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<DIV><FONT size=4>The poor older brother. He had stayed home and had worked for
the father for all these years. The reader can feel the older brother “pouting”
that his father actually welcomed home and celebrated the return of the “good
for nothing” brother. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_lost_sheep_coin_son_GA.htm">http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_lost_sheep_coin_son_GA.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Ed Markquart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners who
were coming to Jesus. The older son represents the scribes and pharisees
who "murmur" about the seedy crowd hanging out with Jesus. Between
them is the Father--a Father who forgets his dignity, sets aside his
power, and reaches out with compassion and love to both his
children.</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/03/lectionary-blogging-luke-15-13a-1132.html">http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/03/lectionary-blogging-luke-15-13a-1132.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>John Petty, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>This forgiving and compassionate father is the
main feature of Jesus’ story. Yet, we routinely make this story about the
younger son and his supposed self-atonement. We can’t bear the thought of
one so lowly receiving redemption without first earning it, so we remember only
the parts of the story that sound as though he did. Nevermind the fact
that this parable is the third in a serious of “lost and found” narratives, the
first two of which concerned a sheep and a coin, neither of which did anything
to merit being found! The whole point of all three parables in this series
is the <EM>one who searches, </EM>and the <EM>joy of finding that which was
lost</EM>. Merit has nothing to do with it. These are parables of
grace.</DIV>
<DIV>Grace is antithetical to our notion of how the world should work. It
seems horribly <EM>unfair</EM> to us. We’ve grown up learning that you get
what you’ve earned. The unmerited reward of substandard behavior is a
threat to the whole system. But isn’t that – threatening the system –
exactly the kind of thing that Jesus came to do? </DIV></FONT></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>It’s the season of Lent, and we’ve got it all wrong. It
isn’t about repentance. It isn’t about doing something to atone for our
wrongdoings. It isn’t about us at all.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>No, it’s about the one who atoned for us, the one who died for
us <EM>while we were yet sinners</EM>, the one who rushes out to welcome us home
with open arms and rejoices every time he finds us wandering down the
road.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://reflectious.com/2010/03/07/first-look-luke-1511-32/">http://reflectious.com/2010/03/07/first-look-luke-1511-32/</A></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Lee Koontz, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=4>What about the eldest son? By accepting his share of the estate,
he has now become responsible for supporting his father and his father's
household. He would now have to provide for his younger brother as
well.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The father affirms the eldest son's position with him, and gives
him the grounds for joining the party. (Note that the father refers to the
younger son as "this brother of yours," emphasizing <STRONG>THEIR
</STRONG>relationship, not his.)</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The story ends without telling us how the eldest brother
responds.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>And without Luke telling us how Jesus' listeners
respond.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>In other words, the story ends with only our responses to it. We
are the end of the story.</FONT></P>
<P><A
href="http://www.holytextures.com/2010/02/luke-15-1-3-11b-32-year-c-lent-4-sermon.html"><FONT
size=4>http://www.holytextures.com/2010/02/luke-15-1-3-11b-32-year-c-lent-4-sermon.html</FONT></A></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Ewart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The Father is not simply a great patriarch. He is mother as
well as father. He touches the son with a masculine hand and a feminine hand. He
holds, and she caresses. He confirms and she consoles. He is , indeed, God, in
whom both manhood and womanhood, fatherhood and motherhood, are fully present.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.bridges-across.org/ba/nouwen.htm"><FONT
size=4>http://www.bridges-across.org/ba/nouwen.htm</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Henri Nouwen</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...when we look at the life of the average church household do
we not see a constant conflict in our Church Councils, between the Prodigal and
the Prosaic. (Guess who the Treasurer usually is?)</FONT>
<P><FONT size=4>The polarities are endless in this encounter:</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT size=4>Youth versus Elderly </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=4>Mission versus Maintenance </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=4>Expansion versus contraction </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=4>Evangelism versus Pastoral Care </FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT size=4>We can go on and on, but we are missing the point. The Liberal
Prodigal Father seems to be saying, </FONT><EM><FONT size=4>“Hey kids, there is
enough for everyone!”<BR></FONT></EM></P>
<P><EM><FONT size=4>“The polarities only exist in your scarcity mentalities. You
don’t have to compete, judge and resent.”<BR></FONT></EM></P>
<P><EM><FONT size=4>Open up to what is available and join the
party!<BR></FONT></EM></P></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://thelisteninghermit.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/the-land-of-the-settling-sons/"><FONT
size=4>http://thelisteninghermit.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/the-land-of-the-settling-sons/</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Peter Woods, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=3>the climax of the story is something not <EM>in
</EM>the story yet at all: the climax of the story is the community that will be
formed when the two brothers are together again. Anything less than this is just
same old, same old: little brother, isolated from big brother, thoughtlessly
partying while big brother feels isolated by his own sense of responsibility and
all the work that needs to be done. This outcome to the story is the theological
equivalent of little bro saying, "I like to sin. God likes to forgive. What
could be better?" which is (you heard it here first) not the gospel. </FONT>
<P>God hates sin so much not because God is a peevish scorekeeper, but because
sin harms those that God loves: namely, you and your neighbor. It is testimony
to just how devastating little brother's actions have been that the father needs
to find the older son and try to convince him that reconciliation does not mean,
"No harm, no foul" and that the old, unfair relationship between the brothers is
not the only possible future for the two. </P></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://maryhinkle.typepad.com/pilgrim_preaching/2004/03/wherever_you_ar.html">http://maryhinkle.typepad.com/pilgrim_preaching/2004/03/wherever_you_ar.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Mary Hinkle</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>I ask you: What would happen if everybody ran around forgiving
those who hurt them? Sure, there might be better cooperation, there could be
more understanding, perhaps even greater peace, but what of justice? Do you want
to live in a world where mercy supercedes righteousness, where forgiveness
tramples on judgment, and where love is more important than the
law?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://teamnoah.info/Stirred/scribe.html">http://teamnoah.info/Stirred/scribe.html</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>Sarah M. Foulger </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT
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