Luke 15:1-3: Are you a Prodigal?

Have you read the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke chapter 11? Do you relate to one of the characters in that story? It happens to be the topic of the study my small group is doing called Prodigal God written by Tim Keller. This week, we focused on the audience who was listening to Jesus when he told this story and how those people (and we) fit into the story:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: (Luke 15:1-3)

As we examined the characters in the story and how they were like the groups of listeners, we came up with the younger brothers or tax collectors and sinners and the older brothers or Pharisees. The tax collectors and sinners were on paths of "do what you want" but were now returning to God because they were lost. The Pharisees were standing on the moral high ground and were so focused on doing what was right that they failed to have relationship and were also lost. The problem for this group is that they were too proud to recognize and admit they were lost.

Of course that leaves one more character, the father, who is extravagant in his love to both his sons, just as God is with us. To the younger son, he gives him the inheritance that he asks for and then when the younger son returns having squandered that inheritance and recognizing that he is no longer worthy of sonship, the father gives him a robe and a ring, signifying that he has put him right back to his place of being a son in his household. Not only does he restore him to his place in the family, but he greets him by foregoing dignity and running out to him, not waiting for the younger son to approach him and apologize. For the older son, the father leaves his party and begs the older son to come in and join the festivities. He humbles himself and begs his own son just to celebrate. To both, the father lavishes an extravagant love.

This weeks discussion focused on the need to focus on relationship. In that relationship, we will find an understanding of what we are supposed to do and how we are supposed to love. We will not become lost.

I have had these ideas and thoughts rolling around in my head this week and thinking about how that plays out today, for me, and in the lives of others around me. I have also had my Google News notifications filling my inbox with news stories about Exodus International, which is an ex-gay ministry. Let me share a quote from one of the articles on CNN:

"From a Judeo-Christian perspective, gay, straight or otherwise, we're all prodigal sons and daughters," Chambers said. "Exodus International is the prodigal's older brother, trying to impose its will on God's promises, and make judgments on who's worthy of His Kingdom.
"God is calling us to be the Father -- to welcome everyone, to love unhindered."

The organization is shutting down and reforming under a new name, Reduce Fear, with a new mission:

"This is a new season of ministry, to a new generation," Chambers said. "Our goals are to reduce fear, and come alongside churches to become safe, welcoming and mutually transforming communities."

 I want to give credit to this organization for recognizing that they were lost and needed to take a different path. For seeing that the mission of Exodus International made them like the older brother and also congratulate them on the new mission, which is one worthy of the father. I pray my blessings on their faithfulness to this new mission and that they could impact churches to make them safe, welcoming and transforming communities.

Back to my small group, one of the parting ideas we discussed was a health check on how churches were at embracing the marginalized and what they needed to do to improve in this area. It seems that Reduce Fear is on a path to help churches to do this.

Each of us can probably relate to the younger or older son in the story of the Prodigal Son, and possibly both at different seasons in our lives; more focused on "doing it right" or on our "own desires" and neglecting relationship. But it is only in relationship that we have opportunities to spend extravagant love, love that the world would see as wasteful, but we know to be the essence of life.

Let us find ways to be a prodigal, like the father in the story, giving away love extravagantly, spreading it everywhere we go with abandon.

John 9 & 10 - Who is Jesus?

Is this an easy question for you? Difficult? If asked this in your workplace or someplace where the climate towards faith is unknown, how would you answer? Would the answer be related to how Christians in general see Jesus or how you personally see Jesus?

These are all thoughts that came up in a discussion this week when my small group and I were studying John 9 & 10. In these chapters (and the proceeding ones), Jesus is moving between Jerusalem, where many of the Pharisees are trying to figure out a way to "take care of him" and other places that are more remote.

Let me share a few related scriptures, this first one, from chapter 9 is a conversation among the Pharisees and with the blind man Jesus had healed (on the Sabbath).

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

And a short while later, the former blind man's parents are brought in to the conversation.

²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.

 And a little later Jesus and the formerly blind man meet again.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Shortly after (in Chapter 10) Jesus says this about himself.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  

And the people were divided in their thoughts.

¹⁹ The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
²¹ But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

As we discussed the different people's responses and the environment that they were in, we couldn't help but remember other responses to Jesus from other places in the Bible from Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Christ to the many other times Pharisees declared him demon possessed.

Some declared him openly and boldly whether in a positive or negative light and some were less out there. I am reminded of Nicodemus, a Pharisees who visits Jesus at night. He believes, and often when I read about Pharisees who pose positive assertions to their fellow Pharisees, I think of Nicodemus. He was a supporter but still walked in the ranks of the Pharisees, retaining his place of influence, in spite of the climate.

So I ask this again, what declarations would you make about Jesus in an unknown environment? Is answering that question easy or difficult.

For me, there have been times when this topic has come up and I have declared my relationship with Jesus and told the story of when I tried to commit suicide and Jesus saved me through his declaration of love for me. I have encouraged others to have an encounter with Jesus and to "come and see" who he is.

At other times, doors have been opened for me and I have taken a more subtle approach, posing questions and pointing to people and events in the world to cause the other person to consider Jesus without making a personal and definitive declaration myself.

And still other times, I have failed to walk through the door and make a declaration out of fear of how it would be received or because in that moment, I personally wasn't feeling all that close to Jesus and didn't want to take the risk.

Some days the question is easy, and other days it is hard, but everyday it is important. How would you answer it today?