THE REBELLION OF THE OBEDIENT SON

<Luke 15: 25-32>

Over the past three weeks, we have taken a look at the three parables from the gospel of Luke, chapter 15.  We discovered that all three parables reflect the joy of finding the things that were lost.  From the optimistic perspective of faith, all three parables focus on the joy of discovering lost items.  Rather than calling these parables ‘the parable of lost sheep,’ ‘the parable of lost coin,’ and ‘the parable of lost son,’ we need to rename them as ‘the parable of found sheep,’ ‘the parable of found coin,’ and ‘the parable of found son.’   These new titles aptly capture the essence of these parables.

​ Last week, we heard about how the second son, the prodigal one, returned to his father’s embrace.  Today, we will hear about the second portion of the parable, which concern the rebellion of the elder son.  It is said that the main points of Jesus’ parables lie within the latter portions of the tales.  ‘The parable of the prodigal son’ is constructed in two parts.  Therefore, we can assume that the focal point of the parable, the point that Jesus is trying to get across to us, lies with the elder son rather than the prodigal son.

 The target audience of the parables of Luke 15 is the Pharisees and the scribes.  These people held outright contempt against Jesus Christ for associating and dining with tax collectors and the prostitutes.  To these people, Jesus proclaims His three parables.  Jesus places special emphasis on the fact that God seeks lost sinners through the first half of the parable of prodigal son.  Through this emphasis, Jesus is providing the rationale for His association with the prostitutes and the tax collectors.  His is providing an active defense of His socializing with the people whom the society deems as sinners.  Afterwards, by accentuating the fact that the elder son is the bigger sinner and the more prodigal one, Jesus is effectively and satirically pointing out that the Pharisees and the scribes are akin to the elder son of the parable.  He is, in effect, criticizing and denouncing the Pharisees and the scribes for being hypocrites.

 As the heirs and children of God’s kingdom, the Jews and Pharisees and the scribes in particular enjoyed special status and privileges; yet, Jesus is denouncing them as being the prodigal sinners.  They viewed unfavorably, often with scorn, those lost sinners who eventually returned to God’s embrace.  They were not joyous for the return of the sinners.  They often criticized and complained about the return of the sinners after they have repented.  The image of the elder son of the parable is the exact image of these traditional Jews.  The obedient son, the one who seems to be the model son, is the one that is the bigger problem child, the more prodigal son.

 Today, through the delineated image of the elder son of the parable, we need to be able to see ourselves.  The long standing Christians, who believe that they are righteous through a life of self-proclaimed good faith, can become this elder son.  The elder son was truly the one who was captivated by his own self-righteousness.  Those who boast that they have never missed a worship service, tithe on a regular basis, live a life of thanksgiving, and are second to none in worshipping God need to carefully look at this elder son of the parable.  The image of these righteous people can be the image of the elder son we see through today’s parable.  Those who proclaim themselves to be self-righteous, self-proclaimed true believers of God and good Christians must discover their prodigal ways through the behavior of the elder son in today’s parable.

​Then why was the elder son a prodigal one, just like his younger brother?  Because he was focused on traditions and laws of the religion, not on the grace and blessings that it affords.  To celebrate the return of his second, prodigal son, the father in the parable orders a slaughter of a fatted calf and throws a party.  The elder son, at the time, was not around.  Upon his return from the field, the elder son heard the music and the sound of celebration from his house.  After talking to one of the servants, he discovered what had happened.  Something went awry with the elder son.  He was angry.  Rage filled his heart.  With such feelings in his heart, he had no desire to partake in the celebration.  He had no desire to see his younger brother, the focal point of the day’s celebration and joy.  He harbored nothing but contempt and dislike for his younger brother, who had returned after several years, having squandered his father’s wealth.

 More specifically, however, the fact that his undeserving brother received such a party when he, a model son, had never received one irked the elder son more than anything else did.  He takes this point up with his father in verses 29 and 30.  ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.”  He wants to hear the reason why his brother gets such a party after depleting his father’s wealth on prostitutes and a life of decadence, while a faithful, subservient model son like himself never received such a treatment.  The words to focus on are the words ‘this son.’  The elder son’s attitude is that ‘this son’ has nothing to do with him, that he is merely just a son of his father and of no consequence to himself.  It is indeed a cold reception for a brother who came back alive from the grasp of certain destruction.

