Theological Meatloaf Monday

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
15:3 So he told them this parable:
15:11b "There was a man who had two sons.
15:12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them.
15:13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
15:14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
15:15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
15:16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
15:17 But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
15:18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."'
15:20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
15:21 Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
15:22 But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
15:23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
15:24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
15:25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
15:26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
15:27 He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.'
15:28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.
15:29 But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'
15:31 Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
15:32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

Yawn....it's meatloaf Monday....boring...right.  At least I have heard other people say that...Now I want to be clear: I, on the other hand, love meatloaf.  In no way is this to be seen as me not loving meatloaf...even the bad kind.  But I am aware that there is a certain population that sees this delicacy as boring and plain. If you ask me I think they are just making it wrong but I understand that a lot of people just suffer from meatloaf-fatigue after having eaten it too often over the years.  I wonder that some of those same folks would happily pay crazy amounts of money in a French restaurant for pâté en terrine or pâté de foie gras which is frankly just meatloaf...from France,  which, I guess, is prettier.



Gustatory preferences aside today's text is my Meatloaf-Monday text.  I hate to admit it but when I see the parable of the Prodigal Son a part of my mind yawns.  It isn't that there is anything wrong with the story, it's a great parable.  I have simply had it one too many times as my sermon text for a Sunday.

I try to rework the parable into something more exciting and pretty.  I tell it form the perspective of the older brother, point out the historical features in the parable, digress on what sort of pods the prodigal might have been snitching from the pigs, discuss the embarrassment of a Jew feeding pigs, talk about how it was considered humiliating for older men to run in Biblical times highlighting the Father's excitement...  Basically I try to turn this meatloaf into pâté de foie gras and sometimes I succeed, sometimes it just looks like goose liver meatloaf.

Not this time though.  This time I want to sit down to a big plate of theological meatloaf and simply take it at face-value and relish in the simpleness of the truth here.



This is meat and potatoes theology without a micro-green garnish or quail egg foam sauce anywhere in sight. Let's break this story down to it's bare elements:

A man had sons; he had two in fact.  One younger and rebellious and one older and faithful. 

One day the younger one tells his dad to "drop dead".  This is literally what asking for your inheritance before your father dies means.  It means you want to be cut off from the family as though they were dead.  

The son takes his inheritance, makes more terrible decisions, gets in over his head and winds up slinking home to apologize and pay the price.  

The father welcomes him back with open arms, no qualms, no regrets, no anger.  He has to remind the Older Son that just because he was faithful he can't not forgive his brother.

 

In case you missed the imagery here God is the Father and we are the sons. Some of us are more of the older brother, some the younger but we probably are a little of both.  The main point of the story is not the sons, the pigs, the running, the pods, the inheritance laws, the fatted calf, or any of that.  The main point is that the father wants one thing: both of his sons to be in relationship with him.  That is the meat in this meatloaf of a story.  God wants to have a relationship with his children and that desire comes ahead of all else.  Does God want us to exhibit a certain moral behavior?  Certainly.  Does God want us to live our lives in a certain way?  Of course.  Does God have laws he expects us to follow?  Yep.  But when the younger son breaks all of these laws, and turns back to the father out of desperation the father is still thrilled to have him back.  But all of this is the means to the end of having a relationship with God.

God feels the same way about us.  If we think our failures will keep us from being loved by God we really don't understand God. The prodigal son does everything wrong.  Even returning to his father was motivated selfishly.  He doesn't say, "Boy I was a lousy son, I miss my father, I wonder if he will accept me back?" No.  He comes home because he figures he will get a good meal out of it.  AND THE FATHER STILL LOVES HIM.

It may be meatloaf-Monday theology but the fact that Jesus is conveying is simple: God loves you.  God loves the prodigal, he loves the faithful older son too.  God has enough love for everyone.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty....God loves them all.  Even you.



All through Lent we sing words to this effect.  It is because this is all God really wants.  For us to return to him from whatever far away place we sent ourselves to.  The reason is that God loves us and desires, more than anything, for our hearts to turn to his.  He really is gracious and merciful;  slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Know this:  Whatever you have done, whatever wrong you have committed, whatever shame you bear, whatever guilt you carry.  None of it means anything to God.  He has given the very life of the Son so that your sins may be forgiven and your guilt forgotten.  The road home is open and clear and nothing can stand in your way, the Father is waiting.