Party Time!

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable…

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
"We just had to have a party!"

That's the main point of this story. Jesus had been challenged about the parties he was having, and the company he was keeping at them, and he responded with this spectacular story. 

Let's tap into our creativity and "go" to one of those parties and see what it was all about…

We sneak in at the back and find things already in full flow. A bit of a rough crowd, it seems—the sort of people you'd probably avoid in the street, some of them scruffy, some of them a bit too suspiciously well-dressed. (How could they afford clothes like that?) Somebody's obviously been hard at work cooking, because there are delicious smells coming from a back room and people keep emerging from the kitchen with more dishes. And there are flagons of wine and everyone is helping themselves… and in the middle of it all we spot Jesus himself, relaxed and easy, reclining as people did on the couch beside the table, chatting to the man beside him, occasionally flashing a smile at the serving girls bringing more food, or waving to a newcomer who's heard there's a party and has pushed his way in. Occasionally we hear snippets of what Jesus is saying. Something about the first being last and the last first. The man he's talking to looks surprised; he wants to believe it but isn't yet sure he can.

But at the back of the crowd, where we're standing, there are other voices. "What on earth is he up to now? Isn't he supposed to be a prophet? Isn't he telling people about God's kingdom? Doesn't that mean being holy, not messing around with the rabble? And if he's teaching people to call God 'Father,' doesn't he know that sons are supposed to obey their Father's commandments? He's just a glutton and a drunkard like them—and the Bible warns us about teachers like that!"

Eventually, Jesus looks up and glances around the room towards the whisperers. The talking dies down as people wait to see what he's going to say. "All right, you want to know why there's a party? You want to know how it is with fathers and sons?…" And out of it comes: a masterpiece, one of the greatest stories ever told, echoing the ancient stories of those other ill-starred brothers, Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, and particularly, Esau and Jacob. The son who runs away in trouble and comes back to find resentment. But all within new twist. Something new is going on, right here, right now, and a party is the only possible response. "Resurrection" is happening right under your noses, and you can't even see it. "This my son—this your brother—was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found."


POINT OF PONDER:
Imagine you are at a party like the one here. It's happening in the local bar (say, Angels or Poodies, to give you a visual). One of the regulars has just had a very good win in the Texas Hold 'em tournament. He's invited all his friends, and all the other regulars, for a really good evening.

There is Jesus, right in the middle of it all. He turns and looks at you, standing by the door. "Yes," his eyes seemed to say, "and what about you? Come on in and join the fun."

Talk to God about how that makes you feel, and what it makes you think.


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I love this painting. It's by Rembrandt, and it's called "The Return of the Prodigal Son." This painting moves me. It also had a great effect on Henry Nouwen. After encountering the painting, he was launched on a long and winding spiritual journey that brought him into an intimacy with God that he never imagined possible. He wrote a book about this experience entitled The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. In the book, he focuses on several different aspects of the parable: the younger son's return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's vengefulness, and the father's compassion. It's a captivating book about learning to love as the father and to be loved as the son.