Scripture Readings in dialogue:
Reader 1: Luke 15:11-24 (from Table)
Reader 2: Proverbs 3:1-12 (from Pulpit)
Reader 3: Genesis 45:1-15 (from Font)
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Reader 1: 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. (Lk 15:11-13)
Reader 2: My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you. (Pr 3:1-2)
Reader 3: Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. (Gen 45:1-3)
Reader 2: Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people...Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. (Pr 3:3-4, 9-10)
Reader 1: 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. (Lk 15:14-16)
Reader 2: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body. (Pr 3:5-8)
Reader 1: 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.’” (Lk 15:17-19)
Reader 3: Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there- since there are five more years of famine to come- so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' (Gen 45:4-11)
Reader 2: My child, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Pr 3:11-12)
Reader 1: 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. (Lk 15:20-23)
Reader 3: And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. (Gen 45:12-15)
Reader 1: ...for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate. (Lk 15:24)
Sermon:
In our scripture-reading today, we heard three different scripture texts woven together so that they might speak to each other and to us in a new way. I don't know about you, but I heard 2 distinct voices speaking out of that interweaving.
One voice was characterized mostly by the Proverbs reading, about trusting in the Lord over yourself, remaining faithful and loyal, and ultimately having food security because you followed the law- the law which really is for your own good.
In Proverbs 3, verses 9-10, I can't help but hear an “If...then...” clause: “[If you] honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Or in the words of Psalm 23- your “cup runneth over.”
This voice is echoed in Genesis by the initial reaction of Joseph's brothers to the revelation that their long-lost brother, Joseph, whom they once tried to kill and then decided to sell into slavery...yeah that Joseph...he's standing here in front of them. Hmm.. wait, what was that about loyalty? Faithfulness? I think they might be saying “uh-oh” in their heads. The gravity of the law is now standing in front of them, confronting them in a way; they thought it was a bad situation for them in their drought-plagued homeland. Little did they know that the law would catch up with them in Egypt. I wonder if they thought about Joseph after selling him into slavery- it seems like Benjamin and Joseph were close, but what about the others? Did they ever feel guilty about what they did to Joseph? Did they assume it would never come back to haunt them? That he would never come back to haunt them? Before understanding what Joseph was saying to them, they had their dreaded “uh-oh” moment.
Also sustaining the first voice within the readings is in the parable of the Prodigal Son from the Gospel of Luke. The younger son already had his “uh-oh” moment and now he finds that his only employment opportunity leaves him food-insecure. He knows he had plenty of resources before, and he wasted them “in dissolute living.” What was that about not leaning on your own understanding...about how acknowledging God will lead to straight paths, without deviation into poverty and food-insecurity and who-knows-what-else? Hearing the proverb about barns-a-plenty and bursting vats of wine, trusting in the Lord and not yourself...it must leave him feeling pretty mucky, besides the fact that he was in the swine yard. You can hear the muckiness in the scheme that he devises: go back to the father he has so deeply betrayed and beg for forgiveness. Beg for a job as a hired servant. Anything for some security and food. He is condemned by the law and yet trying to survive.
The paralysis of knowing the condemnation of Joseph's brothers and the prodigal son in the eyes of the law, and the knowledge of their hopelessness and insecurity, is joined with yet an even deeper layer.
Verse 3 from the Proverbs reading said: “Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” This sounds familiar, right? The Proverbs audience would remember that this sounds a lot like when Moses was delivering the Torah to the people Israel, and said: “Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut 6:8-9). While Moses lived, indeed, many generations after Joseph and his brothers, the same idea was floating around before. The brothers had tried to kill Joseph. The act of selling him into slavery, in itself, was a sort of death-sentence for Joseph- so they thought. God, however, seems to have foiled their plans by bringing Joseph up in power in Egypt, to be in charge over all that stuff he talked about in the scripture reading. Joseph now stood as their last chance to find food and survive the drought. Would he strike them down now? Would he let them starve slowly and painfully? Would he avenge the evil his brothers did to him? It's not looking good for the brothers at this point.
