Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 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. 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. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 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. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 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! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’
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. 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.’ 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. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 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. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 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.’”
There are three normal ways to serve up this parable and one way that’s, well, my way. The first way is to serve it up with the young son as the entree. The young kid gets his inheritance even before his dad’s dead. Tosses his family, culture, religion, and country out the window of his brand new jacked up, loud exhaust, gas guzzling, pickup truck and zooms off to wreck his life. He’s lost! Not like “GPS isn’t working” lost, but for all practical purposes he’s pretty much “dead” lost. No one will have him, talk to him, or even give him pig food. Even in the pig pen though, he’s not quite done scheming, and he decides to try to manipulate dad one more time and convince him to let him come back as a farm hand. But dad won’t have it! Dad runs out, gives him a huge hug, and throws a party.
The second way to serve this up is with the older son as the entree. The older son gets bent that his brother’s been out doing who knows what and now he’s welcomed back without any consequences! NOT FAIR! He pouts, stamps his feet, and completely refuses to go to any party that welcomes “THAT” kind of person! Sadly for him, that’s the only party, but never the less, he chooses to pout instead of enjoying the veal roast.
The last normal way to serve this parable up is with the dad as the entree. Dad, wanting real relationships with his kids, more than anything else, gives them the freedom to do what they want; one wants to work his fingers to the bone in the family radish business. The other wants to do whatever sorts of things you’d like to imagine him doing. But when push comes to shove, dad ONLY cares about one thing… staying in relationship with them both! Dad loves them both. He loves the younger one, even when he’s off to Israel’s equivalent of Vegas. He loves the older one, even when he spends all his time at the Acme Family Radish Plant.
The older son sees his brother’s trip to Vegas as WAY worse than his own obsessive-compulsive-radish-disorder could EVER be but dad only has love for them both. In the end, the younger son is transformed by the power of dad’s grace, forgiveness, unconditional love, and acceptance while the older son refuses to be transformed and storms off to eat radish flavored ramen for dinner instead of enjoying the veal roast.
Those are the three normal ways to serve up this parable but I’d like to serve you the actual entree as the entree… the calf. First off, this wasn’t just ANY calf… this was a FATTED calf which means it was only fed the very best food. It could have been raised with a more economical feed, but this calf wasn’t about economy… this calf was about extravagance! It was the bovine manifestation of the father’s love! And that love was better than USDA prime and even better than $380 a pound, Wagyu beef! This calf was raised to be the star of the party… and not just any party either… this calf was raised to be the star of the heavenly party! The feast of rich food with well aged wines strained clear! The heavenly banquet… the BIG ETERNAL party.
So why did the dad serve up this level of extravagance? Because the only thing this dad loves more than a party was having his children at his party! He wasn’t taking out his righteous anger on the calf in place of his wayward son or sons as some have surmised. The dad was simply doing everything possible under the sun to make this party so fabulous that neither son could possibly resist coming in and sitting down with him at his table! He served them this calf in yet one more way to try and show both sons how much they really meant to him.
We, like both sons, often have a very hard time believing God would want us at God's party just as we are. We mistakenly believe either that we’ve not been good enough to deserve it, or haven’t worked hard enough to earn it. But this insanely expensive calf is meant to remind us all, that the party is neither something we can ever deserve or earn. It is a party that can only be given. This calf… this extravagant entree... is meant by the father to be the “no way they could ever refuse” over the top invitation to that party… so extravagant, the Father prays, that the sons will put all of their guilt and pride away and just come and share a not-to-be-missed meal with their dad.
That’s how much God loves us; so much that God will run down the street and hug our necks no matter how long we’ve been gone, no matter what we did while we were away. That is how much God loves us; so much that God will come outside of the party and shamelessly ask us over and over and over if we're ready yet to come into the party. That’s how much God loves us. So much so that God lavishes us with unbelievable gift upon unbelievable gift!
Our God loves a party and the one thing our God loves more than a party is having you and me and all of God’s children at that party! Whether it’s a shameless run, an expensive ring, undignified pleading, or a fatted calf… There is nothing that God won’t do to invite, entice, cajole, and even look like a fool, to get us Kids to come into God’s party. You’ve been invited to God’s party. The door is wide open and dinner is served! So set down your shame, let go of our guilt, stop thinking you need to earn it, and just walk in the wide open door just as you are! THAT more than anything else is what God wants. Amen.
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