Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Luke 15:1-3 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable:

¹¹  “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ 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! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ ²⁰ 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. ²¹ 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.’ ²² 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. ²³ And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ ³¹ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² 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.’ ” 

Year C

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 6, 2016

Cross~Wind

Title: God the Recycler

Introduction

I came across an article that involves a certain woman, Bilikiss (pronounced BILLY-KEESS) Adebiyi-Abiola.[1]  Her story inspires me. It does not inspire me because of her recycling business. Although I recycle when available, I do not make a big deal of this. Her commitment and passion are inspiring. However, what inspires me most today is how she could look at something that most of us ignore and saw a business opportunity. I see an important spiritual lesson here as well. Bishop Michael Coyner in Indiana has had a focus on “making a difference” in the lives of people. This woman has done that, and the phrase will show up a few times in articles about her. Here is part of her story.

Her home was Lagos, Nigeria. She left family and friends to receive a Masters of Business Administration from MIT. Although one can imagine the possibilities for her in America, including starting a business and a high salary, this was not her dream. After spending 13 years in the United States, part of it with IBM, she was still far from home. Yet, Bilikiss had a moment when she “came to herself.” She realized that “waste” or garbage fascinated her. She had seen people in the United States sort their trash into recycling bins, and learned how this simple act helps preserve the environment. Then, this young woman remembered her home where trash is a problem. "People in the U.S. are very careful about taking care of waste. I thought, Why not Nigeria?" she said.

Lagos, like many large cities, has its problems. Since 2004, Nigeria has seen a 5% increase in the number of people living below $1 per day, despite recently overtaking South Africa as the continent’s largest economy. Of Lagos’s 18 million residents, 60% live in slum neighborhoods that operate as informal, thriving cities of their own. No one collects about 60% of the trash. It sits in piles and sometimes in the street. The trash is not just a nuisance, but also a health hazard, providing breeding grounds for flies and rodents. [Having been to a different poor country, Haiti, I have seen children using the rash on the streets for toys.]

Her new way of seeing trash awakened her to new possibilities. She was not going to use her degree to start just any business. She would return home and focus on trash. She named her new company Wecyclers. She was eager to make a difference for her people. It was not easy. She had little response when she talked about the environment. After all, she was asking people to consider seriously something as trivial as trash. Then, she showed them what paying attention to trash could mean to them.[2] [A good lesson here, but I do not want to sidetrack myself.] She convinced them that money was lying on the street by paying them for it.

She has received many awards and recognitions since her business started in 2012. She was a “lioness of Africa.”[3]

Not only would recycling help the city with their trash problem, and cut down on the spread of disease, it would generate cash -- money that could help people improve their lives in other ways.[4]

The young woman who traveled far from home is changing the way the people of Lagos look at their garbage. What was once trash is now a treasure. 

Sermon approach

Thankfully, the end of the story of the young man in the story Jesus told has a parallel in this story of Bilikiss. The father sees value where others do not. The father invites people to have joy in the recycling or redeeming of this young man. Of course, the story Jesus told is really about God. In sending Jesus, we learn that what people consider as lost, worthless, and waste, is valuable, reconcilable, and redeemable.  

Application

First, let us consider God as the one who recycles a human life. 

When the boy is still far from home, his dad spies him off in the distance. Setting aside his status as a patriarch and landowner, the father hikes up his robes, and sprints out to greet his son. [I can imagine Jesus using some humor and acting this out.] When the young man begins the speech he had planned for this moment, his dad is not listening.  Dad does not want to hear about his son's mistakes. He does not need the young man to debase himself. Instead, the father is overjoyed. The true treasure he had lost when his son left home has returned to him. Calling for robes, rings and fatted calves, the father demonstrates that he sees in his son treasure, not trash. The love of the father transforms the son.  

Many of us can put ourselves in the young man's place. We, too, have a voice inside of us that only wants to dwell on the garbage in our lives. We have made mistakes, and we hear repeatedly that, like a discarded bottle or can, whatever was of value inside of us we have already poured out. Nothing valuable remains.

Thankfully, God is a great recycler. [The more common word we use here is redeemer]. A recycler or redeemer does not just see trash. God has made each of us in the image of God. God is not about to cast us aside and put us in a landfill. 

God sees the value in us even when we are far away. God has not abandoned us. God has not tossed us aside. God loves us and knows our worth. When we turn toward God, God sprints toward us, embraces us and welcomes us home.

