It shouldn't have been too surprising to the Pharisees when Jesus had meals with "sinners." As we saw yesterday, Jesus wasn't impressed with the typical political banquets the pharisees would hold. He encouraged them then to eat with people who had nothing to offer - people who couldn't pay them back. Sinners and tax-collectors fit that description perfectly.
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:4-7 NIV)
Even though they really shouldn't have been surprised by this point, they were. So, Jesus begins teaching they why teachers of the law should not be hanging out with ungodly people: they are important to God.
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:8-10 NIV)
Not only are ungodly people important to God. They are so important to God that He searches for them. When He finds them, He celebrates. He wants everyone to repent and return to Him.
Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.' So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" (Luke 15:11-32 NIV)
I just read a great book about this parable: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, by Henri J.M. Nouwen. In it, Nouwen encourages us to think about who we relate to best in this story. Perhaps you identify with the younger son - rebelling against the father and needing to repent of your rebellious ways. Maybe you identify with the older son - staying home and always doing what is right, only to be separated from the father because of your own pride. Perhaps the best part of his book, though, was the challenge to see ourselves in the role of the father. While the father in this story is clearly a metaphor for God, aren't we all called to be Holy as He is Holy? Aren't we supposed to strive to be Christ-like? Being like the father means that people are as important to us as they are to him. Being like the father means we desperately, earnestly want rebellious children to return home. Being like the father means we celebrate every time someone comes home.
So what about you? Are you like the younger son? How about the older son? What needs to change in you to become more like the father?
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