|
5th Sermon in Forgiveness Series
"Healing the Hurts Within: The Pharisee in All of Us" Text: Luke 15:11-32 -- Date: August 17, 2003 Prayer for illumination: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, 0 Lord; for you are my Rock and my Redeemer. AMEN.As we begin this morning, I just want to say to you how much I have appreciated your comments to me concerning this topic, "Healing the Hurts Within." I'm especially grateful for those of you that have shared some of your inner most secrets. I appreciate the way you have prayerfully sought to move on through these experiences, seeking to forgive and to be forgiven. I cherish those exchanges, and respect you for your courage. It is in that spirit that we come to this morning's text, as we conclude this series. Turn with me once again to Luke 15 where we begin reading, just as we did last week, at verse 11. When last we visited this text, we looked at what is perhaps the greatest parable that Jesus ever told. It is the parable of the Loving Father. It's a story about forgiveness. "There was a man who had two sons. The younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them." Remember, the older brother is in the story from the beginning. Sometimes we think he's only found at the end of this parable. That's not true. The man had two sons and each son plays a pivotal role in this story. As a matter of fact, it is quite possible that the main point of this parable is to contrast the reactions of the father and the elder son to the prodigal. And in the situation in which Jesus found Himself, while it was important to make the point that God welcomes sinners, it was also important to emphasize that those who reject people who repent their sin are out of line with God's plan for his church. This parable has something to say to "the tax collectors and the sinners" -- those who know they are sinners. But it also has a message for "the Pharisees and the scribes" -- the religious people -- those who think they have it all together and have nothing to repent of themselves. As I am sure you are already aware, but as we saw afresh last week, there can be no doubt in the father's welcome of the younger son. Jesus teaches us that the heavenly Father welcomes returning sinners. How comforting it is to know we can come home again. Now, when in this parable Jesus turns to the elder brother we should see his concern for the Pharisees. For the elder brother represents the Pharisees in this story. The Pharisees were primarily concerned about the judgment of God and about the holy nation of Israel, but their attitude was overshadowed with a negative bend toward separation and a hyper-concern for the minutiae of the law. In fact, the word from which we get the word "Pharisee" means "to divide or to separate" -- the "separated ones." Jesus sought to heal the injuries of his people by bringing God's love to the helpless and sick. The Pharisees took God's commands seriously too, but their preoccupation with fulfilling the commands became and end in themselves and it prevented them from being God's effective agents for change. Essential to Pharisaism was that it tried by obedience to the Law to represent the pure community, the true people of God preparing itself for the coming Messiah. Not only was every legal prescription of Scripture very carefully observed with minute detail, but they went one step further than the law. They took Torah and added a whole set of other restrictions and regulations to it. For instance, the Law said that the Sabbath began on Friday night. But the question arose, when did night begin? And so, a new regulation was added to help "explain the Law." For example, one statement that defines the beginning of night as when if standing in the late afternoon sun, one could no longer distinguish a blue thread from a black thread. See, this is an example of something that was added to the law and it was expected that you would follow this rule as carefully as Torah. Accordingly, the Pharisee's didn't have much room for "sinners" or have much hope for them - the concept of forgiveness was virtually foreign to them. Recall that early in the gospel of Mark, Jesus calls Levi to come and follow him. Now Jesus had seen Levi sitting at the tax collectors booth, but Jesus spoke to Levi anyway and invited him to come along. That night, when Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, the Scripture says, "many tax collectors and 'sinners' were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law -- the scribes -- and the Pharisees saw him eating with the 'sinners' and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Mark 2:15-17)'." Even though Levi and others had repented, and started following Jesus, because of their past, the Pharisees could not accept them. Let me put it this way: Pharisees did not have any divine compassion, even for penitent sinners. And so, Jesus mentions this very important elder brother in this parable. He is first mentioned in verse 11 but we'll pick up the story at verse 25. Here, the elder son is working in his father's field -- to be sure as a supervisor and not one of the hired hands. Of course, you remember that the younger son was hoping to be able to return as one of the hired help. Anyway, there is quite a celebration beginning to happen over at the house and so he asks one of his servants what was going on. The servant gives a short report of what is happening. He said that the younger brother had returned home that the fattened calf had been killed. And he adds that the reason for the celebration is because the father has his younger son home "safe and sound." The elder son goes ballistic! He burns with anger. He wanted no part of the celebration and in fact, "refused to go