Likewise with the Prodigal Son- he also found himself (perhaps completely by his own doing) on the wrong side of the law. Even asking for half his inheritance from his father in the first place was breaking the commandment of honoring one's father and mother. A writer on the parables, Bernard Brandon Scott, equates this request in the ancient mindset as telling his father to “drop dead.” In a way, the father gave half his life at the request of his son. The son took that life and spent it in “dissolute living.” While it's not entirely clear what “dissolute living” means here (the older brother claimed it was on prostitutes, but it's not clear that that accusation was truth or the embellishment of an angry brother), it is clear that he didn't use his father's gift in any valuable way. Imagine the son feeding the pigs and meditating on our proverb from today's reading: “My child, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” If his father is benevolent and still took delight in the son upon his return, it's not clear what sort of “discipline” would be awaiting him. Not only that, but technically, had this whole episode never happened and both sons obediently held out for the father's eventual death, the older son would have by custom received two-thirds of the father's wealth, and the younger son would have shared the other third with any other siblings. Therefore the son-of-dissolute-living also stole from his brother as well. But it only gets worse for this wayward son. The punishment for this crime against his family is death. His crimes, without necessity of trial, will render unto him a death-sentence. A member of the family or community is obligated to kill him upon his return, in order to restore their honor and for the law to be maintained. “Uh-oh.”
So, I said there were 2 voices that came out of this interweaving of texts. Let's talk about the 2nd voice.
The 2nd voice is found primarily in two places within these readings: in the words and actions of Joseph and of the father of the exploitative son. It's something of a counter-witness to the original “if...then...” clause. Remember? [If you remember the proverb's teaching and keep the commandments, then “length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.” If you keep loyalty and faithfulness bound around your neck, then you will find favor and good repute before God and people. If you honor the Lord with your substance, then you won't find yourself feeding pods to the pigs while you go hungry. Think of it as conditional grace.]
No, the 2nd voice says something else. Joseph said to his brothers: “do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Then Joseph says: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.” Then Joseph tells his brothers: “I will provide for you there- since there are five more years of famine to come- so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.” This really throws off our neat and tidy “If...then...” clauses. So, if you sell your annoying little brother into slavery, the kind of slavery that was an almost-guaranteed death-sentence, then your brother will turn around and save your life. Wait, how does that work again? That makes no sense! Think of it as unconditional grace.
Now, I might be pushing it a little, but I don't think Joseph's method of offering his brothers unconditional grace is as easy as he is making it seem. I've never had anyone try to sell me into slavery before, but I've heard women speak about their experiences of being sold into modern-day slavery and their experiences of human trafficking. They tell stories of pimps and johns, abuse, lies, threats, isolation. The question comes up: how do they forgive those who kept them in bondage? I don’t think God calls us to blind, mindless forgivness in the face of evil. However, I think Joseph had an easier time than this. This scenario of modern-day slavery is not something Joseph would have faced as a man in Pharoh’s household. Even though Genesis chronicles some difficult events for Joseph, he does become, as he says, “a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Becoming so powerful, he says, was clearly evidence of the work of God. Still, Joseph shows signs of having thought long and hard about why he ended up a slave in Egypt. While it's not clear if his brothers thought much of him after they ditched him, it's clear that he's been working through all these events for a while. Can you imagine the scene? He clears the room, and then cries out so loud that Pharaoh's whole household can hear it! His brothers don't know it's him yet. Then his first words of identity-revelation to them are: “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” His brothers must be thinking: “Joseph? Joseph who? What are you talking about? What do you mean “is your father still alive?” What's going on? Wait...Joseph? Our brother? But he's dead. He can't be you.” Clearly, Joseph has been dealing with his feelings about his brothers' betrayal for a long, long time, but his brothers are completely overwhelmed with shock.
Still, after all that time, time he could have used stewing in the bitter juices of hatred and revenge, Joseph shows compassion to them. He shows grace. Unconditional grace. This is clearly not grace because of what they did, but grace in spite of what they did. And in the process of reconciliation, the brothers are delivered out of the hands of the law and the grip of poverty and starvation, and into the hands of grace and a life of sufficiency (maybe even a life of abundance).
Turning back to the father of the prodigal son- remember that this is a parable that Jesus is telling to the crowds of 1st century Palestine, after telling two other parables about rejoicing over finding a sheep and a coin that had been lost but are later found by their owners. Remember, the prodigal son was starving in a foreign land. He devised a scheme to go back home and beg to be a servant, since his father's servants still at least had something to eat. Whether he knew it or not, though, he was entering a trap. Returning to his community meant a death-sentence.