​ In truth, the elder son probably would not have been so upset had the father not killed a fatted calf for his younger brother’s return.  He probably could have overlooked the new wardrobe, the ring on the finger, and the new shoes for his brother.  But a party!  Father never killed, even a goat, for him yet, a fatted calf and a big party for the prodigal one!  The music and the noise from the celebration were more than enough to turn him off.  The only thing, the elder son felt, appropriate for his brother was some heavy punishment and banishment from the house.  Yet a party?  He was angry at the seeming injustice, where the undeserving prodigal one gets all the rewards while the faithful model son gets nothing.

 One thing that we can glean from this elder son is that he is a traditional law oriented person.  He did not serve and live with his father out of free will and happiness.  Constrained by the responsibilities expected of the elder son, he had no choice but to live with his father full of complaints and dissatisfaction.  He served his father not out of grace; rather, he stayed with his father out of expectations and responsibilities mandated by traditional rules of the day.  What is rule?  These rules, all 613 of them, mandated strict adherence; failure to abide by any one of these rules meant punishment from God and retributions and criticisms from neighboring people.  They made people paranoid.  The rules focused on convicting and executing sinners rather saving a sinner.  The fact that the elder son was a traditional rule-centered person could be seen when he takes no interest in the fact that his brother, considered lost and dead, found the right path and returned home alive.  His only interest was on the fact that his brother dwindled some of his father’s wealth and that he had committed sin in the eyes of the law.

 Even though he lived with him, the elder son did not understand his father.  He did not understand his father’s ‘fatherly love,’ the love that made him ache and long for his lost son.  Although he was with his father, his heart was nowhere in the vicinity of his father.  If we take a look at the parable of the prodigal son, nowhere is it mentioned how the second son depletes his inheritance.  We can only assume what happened, but we can never be sure.  Before the elder son mentions in verse 30 that he depleted his wealth on prostitutes, no one accurately knew how he had spent his money.  Then how did the elder son find out how his brother spent the money?  He probably would not have found out had he not shared similar yearning for carnal desires with his brother.  He had no choice but to remain with his father and serve him; erstwhile, his heart was at the hedonistic lifestyle that his brother once enjoyed.  What does the fact that the elder son does not look for his brother upon hearing that he had returned, after being presumed dead?  His interest in his brother lay not in his well being, but on the fact that his brother was a sinner who devoured his father’s wealth.

 According to Hebrew customs, the elder son received 2/3 of his father’s wealth as inheritance, whereas the younger son received the other 1/3.  Why does the elder son bring up the point that his younger brother squandered away his inheritance?  Perhaps he wished that his father would pass away so that he can get to his inheritance, that although he is living with his father, it was out of cognizance of traditions and his community.  He was more interested in the offering than the prayer.  For the elder son, perhaps, money was thicker than blood.  Rather than viewing his brother as a kin who shares the same blood, he was more consumed by the fact that his brother had squandered his father’s wealth.

 To borrow an expression from Erich Fromm, the elder son was a “possessive human” being.  In his book, titled To Be or To Have, he classified human behavior into two categories: Being possessive and being existential.  Those who are possessive believe that possessions and wealth bring greater happiness and bliss.  Those who are existential are more concerned with the character of a person.  The elder son viewed his brother not as a human being, a being in existence, but as one who needlessly squandered wealth and possessions.  He viewed his brother not as a being that shared the same blood as him rather, he was more obsessed with the wealth that his brother lost.

​The father not only loved the younger son, but he also loved his elder son.  It is a socially embarrassing thing, a faux pas, for the elder son to boycott his father’s party.  It shows the rift within the family more specifically, between two brothers.  It is a breach of etiquette towards the other guests who attended the party.  The father warmly counsels and consoles this petulant and angry son.  Take a look at verses 31 and 32.  ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.”  The father of the parable also loves the elder son.  In a way, the elder son’s complaints and anger may have been justified.  Therefore, the father does not chastise his son; rather, he consoles him.  He tells his son that all he has belongs to him, his elder son.  With this one phrase, the father melts away his son’s frustrations and anger.  What can be better than to hear that all his father’s wealth belongs to him?  Compared to all that wealth, a fatted calf is quite insignificant.  He can host much better parties in the future.  The father is ensuring that his love for both his sons are accurately known. 

