See God’s Grace on Display!

4th Sunday in Lent, 3/30/25 Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 See God’s Grace on Display! I. When rebellion takes advantage of it II. When self-righteousness rejects it More than one confessional Lutheran theologian has quipped, “Our God is a hidden God.” Let me repeat that. Our God is a hidden God. And now, here’s a good Lutheran question, “What does this mean?” It means that we often don’t see the way God thinks, feels, and acts. For instance, we believe and confess that he is omnipotent or almighty, but how often do you see it? We also believe and confess that he knows all things, but we often wonder about that, don’t we? Does he really know what’s going on in our world? We believe and confess that he is absolutely just, but then why do good people suffer and bad people prosper? We know that God is present everywhere, but then why do we feel all alone at the worst time in our lives? Bottom line, we want to see God. We want to see who he is and what he does. We want to know what he’s thinking and feeling, especially as it involves me. You. Have you ever wondered those things? I’m sure you have. We all have. But so often God remains hidden. He doesn’t allow us to see and hear and know what we want to know. Instead, he calls for us to trust him as he reveals himself in his word—the Bible. And we have a golden opportunity to do just that this morning. Today’s sermon text is the most familiar parable Jesus ever spoke. It’s been called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In this version of the Bible it’s entitled the Parable of the Lost Son. It’s also been called the Parable of the Two Sons, because it’s really about both sons, not just one. But, truth be told, the parable’s focus is not on one or the other son, nor both of them. The focus is on the father who represents our God. And the overwhelming divine characteristic on display in this parable is the father’s grace. There is absolutely no good reason why this father should feel and speak and act the way he does. And the same goes for our heavenly Father when it comes to his interaction with me, with you, with every sinful person. This parable highlights this hidden quality of our God: his grace. We just sang about his amazing grace. Now let’s see it. See God’s grace on display! Let’s put our eyeballs on it, shall we? I. I’ve been told that there’s a helpful book entitled, “Set Boundaries. Find Peace.” In other words, it’s completely up to you how much you will allow others to take advantage of you. And yes, it’s true that the Lord does call on us to turn the other cheek, but the 5th Commandment also demands that we protect our lives as well as our neighbor’s, that we take care of ourselves. That involves setting boundaries, doesn’t it? One quick reaction to the reading of this parable is that the sons mistreated their father. They abused his love for them and his goodness towards them. Does God set boundaries? That’s a different parable. In this parable, this one divine quality knows no bounds: his grace. And we see that grace on display even when his younger son’s rebellion takes advantage of it. That’s right. I called the younger son’s actions rebellion against his father. Let’s recall the details. First, he approached his father and requested his share of his father’s estate. Even for a parable, that’s more than a little rude. It’s unheard of! It completely disrespects his father. It all belongs to his father and he should have the opportunity to use it and enjoy it as long as he lives on this earth. But this son wants his share now, while his dad is still living and breathing. And his father obliges without a negative word. And what does the younger son do with his new wealth? He squanders it in wild living. His brother later fills in one of details. His father’s money went to pay for prostitutes. And it goes on until every last penny of his father’s money is gone. And that’s when it hits. Rock bottom. The sinful lifestyle abruptly ends and the suffering begins. He gets hungry. So he finds a job—feeding pigs with the hope that he can eat some pig slop on the side. But that hope doesn’t materialize either. And that’s when he comes to his senses. He realizes his father’s hired men are far better off than he is. So he changes his mind about his situation. In theological terms, he repents. He determines to return to his father, admit his guilt, beg for his father’s forgiveness, and offer to become one of his hired men, because he certainly has forfeited his claim on being his father’s son. Now, don’t miss the next detail. As he returns to his father, his father sees him a long way off. In other words, the father has been watching day and night for his son to return to him. He runs to him and embraces him. And when his son begins to tell him how sorry he is, his father cuts him off. He doesn’t let him finish. And instead of lashing out at him, he calls for a robe, sandals, and the preparation of a “welcome home” party. Think about that! We wouldn’t be surprised or judgmental if the father had said, “I’d like to serve you some food, son, but the fact is I barely have any, ever since you took away so much of what I had.” That’s what we would have expected. At least a look of disgust or even a little disappointment. But none of that! Instead, grace. All grace. Just grace. His undeserved favor. See God’s grace on display even when rebellion takes advantage of it. II. Since this is a parable meant to teach you something spiritual, can you see yourself in the younger son? Maybe not. You wouldn’t treat someone the way he treated his father. And I hope you wouldn’t. So, we don’t identify closely with the younger son. Should we stop right now? After all, if this doesn’t apply to us, why spend any more time on it? But wait. There’s more to this parable. It’s Part Two, and it presents to us the other side of the coin in the older son. You’d like to see yourself in the older son, wouldn’t you? After all, he’s the good son. He always did what was right and didn’t get into trouble, like his brother did. You might admire him. But not for long. Because the way he speaks to his father is not admirable. First, he refers to working with his father in the family business as slaving for him. Ouch! Suddenly he forgets that this enterprise is a father-son business from which he receives just as many good things as his father does. Next, he asserts that he has never disobeyed his father. The flip side of that is the statement that he has always obeyed his father. Really? Always? Never once slipped up? Never once disregarded his father’s wishes? Hard to believe, isn’t it? But that’s what he said. That’s what he thinks about himself. And he expresses his utter disgust for the party his father has thrown for his brother, as if the father needs his older son’s permission when to enjoy himself. Even worse, he charges his father with being unjust, preferential, showing kindness when severe punishment is called for. Bottom line—he calls into question every aspect of his father’s goodness. But his charges are baseless. Did you notice the detail? When the older son refused to come in to enjoy the party, the father didn’t shrug his shoulders and reply, “Fine. Have it your way!” No! The father went out to him just as he earlier had gone out to his younger son. He then reminded the older son of this indisputable truth, “All I have is yours.” There literally is nothing that the father can give him that isn’t already the son’s. Imagine the father raising his hands, palms up, and shrugging his shoulders, as if to say, “Son, what more do you want?” But the older son can’t see the truth about his father. Why not? Because the only thing in front of his eyes is his self-righteousness. In other words, he doesn’t want his father to treat him on the basis of who his father is; he wants his father to treat him on the basis of who he is. But his father won’t play that game. Instead, he showers the older son as he did the younger son—with his grace. See God’s grace on display when self-righteousness rejects it! So, can you see yourself in the older son and his self-righteousness? Probably not. Because if you did, you wouldn’t be here worshipping Jesus. You’d be at home worshipping yourself. As I mentioned earlier, it may be difficult to see yourself in the younger son. And now the same is true regarding the older son. We like to think that we aren’t like either of them. And that’s good—in this one respect. It’s good, because at every moment of our sinful lives we are somewhere on this sinful continuum between sordid rebellion or gross self-righteousness. Sometimes a little more one way, and then a little more the other. And BOTH of those extremes and ALMOST everywhere in between trash the grace of God. I say, “ALMOST” because dead center is where we need to be and where Jesus calls us to be. That dead center is in this honest confession, “Father, I have sinned against you. I’m not worthy to be called your daughter or your son.” BINGO! Whether it’s soul-sucking sin on one side or self-righteous asphyxiation on the other, they both result in death—spiritual death. True life, real life, life with you God, the only life that counts, is found only in a heart that repents of sin and trusts in Jesus for forgiveness. Do you have that heart? By God’s amazing grace by faith in Jesus you do! And see the amazing grace of God each day as he assures you of your forgiveness and eternal life with him! Amen.