Imagine then that he's walking up the lane. Perhaps no one has seen him yet. Or perhaps he had been spotted and the mob was gathering. Then...his father sees him. This could be the end.
But then, in a moment of reckless abandon and sheer grace, the father runs to meet the son. He literally throws himself around the son, not only to embrace him in welcome but to protect him from harm. Our parable theologian Bernard Brandon Scott reminds that this was not the most flattering scene for the father- it was behavior not particularly befitting an “honorable oriental gentleman.” But notice that Jesus says that the father was “filled with compassion.” The father intends to do anything it takes to save the son's life. It's not the end, but a new beginning. The son starts on his script about not being worthy and wanting to be a servant, but the father doesn't even seem to be listening. He's too busy telling his servants to put the best robe on his son, put a ring on his finger (a symbol of status and importance) and sandals on his feet. On top of that, get the fatted calf ready for supper. Oh yeah, there's gonna be a party tonight!
But at this point, the son didn't even get through the script he had worked out when he was starving in the pigpen, and now he's received as a beloved son. Did he cry? Was he too baffled to cry? Jesus doesn't tell us. We know the party starts and everyone is invited, even the angry older son, but we don't know how the story goes on from here. I would like to think the younger son feels humbled, now that he's wearing the robe, ring, and sandals that are the inheritance of his older brother. All these good things...they really-really don't belong to him. He is given these things out of grace and he did not do anything to deserve them. They were given in spite of his actions. Unconditional grace.
From the father's perspective though, he might still remember when his younger son asked for the inheritance, asked for what was essentially the father's very “life.” Interestingly, when the son comes strolling back home without a penny to his name, his father runs after his son as if running to reclaim his very life. His son has become an essence of his life. It wasn't about the money. The father has become reunited and whole, because he has been reconciled to his lost son. The father is found, because the son is found. In reconciliation, they are both delivered from the rupture of their relationship.
Theologian Paul Tillich speaks of grace in his sermon, aptly named “You are Accepted” like this:
“In grace something is overcome; grace occurs “in spite of” something; grace occurs in spite of separation and estrangement. Grace is the reunion of life with life, the reconciliation of the self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected. Grace transforms fate into a meaningful destiny; it changes guilt into confidence and courage. There is something triumphant in the word 'grace': in spite of the abounding of sin, grace abounds much more.”
I think we see this in our own lives and the lives of those around us too. We hear the story of unconditional grace in the story of the mother and her teenage son, who both need deliverance from the death-grip that drugs have had on the teenager. You can hear it in her voice when she says, “I won't give up on you. If I could infect you with the love I have for you, so that you might learn to love yourself, I would.” We hear the story of unconditional grace in the story of the man who drives his sister to every doctor in the state in order to get the diagnosis she needs, the medicine she needs, in order that she might heal. No, we don't tend to be perfect in these situations. In fact, we tend to mess up like crazy because these aren't easy times and we've never had to deal with this before and it's too much stress and she really is quite selfish and so many other reasons. Still, as we see the in-breaking of the kingdom of heaven in our midst in the stories of the Old and New Testaments, in the pieces of the stories of people we know, in the little glimpses we see in our own lives, we see this beautiful, messy, real thing called compassion, called unconditional grace, called deliverance.
Note that while the law certainly has it's place, in particular to show us how it is that we should live a life of love for God and neighbor, that grace is found more often in the midst of relationships. It is in our relationship with the triune God: Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, that we learn about this unconditional grace. It is within our relationship with God that we experience first that grace, that compassion, that deliverance. Earlier in the service this morning, we confessed our sin before God and each other in prayer, and afterward we were all assured of our pardon from that sin. I'll tell you a little secret: we preachers and liturgists actually prepare the assurance of pardon ahead of time. We don't even prepare an emergency you-aren't-going-to-be-pardoned-today speech just in case. God hears our prayers before we even are moved to prayer in our hearts. God forgives us not just once, not just seven times, but seventy times seven. In this spirit of deliverance from the captivity of sin and in the spirit of God's compassion for our messy, broken lives, let us go forth and bring the same spirit to our relationships with one another. Amen.
