Presented at County Line Brethren Church on March 14, 2010.
Year C, Fourth Sunday in Lent
Scripture passages: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
It took 40 years for the children of Israel to get away from Egypt. It took almost 40 years for a new generation to learn to trust God, in a way that their fathers had not. It took 40 years for God to raise up a generation that was ready to follow the Lord. It took 40 years for the wounds to begin to heal. It took 40 years for everyone to die who had stepped across the Red Sea. It took 40 years for the memories to dim. It took 40 years for Lord to remove the disgrace of Egypt. It took 40 years for the Lord to remove the disgrace of being enslaved and homeless. It was the shame of being humiliated by powers greater than themselves. They were forced to build for the Egyptians without pay. They were coerced not only to make their own bricks, but to eventually make them without straw. While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they ate manna from God because there was no other food. They did not celebrate the Passover. They did not circumcise newborn boys. So, despite the establishment of the Law as a foundation of identity and community, this was a time of shame and disgrace, a broken sense of self-identity and of estrangement instead of community.
Psalm 32 speaks of the disgrace of our sin. Sometimes those failures are big. Perhaps you, or someone in your family has been arrested. Some of these failures are as small as a sliver of fiberglass lodged on your arm or hand. Maybe an unkind word to a friend or stranger. Sometimes they are kept in secret chests under careful lock and key. Maybe these are those secret vexing places you go when no one is watching. Sometimes the media picks up on these aberrations in our character for all the world to gawk. Perhaps you, or someone you know has been involved in a scandal and you have been horrified to see the family name in the newspaper. However damaging to myself or others; however seemingly insignificant our faults may be; whether it is unknown to others or whether our names have been drug through the public square, the shame of sin disgraces our hearts. It is this shadow of shame that follows us wherever we go.
Here's how the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines disgrace.
Main Entry: 1dis•grace
Pronunciation: \di-ˈskrās, dis-ˈgrās\
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1580
1 archaic : to humiliate by a superior showing
2 : to be a source of shame to
3 : to cause to lose favor or standing
In the gospel lesson for today, we find the familiar story of the disgraced father, often referred to as the Prodigal Son. The focus of this parable is usually placed on the journey of the son. But let me say today, that the journey of the father was initially one of disgrace. In actuality, it was the father who was initially and publicly disgraced. After cherishing and raising his son the best he knew how, the son rejected the family with contempt. It is the father in the story who has experienced the rejection most profoundly. This common and painful separation was magnified at every family gathering and every community event. Every time this father saw other fathers and sons interacting lovingly, his heart would ache anew, just like it was his first reminder. When friends would ask about his son, he would find some way to answer civilly to cover up his own torment. Every day, he would gaze outside the window, searching for some way to make sense of it all, for some sliver of hope. Every time he would sit down at the table for a meal, he would notice the empty chair. And in the stillness of the dark just before sleep, he would recall his missing son. When he went to the synagogue and heard the stories of Abraham and Isaac, or David and Solomon, indeed wherever he went, he was reminded of his disgrace, the shame of his rebellious son. For some parents, this disgrace is eventually replaced by hardness and resentment. For this father, the aching never left.
For the son, there were no afterthoughts. There was no shame as he left his father's house with his share of the inheritance. No, this young man left the home with the confidence and assurance that accompanies a bankroll. The weight of the coins in his pouch were a comfort, providing the illusion of security and friendship wherever he would travel. There is no question that this young man enjoyed himself. To dismiss this would be to distort the story. Yes, he did have fun. And yes, he had companionship. And no, there was no shame. He had left that guilty conscience at home with his father.
That is, until the comfort of the weights in his pouch dissipated. This is easy to do. An article on Yahoo Sports highlighted how much a few athletes have lost over the years. Boxer Evander Holyfield earned over $250 million cash over his career. Today, he is “flat broke.” Golfer John Daly has gambled away his $50-60 million earnings. He once lost $1.2 million in just 2 and ½ hours at a casino in Las Vegas. After earning $350-400 million over his career, boxer Mike Tyson filed bankruptcy in 2003. What's more amazing is that it is estimated that 80% of NFL players are on the brink of bankruptcy within 2 years of their retirement. 60% of NBA players are broke within 5 years of their retirement. Spending a lot of money has never been a problem, especially if you have a problem. So, here's the deal. These players are accustomed to earning a certain annual income and spending accordingly. When they retire and there is no income. They are relying on returns off of their investments. Unfortunately, they are unable to make adjustments to their spending. And a sizeable number have made disastrous investments. By the time they realize they are broke, they are too old to make a viable comeback, sufficient to garner the level of income they had grown to love.
**Loss of investment resources minus a loss of ability to earn money plus uncontrolled spending equals financial disaster.
Here's the deal for the Prodigal Son. He was raised in a good home and was provided with adequate training to either maintain the family business or start a trade. In any other environment, having lost his investment resources, the Prodigal Son could have gone to work in a respectable business. He may have been able to sustain his spending habits accordingly. But as the story goes, soon after the Prodigal Son's money ran out, there was a famine. In an agricultural society, what does that mean? RECESSION! As a result, the Prodigal Son could not find a decent job. Squandering his nest egg combined with economic hard times led to financial disaster. Loss of all investment money minus a loss of ability to earn money equals financial disaster. Only then, does the Prodigal Son begin to realize the foolishness of his decisions. Only when he is hungry, without prospect for a decent job, penniless, friendless, and hopeless, does this young man realize the error of his ways. Only at the bottom does he experience the same shame and disgrace he had inflicted upon his father. Only then does he feel less than whole, though he had severed his soul long before.
Doesn't this story sound familiar? Is this not another type of shame and disgrace, financial disaster or ruin?
