Lent 4

Lent 4 by Andy Oren
(Author's Note: On Monday night one of my parishioners and I were sitting in a local coffeeshop when a masked gunman came in and ordered us to the floor. He took my wallet and then robbed the register. Thankfully, nobody panicked and he was on his way in less than two minutes although it seemed like two hours!)
  • There was a young man who had the good fortune of inheriting $250,000 from the estate of his late uncle. Well, this was like pennies from heaven and the young man quickly embarked on living his wildest dreams and before a year was up, all the money was gone. So, hat in hand, he went to his father to tell him he needed money for his college tuition. The father asked in astonishment, "What did you do with all that money?" "Well," the son confessed, "I spent $60,000 on a new sports car, and $20,000 taking my girlfriend to Tahiti on spring break. I went through about $75,000 on our Las Vegas weekend and I spent $15,000 hosting a party at my fraternity." The father did some quick math and said, "Well, that still leaves $80,000." The boy thought for a moment and said, "Well, I guess I must have just spent that foolishly"!
That might be a good modern day version of at least part of this morning's gospel reading. It is, of course, "The Story of the Prodigal Son". At least that's the title we are most familiar with but if we listen closely to the story we know that title is a bit mis-leading. The story is really about the father's great love for not only this prodigal son but also for "the other son." Someone once said this is "the greatest short story ever told". So let's listen in once again and maybe we will hear or sense something new. But first we have to set the stage a bit. Remember that Jesus had a bit of a reputation for hanging out with unsavory characters and pretty much your basic low-lifes. Barbara Brown Taylor writes that in those days, sinners were considered to fall into one of five different categories. There were those folks who did the dirtiest jobs for a living such as pig farmers and tax collectors; there were truly bad people such as thieves, adulterers and liars; there were those who didn't keep "the Law" up to the high standards of the religious authorities; there were the Samaritans, or mixed-race folks or pretty much anyone who looks different than you or I do and finally there were the gentiles, the non-believers. So picture Jesus sitting down at the big table over at Johnny V's with a group that might include a migrant worker, a trash collector, a crack addict, an abortion doctor, a young man with aids and maybe an unmarried woman with five kids from three different fathers. Oh, and representing those folks who don't always exactly follow the law completely, there is a chair for you. And there is Jesus passing around the coffee pot and making sure everyone is getting enough of that good Italian bread. And then in comes the West Allis Clergy group for their monthly lunch. They sit down at the table across from the other. These religious authorities are nice people. They all have good teeth and no dirt under their fingernails and when their food comes they hold hands and pray together. But they just can't keep there eyes off of Jesus and his table of loud-mouthed folks none of whom they thankfully recognize as coming from their own congregations. That's basically the scene when the Pharisees challenge Jesus with the words, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them". And we know that Jesus responds with a series of parables. First he asks them if they would not go in search of a lost sheep, even when they have 99 others. And then he tells them about the woman who searched long and hard for a missing coin, even though she had nine others. But those are sort of abstract ideas so Jesus gives one more example and this time he cuts to the very heart of the matter. '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." It seems our young man has forgotten all about the fifth commandment, "Honor your father and your mother" for he is literally treating his father as if he were already dead. And surprisingly the father complies with his son's request for we read, "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 foolish 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 slop that the pigs were eating for he was so hungry; but 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. For some of us at least I think we can identify with a time in our lives when partying seemed to be our most important if not only activity. We had friends who only seemed to be our friends as long as the booze and drugs lasted. Some people get so trapped in this downward spiral and never are able to break free. This young man at least came to his senses before it was too late. He would return home and throw himself on his father's mercy, not in hopes of regaining his place in the family but simply to be allowed to live and work as any other hired hand. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are told that, "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. The father's excitement at seeing his son again is so great that he doesn't even seem to hear the words of apology and regret coming from his son's mouth. I think this is one of the points in the story when we all mentally think about whether or not we have that capability of compassion and love within us. After all, we all believe the wayward should be welcomed back in the fold. But I'm afraid we also tend to think they should be put on bread and water for awhile and accumulate a suitable amount of guilt for all the sleepless nights they caused us before we really let them off the hook. Well, don't worry because we are not alone in that way of thinking. "Now the 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. The slave replied, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound." Then the son became angry and refused to go into the house. 