Luke 15:21: And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
The response of the older son is like his younger brother’s. The younger brother was blind in sin and disobedience, the older brother is blind in disrespect and self-righteousness. He was so busy thinking of his own affairs and his rights that he missed what was happening before his very eyes. The older brother is a picture of the Pharisees of the day. Here was Jesus transforming lives, giving sight to the blind, giving hope to the hopeless, and changing everything in their midst, and the Pharisees could only see these people in light of their un-redeemed, unchanged status.
The key to this passage is his rationale: “‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command.” This was precisely the same way the Pharisees acted: they boasted in their accomplishments. But if they had up to that moment lived up to all of God’s commandments, they had failed to live up to one: to rejoice over the finding of one lost sheep.
In this season of Lent, when we see people around us experiencing resurrection moments; when we see them in moments of real heavenly delight, the only appropriate response is to feast: “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad…”
Prayer: Our Father, we wish to rejoice with those who rejoice. May we be genuinely pleased with the good news that brings back rebellious sons to their senses and re-unites fathers with their children. May our hearts find delight in the delight of others through Christ our Lord, amen.