 Our Father loves not only the sinners.  He also loves the righteous ones.  He does not have preferences.  He loves the Pharisees and the scribes, just as He loves the prostitutes and the tax collectors.  He loves the wealthy, just as He loves the poor.  God loves the Hebrews, just as much as He loves the pagans, the foreigners.  No one can doubt the fact that God loves all people unconditionally and equally.

 The main focus of the father’s consolation lies above that fact that he loves both of them equally.  He is imploring the elder son to empathize, if not sympathize, with his younger brother.  In verses 24 and 32, he is repeatedly stressing that “for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.”  He is saying, what can be more joyous than finding the son who was lost, the one who was considered dead?  Think of the joy.  How can one not throw a party in the midst of such joy?

​God takes great joy in his children who come back to life after death, those who are found after being lost.  The irreconcilable difference between the Pharisees, scribes and Jesus Christ lay in this fact.  The Pharisees and the scribes felt that all sinners must stand trial and receive appropriate punishment.  But Jesus ensured that as long as they confess and repent their sins, they would be forgiven.  The Pharisees and scribes put greater emphasis on law, judgment, and punishment, while Jesus focused on forgiveness, love, and grace.

 In one of the United Methodist churches in Korea, one of the Elders works as an executive director at a renowned construction firm.  When young, he was a very religious and devoted Christian.  He attended every Sunday service, tithed without exception, and led a life of thanksgiving.  Yet, as a young man, he always had a frown on his face, and his easily irritable temperament precluded him from accepting or befriending others.  At work, he often collided and clashed with his co-workers.  After a year and a half, the other 12 people who started with him at the company were promoted.  This Elder was the only one that was not promoted. 

 It was writing on the wall for this Elder, for the snub was, indeed, a discreet sign from the company prompting him to submit his resignation.  This Elder, a self-proclaimed pious and righteous man, was filled with rage and dumped all responsibility on God.  That day, he was so angered that on his way home, he went to his church and began shouting at the cross in the sanctuary.  He shouted, fingers pointing, “God, I was faithful to you!  But what have you done for me?”  At that instant, he heard the voice of God, which seemed to sear his heart.  “Were you truly faithful to me?  Your heart was filled with desires for success and promotion; to serve those ends you tithed, gave thanksgiving offerings, and religiously attended worship service.  When did you leave some room in your heart for me to enter and do my work?”  Upon hearing this, the elder knelt on the spot and repented.

 Coming out of the sanctuary, the Elder prayed, “God, I don’t need promotions anymore.  I don’t need success.  All I ask is that you enter my heart.”  From this point forward, this man’s life began to change.  After a month, he didn’t need to take medications for indigestion and upset stomach, and his health improved noticeably.  His relationship with his colleagues improved.  The people most grateful for the changes in this Elder were members of his family.  The Elder went on to confess, “It has been 24 years since I accepted our Lord into my heart.  After I received God into my heart, I became the most successful person among the people I know.” 

​Arabs have a proverb.  “Word out of mouth must pass through three gates.  1) Are the words true? 2) Are the words courteous? And 3) Are the words absolutely necessary?”  The words that the elder son of the parable spat out did not pass through these three gates.  He did not view his brother as another human being; rather, he viewed him through the wealth and possessions that he had squandered.  Although he lived with his father, the elder son did not understand his father.  In that light, the elder son was just as much a prodigal son as the second son.

 From the elder son we can see the traditional, law-abiding religious viewpoint that serves God not out of happiness and gladness but in an obligatory manner.  The arrogance about religious supremacy and self-righteousness abound.  We, ourselves, harbor some of this sentiment within our psyche.  As we lead devout, faithful religious lives, we can easily fall into this trap of arrogance, self-righteousness and self-promotion.  Today, we need to confess and repent this aspect of our psyche to God and beg for His forgiveness.  We need to reaffirm the fact that God our Father still loves us.  We need to understand God’s intent in seeking sinners and actively partake in His work.  Amen.

“If you can’t say something good about someone, come over here and sit next to me.”--Oscar Wilde