in to the party." The likeness here to the Pharisees is undeniable. Just a minute ago, I referred to an account of Jesus in Mark's gospel where the Pharisees asked themselves, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" In fact, look at the first part of this chapter and the same scenario is taking place. "Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." See, this was that attitude of the elder son; contempt for those who did not express their faith as they did. Not so with the father. He had welcomed the returning son home with open, extended arms. Now he heads out toward the field to meet the other son and to plead with him. But he was met with a barrage of words filled with pentup angry feelings, that spanned many years and they came tumbling out. The same self-righteousness that filled the Pharisees is evident in the elder son in this parable. He had always considered himself the model son. In his anger he spills his guts; "All these years I have been slaving for you. I have never disobeyed your orders." As God calls people unto himself, in particular, as the prodigal son comes back to the father, the elder son cannot see what is to get so excited about. He complains that the father had never given him anything, not even goat, let alone a calf! Furthermore, had the father given him a party, there would have been respectable people there and not like his brothers friends .... The proud and self-righteous always feel that they are not treated as well as they deserve -- they always feel like they are the ones getting "ripped off". Notice he can't even refer to the prodigal as his brother but rather as "this son of yours." He accuses his younger brother of spending his father's estate foolishly, and may even be making false accusations; we don't know that he spent his money on prostitutes. Just because the older brother said it was true, didn't make it so, did it? Have the two brothers spent any time together, discussing what happened in the far country? I doubt it! But, notice that the Father's words are equally tender when he speaks to his older son, as they were when he spoke to his younger one. We've already established that they are both his sons and he loves them both. He makes it clear that appreciates his son's loyalty, presence. He also makes it clear that the property settlement stands; "everything I have is yours." It is interesting to note the fallacy of the elder sons argument with his father when he said: "You never even gave me a young goat to celebrate with my friends." It wasn't true. He was given everything; he had everything! But he, like the rest of the Pharisees, did not realize what he had been given. And, when all is said and done, the father does not back down in the slightest in his welcome for the younger brother. The celebration for his younger son was the right thing to do. By the way, note also that the father does not speak of "my son" but of "this brother of yours." The older boy might try to overlook the relationship, but it was still there nevertheless. The father will not let him forget it. And he finishes by repeating this wonderful thing that has happened: "the dead has come to life, and the lost is found ...." Jesus does not go on to tell us whether the elder son responded or not. Nor does he say how the younger son lived in response to his father's welcoming love. In leaving these points unresolved He throws out a challenge to all His hearers, be they like the elder brother or like the younger. We tend to see ourselves as the prodigal and bask in the welcoming love of God. That's great, and it is even better if we take the next steps and go on to make appropriate responses to that love. But, it may also be helpful for us to consider very seriously that, unless we are very unusual, we can also see ourselves in the elder brother. It is a common human failing to think that we are not as appreciated as we should be, that people do not give us credit for what we have done. We say to our employers at work, "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders ...." And, truth be told, we tend to look down on people who fail to live up to our standards, even if our standards aren't our standards, don't we? We gather in groups and are quick to point out the faults in others, but of course, there isn't anything wrong with us, is there? At times our selfrighteousness eats us for lunch. How do we respond toward those who are different than us? Different from us by color or culture; education or interests; politics or practices; affluence and influence? A marriage goes bad and we point the finger of contempt, blaming the other one for the failure; a business relationship goes bad and we bum with anger, blaming the other. See, I think there is a little Pharisee in all of us; there is a little bit of the elder brother blood coursing through our veins, hum? As we gather together this morning, let's look within our own lives and hearts for those things that make us more like the elder brother. Critical, judgmental, self-sufficient, self-righteous, unforgiving. But at the same time, be open to the Spirit of God helping you to "come to your senses," to use the Biblical phrase found earlier in this passage, and repent, and come to the Lord, who is always standing on the road, waiting -- with eyes cast in our direction and arms open wide for us to be like the young prodigal and come home. You see, I am convinced that there is nothing more important to God than our relationship with Him and our relationships with one another. Forgiveness and reconciliation are extremely important to God and therefore, should be for us. God has extended his open arms to us . . . maybe we need to extend his open arms to others... what do you think?
|