Lent 4 Luke 15:1-3 & 11-32 The Father’s Love

In our gospel lesson for today, we have two brothers who are very different. When it comes to sin they really do not seem to have anything in common.  One of them goes out into the world of sins and danger. The other one stays home, close to the safety of His Father’s house.

 Both children believe that their father's love depends on what they do. The younger son, the Prodigal believes that, because of his sins, he has forfeited his place as a son. Therefore, he hopes only to be hired on as a servant. The older son believes that he's more of a son than his brother because he's been the one who has been working hard in the fields. Therefore, he should be favored because he's earned the right.

Both arguments make sense, but both of them insult the father's love. The younger son is saying, "My father's love is conditional. He cannot love me as a son because I have sinned. Therefore, my father will only help me if I earn it." The older son is also saying, "My father's love is conditional. He should love me more because I've earned it more." They come at it from two opposite directions, but both are declaring that their father's love is limited, conditional, and depends on their good work.
 

Now, remember: The father of the parable is none other than God the Father, and those two sons are very much like the tax collectors and the Pharisees. On the one hand, repentant, prodigal tax collectors might well be tempted to think, “I have sinned against God so much that He will only forgive and love me once I prove that I am worthy. Once I earn it, then He will forgive me.” On the other hand, the Pharisees are tempted to believe, “God loves us so much more than those tax collectors because, while they've been living a sinful life all this time, we've been hard at work to keep the rules in order to be good sons.”

But both have this in common: They both believe that God's love for them is based upon their performance. It makes sense to sinful ears; but it also says that God's love is conditional.

But we can't point fingers at the sons, the Pharisees or the tax collectors, because the same sin lurks in us. It sounds sincere and well-meaning, but it is sin all the same. To say that “God will not love me unless I do better” is to say that God's love is conditional and must be earned. To say, “God must love me more because I do so much for His kingdom” is to say God's love is conditional, and that you've earned it.

Saying that God's love is conditional is bad enough, but there is a greater offense at work than this: It insults your Savior, the crucified Jesus Christ.  He goes to the cross, suffers and declares "It is finished!" But sinners respond, "No, it's not finished. God will not love me just because of Christ’s work on the cross. God will only love me if I earn His love. I have to do something good so God will appreciate me." This says that Jesus' death isn't enough-He didn't get the job done. Well such thinking belittles Christ’s work on the cross and does not appreciate the fullness of God’s love.

The Father gave life to His children and made you all sons though His great love. When you were a child, what did you do to earn the right to be a son or daughter in your family? Did you pay money to be born? Did you make any promises while you were still in the womb?  Did you sign a contract? No. You did absolutely nothing. You were simply born.  You were given life without any say, and that is how you became part of your family.

When you obeyed your parents, were you any more of a son or daughter? No. Your parents are pleased that you are part of their family. When you disobeyed them and got in trouble, were you less of a son or daughter? No. Your parents may have been disappointed, but you were still part of the family. Your membership in the family didn't depend on your behavior: Whether you are the perfect angel or a total brat, you are still a son or daughter.

In fact, the only way you would no longer be part of the family is if you left home and refused to come back and be a part of the family once again.  Then, your parents would not be able to care for you--not because they didn't want to, but because you have isolated yourself from them.  The second son remained home, but he isolated himself from the family through his pride and refused to join in the celebration. 

You too can celebrate, for Jesus' death was sufficient to make you all His children; the full price for your sin has been paid. He did not die to make you slaves or servants who now must earn your keep. He died to make you sons; family members, children of God who are part of the family now and forever who now share in His eternal kingdom. As Ephesians ( 2:8) says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”  

You belong to God, and of this you can be certain. You can be certain because Jesus paid the all-sufficient price for your salvation by His death on the cross. You can be certain because you were adopted in Holy Baptism; by water and the Word, and made a child of God. Just as you had nothing to do with your birth, you had nothing to do with your adoption into His kingdom.

You can be certain that you remain in the family because you keep hearing His Word in His house. He brings you to His Supper table, where His body and blood run through your body and blood. As long as you are thus strengthened and persevere in your faith, you remain in your Father’s house as God’s children unto life everlasting.

God’s love for you is based upon His Son's death, not your behavior. You may need discipline and forgiveness, but you are still loved. He disciplines you to bring you to repentance, but He does not love you any less.

God the Father does not chase after you, however.  If you decide to leave His house, and no longer work for Him, He will not stop you.  But you will not receive any of the benefits the kingdom of God has to offer.  You will not enter into the heavenly realm and you will be lost from His family forever. 

When you keep His Word, He is delighted, but when you do not, He still loves you.  Know, however, that keeping His Word is good for you. It is good for you because each sin and evil thought seeks to pull you away from Him. Disobey God long enough and eventually your rejection will become permanent.

That is the only way that you can be lost; by removing yourself from His family. But He is always ready and waiting for you to return and receive His forgiveness. And those who remain steadfast can take comfort in knowing that their souls are always protected.

That is good news. Your salvation is certain! For the sake of Jesus alone, God has made you His child and gives you eternal life; and because your salvation depends upon Christ, and not upon you, God's love and your relationship as His child need never change.

Whether you are more like a tax collector or a Pharisee, more like the younger son or the older son, the Good News is You are a son for the sake of Christ. Not a slave who must earn his keep, but a son to whom all is given; for if you are a son, then you are an heir of God's kingdom, through Christ. 

And so, on account of Christ, we can rejoice with St. John (3:1-3) who tells us: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”  Of this you can be sure: You are a beloved child of God, because you are forgiven for all of your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen