Dear Family,
There was this man who was trying to clean up his act, so he went to church hoping to find support for his new life and new journey. He had a checkered past. He had been in and out of jail. He lost every job he had held because of the addiction robbing him of life. But then a friend invited him to church, and so our broken soul started going. At first it seemed like a new home. Everyone appeared to be accepting, warm, and loving. He found something he thought he never could, especially at a church, a new home.
But our pasts always catch up to us.
Eventually someone recognized this new face and approached him. The long standing member of the church knew this man from their days working together, and the long time follower of Jesus went up to the new attender and said, "I know who you are, and i know about your past..." Then the member walked away. The message was clear: i know who you are, so you had better watch your step.
The broken soul never returned to that church again. I dont know if he goes anywhere or what happened to him. For all i know he is still lost, hoping someone, somewhere sees beyond his past and helps the wounded soul see his value as a child of God. I can only pray that this broken brother finds someone in the world, someone who represents the teachings of Jesus, truly. What would might have happened if the long standing member of the church said to the lost soul, "I love you and am so thankful you are here, if you need anything, let me know...?" Might we have another angel singing praise to our God?
Thats what the parable of the Prodigal is all about: redemption. It is not about earning one's spot in God's good graces. It is about accepting the free, amazing, redeeming gift of God's love, God's acceptance, and God's salvation. All we have to do, like the younger son, is turn around and let the loving embrace of God surround and heal us.
But we want to be fair. We need fairness. We demand fairness. Afterall we never did anything wrong, so why should the sinners of the world receive such a great welcome home party, when we labor all our lives, and all we get is a nice parting gift. Right? God doesn't care about OUR understanding and perceptions of what is fair. God has His own standards for what is fair, and i for one am thankful God doesn't measure what is fair according to my failures or limited understanding of what is fair. God's measuring stick is perfect.
That is why the younger son, full of sin, darkness, and failure can return to his father and not have to beg for forgiveness. No. All the son has to do is return to his father. His dad, like our Father in Heaven, can't wait to immerse his son in his love. And folks, that is all God wants to do for us: Immerse us in His Love if and when we return home.
So we can go home again, because the Lord of this house is LORD of all, and He can't wait to put his robe on us and throw us a great welcome home party. We can go home afterall, in fact God is waiting for us to do so. Let's go home and lets find our true selves. Amen.
Shalom,
jerry
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