video of Jim Wolf, a veteran of the U.S. Army who was offered a makeover is a helpful analogy (you can watch the link by clicking HERE). 

 

Through grace he sees himself differently which, in turn, leads to transformation. Repentance occurs when you see yourself as God sees you. That’s what it means to be “found" - to discover that you are lost but not less.

A man had two sons – which son are you?
The hammer has just been dropped for the first? What? He didn’t get way-laid, punished, or but was celebrated. And that’s the real rub, isn’t it? Forgiveness isn’t so bad when it’s offered to others with an icy stare, a glass of water, and crust of bread. But a party? And the older, moral, hard-working son – who had done nothing wrong – well, it turns out that he needs to repent too, needs to go beyond the mind he has. And what was that mind? Well, it was a competitive spirituality of saints and sinners, losers and winners. It was a spirituality of reward for the dutiful and punishment for the rest- or at least a “what comes around goes around” option. It’s a vision which wants wayward sons to be servants and a forgiveness that doesn’t “eat” with bad-choice people. It was a spirituality of “or” and a “refusal to go in.”
A man had two sons. So give up your “or”, embrace an “and” and let’s party.
An element often overlooked by the title The Prodigal Son is that the Father not only had two sons but loved two sons, went out to two sons (vs. 20, 28), and was generous to two sons (12, 22, 31). Perhaps it is because of the competitive rather than cooperative spirit of our society that we must imagine there must be losers if there are winners. It is so difficult not to think Jews or Gentiles, poor or rich, gay or straight, saint or sinner, tax collector or Pharisee, Republican or Democrat, younger son or older son. But God is both/and not either/or. Such is God’s love and if we let go of our syrupy notions – it’s difficult to not be offended by God’s grace toward those I don’t like, and think don’t deserve it. And God’s grace doesn’t just let them in to hide in the corner but wants them to come out on the dance floor, eat the food, laugh and play games.
There is one difference between the two sons. Both sons were lost and loved – that’s true. We know that the younger one – the reprobate went in. We don’t know about the older one – we’re left hanging in a Cliffhanger-like way. Will he join the party? Vs. 28 may be the most significant difference between the two brothers (not their moral choices but their responses to grace): forgiven sinners don’t have to be “pleaded with” to come in. Obedient sons often do. Does God have to plead with you to join the party? Salvation is not ultimately about religion or spirituality or morality any other solemn subject; it’s about God having a good time and just itching to share it. Your inability to accept that doesn’t change the party, doesn’t cancel the invitations, won’t ruin the cake, doesn’t turn away the guests. It will only leave you on the “outs” and looking in. Join the party. If you are the younger son, come home. We can only  have church, only see this parable, only understand God, when both sons are under the same roof.

The Hardest Parable ~ Luke 16:1-13 (Short Stories Jesus Told series)

Over a week ago, the Governor of Georgia shocked and thrilled many when he ordered that drivers who only took the written test, could be awarded driver’s licenses without taking the actual driving test. While it made many 16-year-olds happy it was not welcomed by everyone. The concern, of course, is that you can have the knowledge and yet still not know how to drive or drive well. And good test will test what you’ve learned, of course, as well as how to apply it. That’s what Jesus’ parable of the Dishonest Manager suggests to us today. That you might talk a good game and revel in grace but still not know how live it out – generously and abundantly. And the test for grace might surprise us. The driving test for grace isn’t so much a test about your prayer life, or a theological exam, but a test about money, generosity and welcome. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ “hardest” parable.

The Parable of the Dishonest manager is a prodigal parable.

Vs. 15:1-2 is the setting for three parables that we are very familiar with  - the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost boy or Prodigal son and then immediately following our parable today. Jesus, according to Luke, doesn’t take a breath and wants to tell us not three but five stories about God’s generosity and grace.

It’s amazing to consider that when Jesus wants to talk about the grace of the kingdom – “money” or something of material value features prominently – sheep, coins, paid labor, lavish parties, etc.. Furthermore, the Prodigal and our manager are linked because both “wasted” or “squandered property” (c.f. 15:13 & 16:1). Both are guilty and their prodigalness is expressed by self-centered selfishness and wasting money only on themselves. And both characters also experience welcome through generosity (c.f.  15:29-30 & 16:9).

I guess the truth I’m trying to suggest that Jesus’ parables seem to unmask us with an unexpected question. How often do you imagine that your story of faith or testimony is best answered by the question: “Tell me your story about money.” The context for our discipleship is not merely prayer and Bible reading, Jesus tells us time and time again, but also dollars and generosity.

