Recently I’ve been studying Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son(s) in the 15th chapter of Luke’s gospel. I grew up, as I’m sure many of you did, being told that there were two real points to this parable: First, a wild youthful lifestyle is not a good choice for the long-term. Who really wants to eat pig slop once, let alone make a steady diet of it? The second, that God welcomes the immoral, irreligious son. Both of these conclusions are reached by focusing on the wild, younger son. It wasn’t until years later that I came to believe that these are not at all the points that should be gleaned from the parable. Right now you may be thinking, “What is he talking about?” Let me try to explain.
First, in Luke 15 Jesus’ comments were directed at the Pharisees of his day, the group most committed to Jewish spirituality and religious life in first-century Palestine. They were the complete opposite of the wild, younger brother in the parable, so speaking against a wild lifestyle cannot be the point that Jesus was trying to make. Secondly, if one of the points of the parable were to have been, “God welcomes the immoral and irreligious,” then Jesus would have ended the parable in verse 24 with the phrase, “And they began to celebrate.” But he didn’t do that. So what is Jesus trying to say?
Look to the older brother in the parable, rather than the younger brother, to answer this question. Do you remember how the older brother responded to his father? He said, “All these years I’ve slaved for you.” That is language of bondage, not of freedom; the language of religion, not redemption. That is the language of the Pharisees. Here Jesus is exposing the Pharisees’ religion, showing that it is simply another form of “lostness.” It’s neater and cleaner than being wild, immoral or irreligious, to be sure. But because of that truth, the lifestyle of the Pharisees was also far more subtle and dangerous than the obviously reckless lifestyle of the younger brother. As one author recently put it,
“Because the older brother is more blind to what is going on, being an elder brother (Pharisee) is a more spiritually desperate condition. “How dare you say that?” is how religious people respond if you suggest their relationship with God isn’t right. “I’m there every time the church doors are open.” Jesus says, in effect, “That doesn’t matter.”
One of the sure marks of an “elder brother spirit” is anger and resentment when life doesn’t turn out as you had hoped or planned. Resentment and bitterness bubble to the surface, revealing that our “relationship” to God is rooted in us getting what we want. So when our marriage goes south, our relationship with our children is fractured, or our elected officials aren’t from the right party, we get angry and think, “God, I have done everything you told me to do, and this is how you repay me!” This thinking reflects a religion of works, not one of undeserved grace.
I love the closing scene of the parable. I can almost picture Spielberg or Lucas closing the scene with the figures of the father and older son talking on the crest of a hill. The light grows dim with the setting of the sun so that finally they appear only as silhouettes. Then the father’s words can be heard, “He was lost, and is found.” As the scene fades, the father turns to walk back to the house, which is fully lit and full of life, leaving the older brother standing alone on the hill. The music starts, the credits begin to roll, and the lights in the theater slowly come on. The viewer is left to ask, “Will the older brother go in? Will he be found or will he remain lost in his religiosity? What about you?”
From one older brother to another…
Ed Dunnington Pastor, Christ the King Presbyterian Roanoke, VA