The Parable of the Two Sons
Quick overview of the book, followed by emphasis on the question; "If we get this message what kind of fellowship-community does that create?"
Crucial insight: There are two ways to live, two paths according to the Sermon on the mount. Two groups of people giving to others, praying, obeying. The first group is judgmental, self-righteous, living in such a way that contradicts the gospel. Trying to obey and be righteous so that God will be in their debt. "If I do this, God will have to do _____"
The other group acts in response to the gospel.
Moving to the Parable, the younger brother seems to say to the Father, " I want your things, I don't want you." The older brother seems to obey his Father, live a good life.
We tend to view them as pictures of an unbeliever and a believer.
But the truth is they both want the Fathers things, the just use different strategies. Both boys are lost and alienated from the Father. At the end the 'bad' boy is saved because he will come into the feast. The 'good' boy is lost because of 'his goodness'. He is so proud of his good works he feels the Father owes him. He is a moralist trying to control the Father by his good works.
Jesus is always speaking to the Pharisee and the publican, or the Pharisee and prostitute, etc.
There are two ways to be your own savior:
- Act badly, do whatever you want.
- Follow the rules, attend church, but doing it all in such a way that you feel that God owes you.
You can tell you are an "older brother" and not a believer in the gospel when a situation arises where bad happens to you and you are enraged, bitter, maintain a grudge, feel like you are good, why should bad happen to you.
In Luke 15 there are 3 parables containing lost things; a sheep, a coin, a son. In the first two the owners go out and search. In the parable of the lost son, a true older brother would have gone out and searched for his little brother.
What kind of older brother do we need? We need Jesus. The Father says "Son you have always been with me, everything I have is yours..." Jesus has done this, left all that is his and gone searching for us.
We ask why "younger brothers" the "lost" aren't here in the church. It is because they see the church as "elder brothers".
If a whole church grasps this message, the truth of the Gospel it will:
1) Be a community of healing growth.
Quote from "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Gospel creates transparency - when that occurs we can begin to open up about our sins. In Genesis 2 Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. In Genesis 3 sin led them to hide and be ashamed. They tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, which is what we do when we know we aren't what we should be. When we see our sin and understand we cannot cover it up, it has been dealt with by Jesus, we are able to hears others confessions, because we know we aren't any better, we all are sinners. We need to exhort one another daily. Hebrews 3:13
We need to confess our faults, religiosity permits no one to be a sinner. The grace of the gospel is hard for the religious to understand. No one is more alone, than he who is alone with his sin. A community must be humbled enough to be good listeners. Each member affirmed enough to repent.
2) Be a community of peace making.
Matthew 5 and Matthew 18. It is always my move to make peace, whether I am the one who is wronged or the one who has wronged another.
3) Be a community of family closeness.
The younger brother had left the family, cut himself off from the family. The father "adopts" him, brings him back into the family, celebrates his place there.
You don't choose your siblings. It is not a consumer choice. You must not choose your brothers and sisters within your church. They are ALL your brothers and sisters, the tie is there, you have responsibilities to them.
We live in a consumer culture based on cost benefit analysis. Asking what is the means to the end, will this meet my individual needs. But we are called to covenant relationship in our families and our church, we often sacrifice individual benefit for the relationship. We need this kind of relationship in order to thrive. But the logic of the market place has spilled out in to our marriages, families, church, etc. We want to get more out of it than we put in. But we are covenant families called to do everything together, eat, live, vacation, it is a multidimensional relationship. Community is what shapes us, living with each other, sharing our possessions in common.
4) Be a community of countercultural- reversal of worldly values.
Poor, needy and marginalized people are embraced and loved. In The Four Loves CS Lewis says that he saw more completely who is friend Ronald was when they were in a group and he could observe different parts of Ronald in response to his other friends. Likewise it take a community to see all the facets of Jesus.
Sin makes us alone. The gospel should be bringing us back into community. We need to reach the culture around us, connecting to the questions and issues of the people in our neighborhoods, connect with their baseline cultural narratives.
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My notes are incomplete but I come away with several things to meditate on:
In the Parable, who am I?
More importantly, what does it say about Jesus?
Having been adopted by the Father what will my life in community look like?
I don't say "should look like" because I think if our hearts have been awakened to the Gospel we are moving to that life of community.
We have been blessed to be saved into a family. We are a covenant community. My life of faith is not just about Jesus and me.
"It is true, of course, that what is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day. It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of peace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brothers."
Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
