March 10 Sermon

I realized I hadn't posted the March 10 sermon yet, either.  Here it is.

Lost and Found: There’s Nothing Like Family

Family makes us do some strange things.  Maybe you’ve noticed this in your family, whatever the size or makeup of your family might be.  There are times when you will defend someone in your family, even though you know that they were wrong.  You know that a brother or sister needs to grow up, but when someone outside the family points it out to you, you find yourself sticking up for your family member.  You know they’re wrong, but they’re family.  That’s just what families do.

On the other hand, family makes us do some strange things in the other direction.  There’s that aunt or uncle that the whole family has written off for one reason or another.  Maybe they went to the wrong school, or married the wrong person, or some other unforgiveable thing, and now they are shunned.  They’re out of the loop, and no one really wants to see them get back into the loop.  Sure, you share a common ancestry and the same blood, but they don’t get talked about at family functions except in the most negative of ways.

Family makes us do some strange things.  We have great moments of love where we do unreasonable things, simply because they are family.  We have great moments where we know each other so well that we simply cannot stand each other.  There are times where we wish that we had stronger connections with each other, and then we have times where we wish that they would all just go away.  There are few people in the world who can make you feel better, and there are few people in the world who can make you feel worse.  And in a sense, the greatest compliment we can give to someone who isn’t a family member is to tell them that they are like family to us.

We heard a fairly familiar story from Jesus a few moments ago.  You’ve probably heard the parable many times before, or read books about it, or heard it preached upon a number of times before.  This parable is like a well-plowed field.  It’s been turned over so many times before that I can tell you with almost 100% assurance that I won’t be saying anything new today.  Some stories have just been told and covered so many times that it’s impossible to come up with a new angle, or to find that nugget that no one has ever thought about before.  But even though we may be familiar with the story, and we may cover no new ground today, it’s always good for us to hear and reflect upon the things that Jesus says, no matter how many times we may have heard it before.

So think for a moment about the family connections at work in this parable.  We have there a young man who feels like he’s ready to spread out his wings and fly.  There’s so much more to life than home and family, and so he’s ready to journey out into the big world to discover what all is out there.  So he asks his father to give him his share of the inheritance, and then he’s off to discover the world.

And that’s the first time in this story that we see that family makes us do strange things.  The father actually seems to go along with this young man.  It’s almost like he loves this young man so much that he simply cannot tell him no, even though it may not be the wisest thing in the world to do.  If this man were our next door neighbor, we might be telling him that his son isn’t ready for the responsibility of taking on the world.  Don’t do it.  And this father might simply shrug his shoulders and say something like, “But he’s my family.”

Then we have another family connection at work.  This young man isn’t the only son of this father.  There’s the older brother.  And it’s pretty obvious that the older brother looks at his younger brother in a less than flattering light.  Who knows, maybe the older brother really wishes that he had the courage to ask for what his younger, more foolish brother did, but he wanted to appear to be the responsible one.  But when you look at the end of the story, it becomes fairly obvious that the older brother doesn’t think all that highly of his younger brother.  You get the sense of some resentment there that lingers, no matter how much time has passed.  Family makes us do some strange things.

And then, we have the central figure of the whole story.  The father, the center of this family, and the link that holds the family together.  If family makes you do strange things, then the father in this story comes off as the strangest of them all.  He doesn’t even seem to question his younger son’s desire to take his whole inheritance and waltz off into the sunset to spend it however he wants.  And then, when that same son returns home, poor and broken, the father doesn’t even seem to think about asking him if he has learned his lesson.  He just seems happy that his boy is alive and back home.  Never mind the lost money or the misspent years.  

And then, when the older son refuses to come in and join the party, the father goes out to basically beg him to come in and celebrate.  Family makes us do strange things.  The brother wants nothing to do with that no-good brother of his, but also seems to resent that his father hasn’t ever given him any of the same kind of treatment.  His father hasn’t seen fit to give him a small goat to have a fun night with his friends, never mind that he doesn’t seem to have actually asked for it.  And that’s when the father again shows that he almost seems to be foolish with his stuff.  “All you had to do was as ask, and you didn’t even really have to ask because everything I have is already yours.”  Family makes us do strange things.

