This week we consider Luke's account of Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son. The beauty of Jesus' parables is that you can see something new and different each time you read it. Is it a parable about God, the father, the prodigal son, the brother, all of them? Who are we when we see people we don't like much unjustly rewarded? See The Rev. Eric D. Baretto's article "When People You Don't Much Like Receive God's Love." One of the purposes of the parable is what we can learn about ourselves.
What do we learn about God, as well as as ourselves, in this parable? See “holy arrogance – areflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32” by The Rev. Rick Morley.
In "The Man Welcomes Sinners," Daniel Clendenin helps us see Jesus, and asks "Why does Jesus eat with sinners?" Why does he?
Clendenin tells us: "But
watch out for the religiously righteous. They can be like the elder brother who
resented his father’s lavish grace, or like Jonah who complained when the
Ninevites repented and God forgave them. Many people, Jesus warns us in another
parable, are “confident of their own righteousness and look down on everybody
else.” Some people have a need to be right, and to be seen as being right.
In
the epistle this week, Paul says that "God gave us this ministry of
reconciliation." Do real sinners feel really welcome in our church?
Clendenin invites us to try this radical idea — "extend this divine mercy to your own self, for
that's what God has already done."
Chuck, OUTSTANDING medium for accessing your lessons. Very well done. The pictures of the sanctuary add so much. The links to the sermons/lessons work well too. This will likely change the way I study the lessons using my iPad. Very nice. Thank you for this and all you do. Ron Brown
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