Trinity 3 – July 6, 2025Psalm 25; Micah 7:18-20; 1 Peter 5:6-11St. Luke 15:1-32
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The parables of lost things are explicitly
told to certain Pharisees who were offended that Christ would receive sinners
and tax collectors and eat with them. The tax collectors were especially
offensive to the Jews because they were men of Jewish descent who now made
their living exacting taxes from the Jews on behalf of the foreign government
of the Romans. On top of that, they would collect more than required by the
Romans as a wage for themselves.
The sinners and tax collectors were
hated by the Pharisees because the Pharisees knew these people. They were once
their students. These sinners and tax collectors were raised in the teachings
of the Pharisees. Then, at some point, they had turned their backs on their
people, on the teachings of the Pharisees, and turned toward a life of sin:
usury, harlotry, and prodigal living. It was insult to injury when the
Pharisees saw those who had turned their backs on the faith now being received
by the Man who called Himself the Christ.
This is the setup for especially the
parable of the prodigal son. Christ has created a parable concerning the very
tax collectors and sinners that He is dining with. A rich landowner has two
sons. They are true sons, entitled to an inheritance from their father. Yet the
younger despises his father and insists on receiving his inheritance early. The
father obliges and the young man immediately departs from the house of his
father to live among foreign nations. He promptly wastes his inheritance on
prodigal living – extravagant feasts, fine clothing, and harlots.
Once the inheritance is gone, he finds
himself destitute, feeding and sleeping with pigs. Having reached rock bottom,
the son finds himself. He is reminded of the father of his youth and determines
to return to his father to humbly beg to be received as a servant, a slave. He
has no presumption that he will be received as a son. He expects to be treated
as a slave since he is the one who abandoned his father.
What a great surprise it is when before
he can reach the house, his father comes running to greet him. The father
throws his arms around the man and showers him with gifts. He calls for a feast
of the finest foods the rich father has to offer. The son is received back into
the household with joy and gladness.
Many of us gathered here today have
spent time outside of the church. We were born to Christian parents, baptized,
catechized, and probably even confirmed. Then, when given an ounce of freedom,
we walked away from our inheritance. For some length of time, we departed from
the faith and sought fulfillment in the things of this world. We wasted the
inheritance of our fathers on prodigal living.
There are also many present today who
stand not in the place of the prodigal son, but of the father. Your children
have walked away from the house of our Heavenly Father, wasting the inheritance
of faith on worldly ideas of autonomy, liberality, and moral relativism.
There is a lot of guilt associated with
both of these realities. We feel guilty for our own misspent years outside the
church or we feel guilty that we somehow failed as parents to keep our children
in the faith. The parable is silent about the relationship between the father
and his sons prior to the younger son demanding the inheritance. Maybe the
father wasn’t a great father. Maybe he didn’t teach his sons about the 4th
commandment or maybe he wasn’t diligent about praying with his sons that the
faith born in them by God would grow as they aged. But we don’t know and the
fact that the parable is silent about this is instructive.
Very little is to be gained from trying
to figure out why someone has abandoned the faith. Whether it was you or your
children, certainly repentance is in order, but no amount of guilt will change
the past. The prodigal son abandoned the house of his fathers and this is a
fact of history. What really matters is what happens next.
All too often, someone who has
abandoned the church will return on a whim and expect to be received as though
no time has passed. It is assumed that baptism, or even more commonly a church
rite such as confirmation, guarantees an absolute, lifelong right to membership
in the church, no matter what happens in between. Such an attitude must be
recognized for what it is – sinful pride. It is taking the precious gifts of
God and treating them as cheap toys to be used or discarded according to our
whims.
Consider, instead, the prodigal son. When
he reaches the lowest point in his life, he finally finds himself. He takes an
honest assessment of his position and realizes what he has wasted. This
realization is an activity of the Holy Spirit. The Law of God has acted on his
heart to convict him of his sins – sins against God concerning morality, duty,
and faith. He becomes acutely aware of his need for salvation and it is the
Holy Spirit who directs him to the one place where he will find salvation – the
household of faith, the household of his fathers.
But even then, he does not approach his
father to demand his inclusion in the household as a son. He does not assert
his rights as a son born of the father. He determines within himself to return
home as a beggar, desiring to be treated as a servant. We aren’t even given an
indication that he thinks he can work his way back into his position as a son. He
sees the gravity of what he has done to his father and wants only the least of
things his father has to offer. He is willing to spend the rest of his life as
a slave for the sake of his salvation.
This is the humility all Christians
must possess concerning our salvation. Truly, we are all beggars. We deserve
nothing of what Christ has won for us. We have no “rights” to be asserted when
it comes to God. The very fact we draw breath is an undeserved gift of God, for
which it is our duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. It is His work
alone that brings us together today and we should never forget this fact. We
are poor, miserable sinners, who have been called into the glorious light of
Christ by His grace and mercy alone.
This is also the humility in which the
errant children of the church are to return to the house of faith. Sometimes,
this humility must be taught. Sometimes, the child returns in pride and must be
made to serve as a slave before he can be received as a son. We shouldn’t see
this as mean or cruel, nor should such a child be treated poorly. But it is a
fact because the prideful child has not realized the danger in which he has put
himself. He does not see the depth of his sin nor his need for a Savior. The Law
must first do its work to crush the sinful heart before Christ enters in to
heal the wounded heart.
Speaking of receiving a child back into
the faith, we must now turn our attention to the father. He has clearly been
anxiously awaiting the return of his son. He sees him from far away and runs to
greet him. That means that the father has been diligently praying for his son,
hoping for the day when the Lord would accomplish his work of returning the
lost sheep to the fold.
What does that mean for parents of
errant children? First it means that prayer is your mightiest weapon in the
battle for the souls of your children. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to
call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify the hearts of man and the Lord has
promised to hear your prayers.
Second, it means to never stop talking
to your children about Christ – not just the good stuff, not just that Jesus
loves them, but also warning them about the dangers of such worldly, prodigal
living. When they come to visit, insist on doing devotions. Keep your routine
regular when they are in your household. It is up to them to sit in another
room while you read the scriptures and pray. Insist on going to church. Even
when you go to visit them, find the local LCMS church and insist on going. Don’t
just passively tell them you are going to church on Sunday. Make them actively refuse
your offer.
Finally, remember that it is the Holy
Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the hearts of men. Apostacy
is a truth in the church and you cannot be responsible for the soul of another.
As I said, there are often feelings of guilt associated with errant children,
but you must remember that this is something out of your hands. If you did err
in the raising of your children, there is forgiveness. When I said that
repentance is in order for both those of us who have spent time outside of the
church and those with prodigal children, I meant the word “repentance” in its
proper sense – sorrow over sin and faith that Christ has died and risen to
forgive that sin.
Take heart, you who have remained in
the household of your Father. All that the Father has is yours and has been
given to you to be used. The gifts of Christ – His Word, Sacraments, prayer,
repentance, forgiveness – these are your inheritance to be used according to
His Word and command. So long as you are in the household of faith, make use of
the treasures you’ve been given. And encourage others to return to the fold,
for there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
