Lent 4C 04

by Thomas N. Rightmyer

Toward the end of the First World War a young Swiss working with
adolescents in a psychiatric hospital noticed characteristically
different responses to a popular game of blotto – ink blots on paper.
Hermann Rorschach published his findings in 1921, but died, age 37, the
next year. From his work others developed a projective psychological
instrument. Almost 40 years ago I was examined before ordination with the
Rorschach ink blots. 

The parable we read as today’s Gospel is a spiritual Rorschach ink blot.
We project our story into the Biblical story. We have all been there, and
done that. We sometimes identify with the younger prodigal son, or with
the waiting and welcoming father, or with the angry and resentful elder
brother. The story has become part of the language, and while it becomes
richer and deeper as we meditate on it, it can also be so familiar that
we find in it nothing new.

Three points rise up today from the story. First: the prodigal did waste
his substance; he spent his capital and came to repentance. Second: the
waiting father welcomed his repentant son to new life. Third: the
self-righteous elder brother was also called to repentance and new life. 

The prodigal did waste his substance; he spent his capital and came to
repentance. I read a few years ago about Horace Madison in New York who
is hired by hip-hop stars to manage their money. He limits their credit
cards to $3,000. When they call to ask for a large sum of money for some
new extravagance, he sends them "the stupid letter," in which they
acknowledge that this is a stupid transaction and that he has told them
its financial consequences. While I haven’t spent like a hip-hop star,
I’ve made some stupid mistakes, disregarding good advice from parents and
friends, and I deal with the consequences. 

We all deal with the consequences of our own prodigal life – the
consequences of missed opportunities, the consequences of broken
relationships, the consequences that are our own fault. Whining and
complaining and blaming doesn’t really help us deal with our individual
prodigal waste. We also participate in a prodigal society. But whining
and complaining and blaming doesn’t really help us deal with the prodigal
waste in our society. 

What does deal with prodigal waste is repentance. The prodigal took a job
feeding pigs, and in his hunger remembered the food at his parents’
table. The prodigal came to repentance, turned around and headed home.

When I lived in Durham I used to go Saturday mornings with men and women
from several churches to visit the prisoners in the county jail. We gave
them Bibles and spiritual reading materials and greeting cards, and we
prayed with those who asked prayer. Some still tried to con us, but
others had come to a place of repentance and were ready to listen to one
repentant sinner showing another new life in Jesus. 

Second: the waiting father welcomed his son to new life. The repentant
prodigal went home, not knowing how he would be received, but trusting in
the father’s love. His father "was filled with compassion" and "ran and
put his arms around him" to welcome him home. God our heavenly father
shows us repentant prodigals compassion and welcomes us home. All major
religions witness to God’s compassion. We all desire mercy. But God also
gives from his compassion to us who are parents and friends of prodigals
his spirit of compassion. We celebrate repentance and greet it with
forgiveness and welcome. We can all identify ourselves as prodigal sons;
by God’s grace we can also be loving and compassionate fathers. 

We welcome prodigals with reasonable prudence. Good habits need time to
replace bad habits. It is hard for prodigals to learn to save, and to
tithe. But we can grow in God’s love and grace, as we allow God to work
in our hearts, and minds, and lives.

Third: the self-righteous elder brother was also called to repentance and
new life. We are prodigal sons, and compassionate and loving fathers, and
also self-righteous and condemning elder brothers. We’ve all been filled
one time or another with anger, and with envy, and with self-pity. "You
never gave me a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends." 

We’ve also yielded to the temptation to blame and to project our own dark
side on others. The older son complained, "this son of yours devoured
your living with prostitutes." In Greek it says, "huios sou kataphagon
sou ton bion meta pornon." You can hear him spit it out in rage. And it
wasn’t so. The father’s son is our brother. The father divided the
property; the older brother was heir to everything. And there’s no
previous reference to prostitutes. They were the projection of the older
son’s dark side.

The Greek pronoun is translated in the King James Version I grew up on as
"harlots." The modern translations have "prostitutes." The word is found
over 200 times in the Bible, 70 times in the New Testament. The
temptation to sexual immorality is strong, and the consistent teaching of
the bible is that sex is a gift of God to be enjoyed by a man and a woman
in marriage. The misuse of the sexual gift has been a moral and
theological problem for a long time. And the older son is throwing it up
like dust in the air out of his own projected anger. 

Beware of blame like the older son’s blame, "this son of yours devoured
your living." And beware of projection like the older son’s projection of
sexual immorality. We can project on others as the older son is doing,
and we can also be objects of others’ projection. Why do you think the
clergy wear white clothes – so we can see the projection more clearly.

But the father will have none of this, no blame, no projection, just
love. "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."

We are all welcomed as members of the family at the feast. Some Lutheran
Churches at the beginning of the service sing in place of Gloria in
excelsis sing a canticle that begins, (Hymn 417) "This is the feast of
victory for our God. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!" It is a paraphrase of
Revelation 5:12-13. 

I want to leave you with the image of the feast of victory, the joyful
gathering of all the people of God, all the redeemed sinners, all the
prodigals, all the elder brothers, all the saints, all those who have
gone before us through the gate of death to take their seats at the
feast, all of us rejoicing in Jesus’ victory, and sharing
how that victory has born fruit in our repentance and faith. Amen. 

(Comments to Tom at trightmy@juno.com.)