In Joshua 5, we find the shame of the children of Israel, having marched for 40 years to escape the disgrace of enslavement and homelessness. In Psalm 32, we have been given a microscopic examination of the shame and disgrace of failure and sin. In the parable of the Prodigal Father, we are given a glimpse into the shame and disgrace of a father rejected by his son. And further, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we are given a glimpse into the shame and disgrace inflicted upon oneself as a result of foolishness and pride.
It is no mistake that these passages are included in the lectionary for this season of Lent. Shame and disgrace buffet each of us from time to time, whether of our own doing, someone else's doing, or from forces outside of us. It is a familiar and bitter part of our journey, characterized by waiting in the midst of suffering and estrangement. Waiting for release, or rescue, or reunion. Is that not part of the Lenten experience?
Fortunately, this waiting is only part of the Lenten experience. By itself, standing alone, Lent is incomplete without Easter. For Lent is not resolved until the resurrection. Certainly it is a helpful spiritual exercise to fast during Lent. And it is a necessary endeavor to come face to face with our own failures and foolishness. But this is not the goal. It and of itself, it is incomplete. Each of these passages move us toward to experience of restoration.
As God was preparing the children of Israel to enter the Promise Land, scripture tells us that he removed the shame and disgrace of Egypt. It is critical for us to note how this is accomplished. The first thing which is celebrated is the Passover. Imagine this being reenacted in every family tent. It was a solemn ritual reminding these wandering homeless people that the strong hand and outstretched arm of the Lord God Almighty heard their cry and brought them out of Egypt! The second thing is that they ate the fruit of the land: unleavened bread and parched grain. Now, I have to tell you that after eating primarily manna for about 40 years, unleavened bread and parched grain would be like going to Elia’s in South Bend for dinner. Elia’s is an absolutely delightful Mediterranean/Lebanese restaurant north of the toll road entrance on Dixie Way. That place is food heaven! Here’s what one reviewer had to say about Elia’s.
I am from mexican descent on both sides of my family. But on my mother's side my grandmother is part lebanese. I have eaten Lebanese food in MANY states, and NO ONE makes better falafels than Elia's. I always order the same thing, falafel plate, garlic paste & baba ganoush. Also the baba ganoush taste amazing there. (by Beatriz on Urbanspoon.com)
As the people savored unleavened bread and parched grain for the first time, I can imagine them thinking, “so this is the land of milk and honey – very cool!” The third part was the circumcision of every male in the community. This was physical evidence of their being chosen by God and set apart from other tribes and nations. This covenant community was special. We belong! The disgrace of enslavement and homelessness had been transformed into a new identity for the self and the entire community.
It is quite remarkable that in these short 4 verses in Joshua, God recognizes their disgrace and reminds them of His mighty acts in the past, while at the same time whetting their appetite for a wondrous future by giving them a new identity in the present.
In Psalm 32, we are not left to be swallowed by the bog of the psalmist’s sin. Rather, it is by confession of our failure that we are cleansed and forgiven. Not only that, but the psalmist concludes by saying,
steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
One might even venture to say here that being cleansed and forgiven is not the goal, but the pathway to a restored and joy-filled communion with our Lord. Perhaps this would be helpful to some of those with whom we discuss our faith.
Indeed, when the Prodigal Son returned to see his father, his goal was simply to be forgiven sufficiently to be a servant and eat as his servants eat. The Son was not looking for, nor was he asking for full restoration or communion. But the father, seeing his son return would have none of this. Forgiveness would be full and without reservation. Restoration would result in complete reconciliation. In the same way that God rolled back the shame and disgrace for the children of Israel at Gilgal, the father rolled back the shame and disgrace of the Prodigal Son at once thrusting the door of communion wide open. While it is important to note that it was the Son’s humble return that set this in motion, it was the father’s action that both cast aside the Son’s disgrace as well as his own. The father effectively restored the Son’s personal identity as well as his social identity within the family and the community. It is this restoration of identity that is most powerful.
This leads us to our final lesson of the day in 2 Corinthians 5. It is not that common for me to tie all of our lessons together, but today they fit like a glove.
In a sense, Lent reminds us of our shame and disgrace, whether in the past or in the ways we daily inflict pain upon other people. This shame and disgrace disengages us from full fellowship with one another. Paul reminds us that we have a new identity, one that rolls away the shame and disgrace of our failings. It is an identity that is rooted in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of the resurrection that we have been restored within ourselves, with others and with God. It is because of Easter that we are able to experience full communion with God.
But Paul will not allow us to simply enjoy this fellowship in a limited way – like just with those who think like us or with those with whom we worship regularly. Paul takes it one step further. Paul charges us with the task of being ambassadors of reconciliation. In other words, we are to take the message of reconciliation and demonstrate it to others. We are to assume the position of the Prodigal Father, waiting at the door, ready to accept back into full fellowship those who have wandered. We are to assume the position of the Shepherd who seeks out the one lost sheep and the woman, who represents God in that parable, who has lost her coin. We are to offer new identities to those who have none and a restored identity to those who have forgotten who they are. For truly, has not our Lord done these things for us? Truly, has not our Lord restored us so many times? Truly, has not the Lord rescued us over and over.
As the psalmist says elsewhere,
124:1 “If the Lord had not been on our side” –
let Israel say this! –
124:2 if the Lord had not been on our side,
when men attacked us,
124:3 they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger raged against us.
124:4 The water would have overpowered us;
the current would have overwhelmed us.
124:5 The raging water
would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, Lent reminds us of our shame and disgrace. And yet, Lent fills us with the assurance of our new identity in Jesus the Christ, and our full communion with God, one another and even our own selves – because of Easter.
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