Second, God calls the church to recycle.

Unfortunately, you may have people in your life who will continue to reinforce the old message. Sadly, the church too often becomes a partner in that.

Famously, the older brother is going to remind dad and his brother of past sins. He will remind them the boy is trash. We have our terms as well, such as white trash or trailer trash. We have elevated “trash talk.” Of course, dad, also famously, does not listen, pointing to the value of the son. Dad treasures both sons and invites the older son to the party.

Jesus tells this story in order to remind the religious folks that God is all about redeeming sinners. Jesus illustrates the kind of love God has for the lost by the way Jesus lived in welcoming the sinner. In fact, those who are going through the process of recycling – the work is never done – have the mission of inviting others to allow God to recycle (redeem) them. Sadly, religious people have a temptation to label others in a way that suggests dismissal. In those days, labels like sinner, tax collector, Samaritan, adulterer, Gentile, and leper worked quite well. It also meant that they as religious people had no responsibility for them. They could keep a safe distance.

Of course, we do not engage in such unwelcoming labeling. … However, it seems like I recall some who stand on the side of the road with placards pointing out the sins of others. Establishment, elite, status quo, have/have not, the one-percent, progressive/conservative are just a few. We label and dismiss, whether in real life or social media. How long has it been since you had lunch with someone on the polar end of your own political or religious point of view? We seem fearful we might learn something! We cast them out, discard them, and consider them so much trash. 

Conclusion

 When we read the gospels, we find Jesus on the fringes where he meets those whom we might have tossed aside. There, Jesus heals lepers, forgives tax collectors, eats with sinners and welcomes a woman with a questionable reputation who came to a well in the middle of the day. There, Jesus loved a rich young man who lost himself in his possessions. Jesus loved the hardworking laborer of his day, the one who gained his livelihood by fishing. Jesus even loved the political activist who thought the system needed changing through violence. Be careful whom you might label and dismiss. Jesus might be there.

Jesus is the great Recycler (Redeemer), reclaiming the treasure we often miss.

He invites us to join him in this work.

God's way, as shown us in Jesus, is a tremendous recycling program, welcoming younger siblings back home and inviting us all to the party!

The older son missed the party. He refused to see the treasure in his younger brother, choosing instead to focus on the trash.

Are you coming to the joyful party? We have some recycling to do. 

Going deeper

Luke 15:11-32 is the parable of the prodigal son. The source is the material unique to Luke. In context, there is the additional emphasis on God's joy at finding what was lost.  Jesus, the kingdom preacher, expresses the divine willingness to accept the repentant sinner into the kingdom.  Jesus is the herald of a loving Father who shows mercy to the repentant sinner. Pannenberg will say that the heart of the message of Jesus was announcing the nearness of the divine reign, but Jesus called this God the heavenly Father. In Jesus, God shows himself to be the Father who is ready to forgive those who turn to him.[5] He thinks that Jesus regarded the loving and saving address of God to us, and particularly to the needy and the lost among us, as the purpose of his sending. He believed that by his sending, the Father was addressing the lost. In this parable, Jesus is defending addressing his message and work to the lost. The parable portrays God as the one who seeks what is lost and who in so doing displays the self-attesting love of the Father. The search reveals the divine love that takes place through the work and message of Jesus.[6]

Luke 15:1-3 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” [As Luke sets the scene for this parable, Jesus may purposely test the boiling point of the increasingly disturbed scribes and Pharisees who were keeping a close eye on Jesus' growing popularity. Just as the Pharisees had grumped about Jesus in v. 2, this father "welcomes sinners and eats with them." Immediately preceding this, Luke relates two other parables of "lostness." In 15:4-7, the parable of the "lost sheep," and in 15:8-10, the parable of the "lost coin" introduce themes also found in verses 11-32.  The overarching message speaks of the joy that is felt when one lost sheep, one lost coin or one lost son is found again and welcomed back into its fold, purse or family. All three of these parables serve as Jesus' response to the nasty grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes described in 15:1-2. Jesus' attitudes and actions toward "tax collectors and sinners" are the problem. He not only welcomes them to his congregation; he also welcomes them to his table. The straight-laced righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes found Jesus' behavior quite suspicious, even scandalous. They could never condone social contact with such "sinners." In the face of this stern self-righteousness, the prodigal son parable offers pointed commentary through the unhesitating, exuberant joy exhibited by the father and the wrong-headed, hardhearted attitude of the elder brother.

