It is a
strange paradox that this year’s Gospel for Mothering Sunday is that of the
Father’s love.
It’s not
deliberate, just that we’re in the year of Luke and no Lucan passage is more
Lent suited than that of the Prodigal Son! The fact Lent 4 is Mothering Sunday
is secondary so far as the Lectionary goes. It’s a universal Lectionary and
many countries don’t keep Mother’s Day today.
In the story
of the Prodigal Son we have a beautiful demonstration of
what Lent is
all about – the healing joy of repentance.
At its
centre is the welcome home of the prodigal. I love the King James Bible version
of this story with its rich cadences:
But when he was yet a great way off,
his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven,
and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father
said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a
ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf,
and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is
alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Luke 15.23-27
What
wonderful words! They serve as no other words to give us invitation to seek God
as our Father.
That
paragraph provides the heart of the story involving three characters each of
which we may find ourselves identifying with.
First the
openness of the prodigal - how ready am I
to admit my mistakes? As Christians we believe we are sinners in need of
grace. What is so surprising about a sinner
sinning?
Yet many of us
are slow to seek forgiveness from God or neighbour.
Our slowness
links to the judgmentalism around typified by the elder brother in the parable whose
attitude is far from forgiving!
Lent is a
time to challenge that judgmental ‘elder brother’ within each one of us. It’s a
time to challenge the habitual sins that get on top of us. C.S.Lewis once wrote
a caution about despairing over our habitual sins:
I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic
temptation. It is not serious, provided
self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience, etc. don't
get the upper hand. No amount of falls
will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered
children by the time we reach home. But
the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the
airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is
to lose one's temper and give it up. It
is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign
of His presence. Daily Readings
p122-3
The main
figure in the Parable is the loving Father who represents God. Jesus teaches
God is always helpfully present to us in his holiness and ready to show us the
dirt and dysfunction in our lives. He
makes himself present in practical love to remedy our situation - the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put
out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard.
Our Lord
cleanses us of sin and guilt by practical demonstrations geared to our
humanity. That’s particularly true of the sacrament of reconciliation also
known as sacramental confession in which we play the part of the prodigal in a
re-enactment of Luke 15. There is great freedom to be attained through
celebrating this sacrament so misunderstood in Anglican circles. We have set
times for this sacrament in St Giles nearer Easter or you can make an
appointment.
The father
may represent God but he is also an example of the love a parent, father or
mother, is called to show his or her children. Lack of affirmation by parents, lack
of generous reconciliation in family life, is the root of much domestic misery.
In Henri
Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son
the author speaks of his being inspired by Rembrandt’s famous painting of that
title. The gnarled yet welcoming hands of the Father in Rembrandt’s picture symbolise
God’s hands stretched out for us upon the Cross. They challenge us to pay the price ourselves
for a more affirming attitude to those falling short around us.
The great
inspiration of this book is the Christian call to a ministry of affirmation.
Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate as Jesus
said elsewhere.
As we come to
the altar this morning on behalf of ourselves or those on our hearts we come as
the prodigal son knowing our need of forgiveness. We come repenting of the ‘elder
brother’ in us and all that critical spirit that subtracts from the joy God
wants in our hearts. We come finally for grace to be like our Father,
capable of love for sinners.
The bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and
the clean clothes in the airing cupboard.
Bring
forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and
be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found.
No comments:
Post a Comment