But even though family makes us do strange things, there really is nothing like family.  That seems to be the message that the father shares with both of his sons that day.  Family is to be celebrated and embraced.  Family is to be loved and cared for.  Sure, things are going to come up in families, but family is a great thing.  It’s a gift from God.  God didn’t create us to be alone, and perhaps the best way that He provides community for us is in our families.  God rejoices in family, and gives it as a gift to us, even when it may seem to be a gift that comes with its good points and bad points.

Now, as we look at this family in Jesus’ story, one thing becomes pretty clear to us.  This is the story of our family, in a lot of different ways.  It’s a family that really isn’t on the same page at the same time, and we can relate to that.  One person hears one thing, another hears something completely different, and then they both wonder why the other one didn’t do what they were supposed to.  Families have disagreements and don’t see eye to eye on things.  They include different people, some that we like, and others that we’d much rather hold off at arm’s length.  Families have a variety of personalities, some of which mix better than others.  We see this in Jesus’ story, but we also live that same family life out in our lives.

And yes, family will make you do strange things.  We avoid talking about certain people.  Maybe they did something that we don’t approve of, and so we don’t talk to them or about them very much.  Then, we have those family members that we would bend over backwards if they were to ask us, simply because we really love those people.  To others, it may not really have a lot of rhyme or reason, but in our minds, it makes perfect sense.  After all, it’s family.

And so, yes, Jesus is describing our family in this story.  It’s the same messed up, dysfunctional family that really seems to be normal in this world.  But we also see Jesus describing our family here in a different sense.  It’s a family that finds the central figure in the father figure.  Our Father, the one who not only made us, but who showed this same tremendous love and grace to us when we foolishly walked away from the family, and when we stubbornly refused to celebrate with the rest of the family.  

Jesus is describing our family.  And He describes this family because He Himself is the one who makes us into a family.  We are a family that transcends the normal ways that families in this world come into being.  We’re a family that is united by blood.  The only difference is, it’s not the blood of a bunch of different ancestors.  It’s the blood of Jesus that unites us into a family.  It’s the blood that He spilled on the cross as He united us in taking our sin upon Himself, and making us one forgiven family through His cross.  It’s the blood that He now graciously gives to us when we come forward and receive the cup, a cup which holds wine, but in some mysterious fashion, also unites us in the blood of Jesus by bringing us that holy blood that was shed for our forgiveness.  We are a family that is united and held together by a common blood.

We’re also a family that finds that we have a Father who reminds us that there really is nothing like family.  He’s the kind of Father that does anything for His family, no matter how foolish it might make Him seem to be.  He’s a Father who not only loves the people of this world, but would willingly pay the ransom price of His Son to make you His own child.  He’s a Father who willingly and joyfully gives from His riches to provide everything that you and I need for life in this world and in the world to come, even though we may squander those riches and use them in foolish ways.  He’s a Father who runs for joy when He sees our hearts turned toward Him.  He’s a Father who will come to us when we are stubborn and indignant, and remind us that He really would like for nothing more than that we come join the family in the great celebration.

Family makes the Father do strange things.  And as you look around you this morning, you see a few of your family members.  And as you look at them, there are some things about your family members that you need to be reminded of.  A few of them need handshakes and a warm welcome today.  A few may need a hug or two to bring a measure of comfort into their lives.  A few may need someone to hold their hand and to cry with them today.  A few may need the reminder of how special they are to the Father, and that they are a special part of our family, too.  Others may need the occasional reminder that they are not as special as they may think they are, and it’s appropriate to lovingly remind them of that.

This is your family, but it’s only a small portion of your family.  Your family transcends time and place.  But for today, for this moment, as you look around, this is the family that God has given you to be a part of.  And so, right now, what I want you to do is to get up and go tell them, “Thanks for being part of my family.”  And you know what, if a few hugs get shared, or even a few tears get shed, that’s okay.  It’s family.  What else would you ever expect?  So get up, and go share your love with a few of your family members right now.