³ So he told them this parable:

            The body of this lengthy parable contains numerous fascinating nuances that testify to Luke's storytelling prowess and finesse. A brief overview can catch only a few of the author's juicy tidbits. Note how Luke uses Hellenistic images and information to add realism to the story. Jesus sets the stage by observing that a man had two sons. In verse 13, not many days later, he "gathered all he had" --  

¹¹  “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ [Luke uses Greek legal language to describe the younger son's demand to his father that he "give me the share of the property that will belong to me" (v.12). Although it was not unusual for a father to distribute property in advance, as in the case of marriage, Jesus strongly implies that the younger son’s demand is disrespectful, rebellious and foolish — a clear violation of the commandment to honor one’s parents (Exodus 20:12). In a culture where family and community always took priority over the individual, the kid’s self-centered demand would have raised the eyebrows of those hearing the parable for the first time. Yet despite the legalese (or perhaps because of it), scholars still wrangle over what exactly was due to a son who would make such a demand.  In addition, we wonder what legal and moral responsibilities would remain between this father and son once this division of property occurred.  Whatever the cultural standards or legal implications associated with early inheritance, the younger son cast them aside.] So he divided his property between them. ¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had [that is, he converted his inheritance to cash --  and traveled to a distant country, [and left home, family and any obligations far behind.] and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. [The fall of the son is rapid, complete, and catastrophic. "Asotos" can be "extravagantly" or "recklessly." The boy's fortunes deteriorate.] ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. [This son has spirit.  He moves on to get a job, even as a temporary hireling, working not for wages, but only for the food he needs.  Note that only the extreme desperateness of his situation that finally brings this son to consider returning home. Luke's language in verse 14-16 is coarse and colloquial when he describes how the son would have loved to eat the disgusting food he was giving to the pigs. (Some scholars profess to be able to see signs of a hasty scribal attempt to clean it up).  Working for a Gentile and playing servant to swine was the bottom of all possible Jewish barrels.] ¹⁷ 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! [Luke's phrasing of how the young man "came to himself" is one of the few Semiticisms in this parable. It literally means, "to repent."] ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ [While the son's "confession" sounds contrite and genuine enough, a careful examination of the thought process that led him to this confession reveals only one clear motivating force: hunger.  The son decides to return home and throw himself on his father's mercy only because he feels he is starving to death.]  ²⁰ 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. [The father's impetuous forgiveness of the approaching son may appear to offer the boy forgiveness without repentance. Nevertheless, the son had already privately voiced his change of heart and mind. The father's welcome and forgiveness (the embrace and the kiss) occur before the son's confession.] ²¹ 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.’ [The son admits his sin against heaven and against the father. He does not deserve to be called son. Even more telling is the fact that the earlier Masoretic text has the father cut the son's "confession" off midway, as he excitedly calls his servants to tend to the young man.]  ²² 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. [The robe, ring and sandals the father has the boy decked out in are all marks of the son's fully restored place of honor and authority in the household.] ²³ And get the fatted calf [symbolizing a truly special and festive occasion] and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;  ²⁴ 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 reaction is so overwhelmingly joyous, so unexpectedly elated, that the reader is rightly stunned.  Pannenberg also points out that in verses 20-24, the emphasis of Paul on the goodness, grace, and favor of God shown in the Son continues theme of the preaching of Jesus that by his message and in his work, the Father shows us the mercy that pardons our sins.[7] He stresses that the meals Jesus held or shared characterized his coming and the conduct of his disciples, and that when he accepted invitations from others he made known his readiness to grant fellowship with him to those who issued the invitation. The granting of acceptance of table fellowship by Jesus removed everything that separated people from God and his salvation. It meant the forgiveness of sins, so that table fellowship was a real symbol of fellowship with God and of participation in the future of the divine kingdom. The re-acceptance of the prodigal came to expression in the feast that the father prepared for him.[8] He stresses that preaching of the imminence of the rule of God opens up participation in eschatological salvation. In this fact, Jesus sees a demonstration of the love of God that seeks the lost, in keeping with the goodness of the Creator. The goodness of the Creator becomes saving love in the sending of Jesus to announce imminent divine rule, which we see in this parable at the saving of the lost. Forgiving love that has reached its goal finds expression in this joy.[9]

            Jesus had a reputation of making friends with “sinners.” The reception that the son receives seems typical of Jesus, in that he commends throwing a party. The story represents the reconciliation of Judean with Judean. The central figure is the Father.  Originally, Jesus may have intended a story of God's welcoming back a repentant person, not allowing the "faithful" elder brother to hinder that love. 