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 wasted your money on prostitutes; you kill 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." We know that Jesus told this story in hopes that the Pharisees would recognize themselves as that self-righteous older brother. I believe that Jesus hoped that the Pharisees would sense the hardness of their own hearts and recognize that Jesus was showing them how to really love all of God's children. But we know that's not what happened. We know that the Pharisees refused to see the truth of Jesus' parables and instead they conspired to kill him. As we move through these last days of Lent and approach again another Good Friday we often find ourselves asking, "Just why did Jesus have to die?" Encounters like these with the Pharisees help us to understand at least why he was seen as such a threat to the established order of things. So where are we in this story? The wayward son? The obstinate older brother? The loving parent? It seems that everyone in this story was "lost" in some way or another. The anger and resentment of the older brother has certainly put him at odds with the family. The father mourns the behavior of both of his sons and yet loves them both. And we must not forget that this is in fact a parable meant to reflect the whole community. The modern day applications are probably endless. Think of the immigrant rights movement so dear to Jeanne's heart. Much of white America is standing like that older brother, angry that others are getting what we felt was reserved for us. And certainly one of the father's greatest qualities depicted in this story is that of forgiveness. That's something I've been thinking about a lot this week, thanks to our little encounter Monday night. Our Wednesday noon group has been working through a little book called Becoming Jesus' Prayer and oddly enough this week we focused on forgiveness as in "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". We read this week about Farmers Chapel United Methodist Church in Iowa. This 107-year old church was burned to the ground by an arsonist in September of 2000. The pastor of that church wrote an open letter to this unknown arsonist and it was published in the local paper. It read in part: "Our worship time is 9:00 a.m. every Sunday. I tell you this because I want you to know that you are invited. Our faith has a lot to say about forgiveness. Every Sunday we ask God to forgive our sins but only as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. That would be you. So if you would join us for worship, we could practice this forgiveness face to face. I say "practice" because I don't expect we'll get it right the first or even the second time. Of course we'll continue to work to forgive you even if you decline our invitation to worship. Forgiveness is the cornerstone of our faith. Some people think it is impossible and they may be right. I only know that we have to try. Our forgiveness of you is tied to God's forgiveness of us. We can't receive something we are not willing to give to others. So you see, if we harbor hatred for you in our hearts, we also harbor the smoldering ashes of your arson. If we cling to bitterness, we only fan the embers of your violent act. If we fantasize about revenge, we rekindle a destructive flame which will consume us all. Forgiveness may indeed be impossible but for us it is not optional." Reading this story has prompted me to write my own little "open letter". It will probably appear in Jim Stingl's column in this coming Wednesday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I'd like to share it with you first.
An open letter to "The Bay View Bandit"
I'm sorry to give you such a flamboyant title but you have to understand that even though we met the other night at Starbucks, we haven't been formerly introduced. Actually, you have me at quite a disadvantage. Since you have my wallet you know who I am but I don't know you. I have been giving a lot of thought to just who you might be and why it is that you are doing the things you are doing but obviously only you know the answer to that question. If you looked through my wallet you'll know that I am a United Methodist pastor which explains why there wasn't much cash in the wallet. Sorry about that. But because I am a pastor maybe I look at this whole experience a little differently. While your actions have been, to be quite frank, rather despicable, I'm not ready to write you off just yet. I have to believe there is something driving you that I don't believe will ever be satisfied no matter how much money you feed it. So far you've been lucky. From what I can piece together from news reports it doesn't appear that you have physically harmed anyone although the emotional trauma is something that cannot be measured. You've been "successful" so far but sooner or later you are going to slip up and someone is going to get hurt or you're going to get yourself killed. No amount of money is worth either of those outcomes. So I beg you to stop, to stop before it's too late. I don't think anyone starts out in life intending to do the things you have been doing. Something is behind your actions and it may well be something you would like to see stop but you don't know how to make that happen. So for what it's worth, here's my offer. Should you turn yourself in, I will walk with you through whatever consequences you will face and I will do everything in my power to get you the help you need to deal with whatever it is you are struggling with. As a person of faith I'm challenged to live my beliefs. Ideas like unconditional love and forgiveness may not always come easily but they also don't leave me any choice in how to respond to you. The only choice is yours. Andy Oren Pastor Faith United Methodist Church I realize that many people will see this letter as a waste of good newsprint. That it is just so much foolish idealism. And yet. What if. Jesus' parable ends with the older son still standing angry outside the home. We don't know if he went in to join the party or if he stays apart from the whole. I believe he still has an opportunity to return to community, to come home. So it is with the young man to whom my letter is addressed. I may not be his father but I still have to offer an invitation. That's the price of following Jesus. Amen. Let's pray, O Loving parent, you wait and you wait for us. But we too often place ourselves on the outside, pouting over all sins against us, both real and imagined. Help us to swallow our pride and come into your great party where everyone is welcomed at one great table. It is only by coming in that we can truly be new creations. Lord, give us the courage and the wisdom and the humility to do these things. In Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen. (Comments to Andy at aoren@wi.rr.com.)