When we return to our parable today it’s a doozy. And I want to confess that I have more questions than answers, more puzzles than pictures, more wrestling than well-thought out theology. And that part troubled me until I remembered – that’s the point.

If the parable of the Dishonest manager is a prodigal parable then it’s a puzzle and test is about how well we understand and express grace on the other side of discipleship. Jesus tells this story specifically to “disciples” in vs. 16:1 - a crazy story about a dishonest manager. It was intentionally meant to shock. So what does “grace” look like on the other side for those of us who follow Jesus? And let me spare you any doubt – this manager IS dishonest. Jesus will reiterate that in vs. 8 so we can’t, as some commentators are want to do, explain away his actions as merely reducing his own extravagant percentage on top of what is owed. And that has freaked out a lot of Christians who don’t like the thought –because they imagine that Jesus is encouraging dishonest or fraudulent behavior – he’s not. He’s connecting our use of money toward others with our understanding of the welcome of salvation. But here’s the rub – I am the dishonest manager, you are too. I have “wasted” possessions, I have. And I will give account – you will too. The “give an account” (16:2) in the New Testament is language for two things: both testimony and judgment (Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 4:5; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 3:15). – Our Christian witness, in other words, and God’s assessment of our lives involve a look at our money. It is the fact that we will stand before the God of the Good Samaritan, the God of the Workers of the Vineyard, the God who owns thousands of cattle on a thousand hills, the God of the Poor, and give an account on how we used his stuff and treated ones he loves. Our use of money is worship and evangelism and testifies to the world what we believe. And if that puts a pit in your stomach – that’s okay. It does me too.

If you are worried – listen to Jesus. I know that vss. 8-9 are strange. Is Jesus telling us that we earn our salvation by being generous to the poor? If you follow a certain logic it can almost seem that way. However, I think it’s helpful to remember that he is telling this to disciples who are already believers. So maybe the wisdom Jesus want us to attain is the realization that it’s not so much that money saves but that how you handle money reveals how well you understand salvation by grace. If every day people understand that giving money helps create friendship and welcome then how much more should those of us who are believers understand the power of money given graciously. What if the real enemy of grace might not be works but greed? That’s the very suggestion of Jesus’ ending statements about wealth and spirituality. By the way, friends, as far as I’m aware of, Jesus never talks this way about Bible reading or prayer! When the kingdom is our treasure, we switch from hoarding to giving. When we elevate kingdom priorities and keep our end in mind we liberally share our wealth. And in the process we not only restore and liberate the poor but also ourselves. Grace is fully understood when we recognize that we are also responsible for being generous to others as friends. We begin to realize that the enemy of grace is greed.

I know it’s hard. Don’t laugh.

That’s what the Pharisees do when Jesus finishes his story, it tells us in vs. 16:14-15. They made fun of such an idea to “justify” themselves. Friends, I don’t believe that this parable is so difficult to understand – that grace, money, and our belief about the next life work and flow from the same place. This parable is hard for one reason. I don’t want to do it. I’m not even sure always what to do. I certainly don’t want to connect my spending to my spirituality. I want my Christianity to be about my Bible not my wallet, my worship on Sunday and not my budget on Monday.

But this is still a parable. It’s okay to be troubled, perplexed, off-kilter, even a bit unsure. Jesus does not offer us a rule, a guideline or even policies that we can either follow slavishly or utterly dismiss. He tells us a story that reveals how interconnected and complicated following God can be. Wrestling is a proper response of anyone who would wish to live such a story. Clearly Luke understood that the issues of wealth and poverty are complex, that anxiety about money is a disease among both those who have it and those who do not, and that a generous sharing of one’s goods can free one from the danger to the soul which money can be. So you can struggle with it – just don’t laugh. Struggling means you’re on the right track. Scoffing doesn’t.

But what can you do? What’s one thing that you might do as a disciple who believes that money and theology connect?  What’s a regular act that would show you don’t love money and that surprises people with money as an act of grace? Can you imagine what our world would be like, think of us, if the church acted like that? So be a disciple. Be like Austin Perine (pee-rhine). This is my “living commentary” for you. Below is a link to a short 3 min. YouTube video. I want to encourage you to watch it, to inspire you to be generous as God is generous. If we live as the shrewd manager we will befriend our city with the grace of God regularly in ways that show true sacrifice, real love and gracious dollars. No one, not even a Pharisee, can truly scoff at that.
 To watch the Austine Perine video click HERE.