However, no one had even gone to fetch this older son from the fields where he was working so that he might join in the festivities.  The elder son is not yet a part of this celebration. In fact, apparently, he does not even learn of it or of his brother's return until after he has finished his day's work in the fields.  ²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. [The invitation extended to the elder brother is important, for it offers the message of Jesus to the Jewish people. The anger of the elder son is instant. This son is so enraged that he will not even step foot in the house.  Yet, we learn much about the father. The father’s love had driven him out of his house and down the road to welcome home his younger son.  Now, the love the father feels for his older son again pulls him out the door and into the fields to be with him in his anger.]  ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ [The confrontational tone he takes with his father is neither respectful nor obedient. He even refuses to acknowledge his blood relationship to his brother, identifying him only as "this son of yours." The older son pours forth what we might call his "righteous indignation."] ³¹ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² 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.’ ” [The father refuses to be shocked.  His eyes and heart remain firmly fixed on what he sees as the only important fact about this missing younger son - he is found, and he is alive.]             

            The story ends here, leaving a host of unanswered questions for the reader.  What is most shocking about this parable is how it seems to celebrate grace, even at the expense of justice. Like all good parables, we cannot contain the prodigal son story by just one explanation. The narrative takes its meaning and strength from the fact that it is a parable, a story, and as such invites others to participate in it. Fittingly, Luke's story closes with a typical parabolic ending -- which is to say "no ending." We leave the confrontation scene between father and son before hearing the son's response. It is the reader, therefore, who must provide the final reply to the father's invitation to rejoice and join the party.

            We should resist investing this parable with wholly allegorical interpretations, however.

            For example, some scholarship has sought to describe the elder brother as Luke's allegorical representative of Pharisaic Judaism. The testimonies by the father to his eldest indicate that the son is not simply a "stand-in" for Pharisaic Judaism.  Consider verse 31 where the father promises he is "always with" him and that "all that is mine is yours." Nothing here is said about the son's personal need for a repentant attitude -- surely a requirement if he were simply an allegorical Pharisee. Further, the father challenges the older son, not about his self-righteousness, but about his lack of joy. The father's concern is the radical notion of joyous acceptance of the one who was "dead," who was "lost." The need for critical, holier-than-thou attitudes is not an explicit focus of Luke's text. 

            The roots of our term "prodigal" come from the Latin "prodigere" -- meaning to "drive forth or away" or to "waste." We can interpret it as either extravagant wastefulness or liberal generosity. While Luke himself does not call the younger son a "prodigal," the term certainly suits the actions this young man took when he "squandered his property."        .

            The prodigal son is a narrative enactment of the relentless, resourceful way God seeks us and keeps us.  One strand of modernity believes that we are most fully ourselves when we are most detached from any values other than those we have personally chosen.  Some forms of psychology, existentialism, and romanticism suggest as much. Human society is the blockage individuals face in gaining personal fulfillment.  This story of the wayward son who comes home to a party suggests morality begins when we come home. "Your brother is home," or "Son, all that I have is yours."

---

[1] You can hear her on Youtube talk about her business. The Huffington Post (November 2014) has an interesting article and interview with her. The Guardian (October 2015) has a very good article as well. She received the honor of being a “lioness of Africa,” that is, one of the great female entrepreneurs of Africa.

[2] She showed them the value of what they threw away. Lagos generates approximately 735,000 tons of plastic each year, worth about $300 million to waste brokers who resell it to recyclers and others.

[3] As the editor of the magazine put it, “We love the fact that one woman entrepreneur had an incredible vision to positively change lives and make a difference in her country, and as a result, is working to successfully change the environmental behavior of a country’s population, one piece of plastic at a time.”

[4] They visit some 6,000 homes each week exchanging cash and household goods for recyclables, collecting 40 tons each month.  

[5] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 259.

[6] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 422-23.

[7] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 433.

[8] Systematic Theology, Volume III, 285.

[9] Systematic Theology, Volume II, 331.