Who Deserves Grace? - March 27, 2022
Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32 & 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Deborah Laforet
Who Deserves Grace?
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by the Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
The Prodigal Son is one of those stories from our bible that is well known in popular culture. For some reason, this story strikes a chord with a lot of people. A story of a son who squanders away his inheritance, falls on hard times, humbly returns home, and is embraced and celebrated by his father. We find so many resonant themes in this passage - grace, forgiveness, humility, love.
And why does Jesus tell this story? We get two sentences that help set the context: “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”
What drew the tax collectors and sinners to Jesus? What caused them to come near and listen? What about the Pharisees and scribes? Why did this upset them? Why did they grumble that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them? What did it really matter to them?
The story Jesus shared portrays both kinds of people, the younger son who squandered the money is the tax collectors and sinners. Then we have the older son who represents the pharisees and scribes. They each have a part of the story. You feel for both of them. You can relate to both. The father loves them both, wholeheartedly, but it’s the younger son who gets the party, who gets the physical, outward expression of joy and love from his father, while older son, working in the fields, isn’t even invited. He’s forgotten.
Many leave out the story of the older son and choose to focus only on the younger son and his return to his father. The story usually ends with the father’s words, “for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ Wonderful words to be sure, but that’s not the end of the story. In reality, some of us might be able to relate to this younger son, who lived recklessly, used up all his resources, returned home empty handed and ashamed, seeking forgiveness for sinful living, but I think many of us can relate better to the older son, the one who tried so hard to please, the one who lived responsibly, the one who tried to live life according to the rules, the one who thinks he’s entitled to fairness and equality because he is deserving and when he isn’t treated that way, feels slighted, angry, and lashes out at those who aren’t deserving.
How many of us have felt this way, especially when it comes to giving more than a fair share to those who have not worked as hard as us. I hear this from my family who live in the states. “Why should my taxes pay for the healthcare of gang members shooting themselves?” I hear it here in Canada. “Why should we forgive university debt? I had to pay mine,” or “why should everyone get paid a living wage. I’ve had to work hard to make my salary.” I’ve heard it in the church. “God loves everyone equally. Why should some get more than others? Why do some get more attention? What about me?”
We hear it everywhere we go. Of course we want fairness. Of course we want to be recognized for our work and our achievements. Of course we want people to get what they deserve, whether that means people are rewarded or punished. This is the way the world should work.
But it doesn’t. Unfortunately many people are from broken homes, they’ve experienced trauma, some experience oppression, discrimination, even hate crimes against them. Some are born with lots of privilege - a warm home, financial comfort, a loving family, and freedom to grow and learn and be themselves. Some are born with disadvantages and have to work hard to get ahead and don’t always succeed. Sometimes the obstacles in life actually hold them down and cause them harm.
Life is unfair and some people need more than others. Jesus hung out with the tax collectors and sinners because that’s where he was needed. The father in the story celebrated the return of his son, not only because he rejoiced in that return, but because it was what his son needed.
Don’t get me wrong. We all need it. We all need grace, forgiveness, compassion, and love. And lots of it. But there are those who just need more of it. It’s the world in which we live. It’s an unjust world. It’s an imperfect world. It’s a world full of people who make mistakes. Jesus knew this. Jesus knew that some people needed more. As disciples of Jesus, we learn that this is our call too. Our call is to support those in need. Eat and drink with those with whom others won’t eat and drink. Feed those who are hungry, forgive those who need forgiveness, house the homeless, free the imprisoned, celebrate those who need to be celebrated, love those who need our love. Grace does not only come from God. Jesus is not the only one who can offer grace. We can offer grace too, especially to those we think might be undeserving or who we think have not earned it. That’s what grace is all about it. It’s not given to those who deserve it but to those who need it.
This work is not easy. It means laying aside judgment. It means humbling ourselves and setting aside your own sense of what’s fair and just. It means being aware of our own biases and preconceived notions around what is deserved and who is worthy. It’s hard work and takes practice.
I sometimes wonder where Jesus learned it, whether he was born with it, or in all those years before his recorded story in the gospels, if he either had the experience of the younger son or the older son. Which experience would have brought him this great gift of compassion and love to those in need? With practice, it could have been either one, which means for us, it can be either one.
Whether we have the experience of greatly sinning against ourselves and others or whether we have the experience of judging others and deeming them unworthy, we can learn how to become like the father in the story. We can learn to celebrate and rejoice those who are lost, then found, those who were dead and are alive again. We can do this because we know that we are loved and celebrated and welcomed into the arms of our Father-Mother God.
As a people of faith, we already know that this expansive and unconditional love is ours, that grace and forgiveness are ours whenever we ask. As a people of faith who know this, our job is to share that love, that grace, that forgiveness with those who don’t know it, with those who don’t know they are loved unconditionally, with those who don’t know that forgiveness and grace are possible for them, who don’t know that God’s love is deep and wide and that we all have that love to share.
May the prodigal sons among us find the forgiveness and grace we need to feel loved and celebrated. And may the older sons among us find the forgiveness and grace to offer others, knowing we are loved and celebrated. Go out into this world knowing God loves you, knowing we love you, knowing you are loved and celebrated, and may that love that fills you, be shared generously with others. Thanks be to God. Amen.