Ninth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, July 28. 2013
Fr. Todd Bragg
St. Margaret Anglican Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
" . . . and when he came to himself . . ." (St. Luke 15:11 ff)
Today St. Luke relates for us what some commentators have deemed, perhaps, the most famous story in the entire world. Certainly, this may in fact be true. Even in TV shows and Movies which have done this theme or at least use the story-line of this story. Certainly, one of the reasons that this story was so powerful to the original audience and to numerous audiences over the years is the fact that this is something that everyone of us can hear it in terms that each of us can understand. Our Lord was a powerful speaker. People gathered from far and near to hear Him preach. They would ask among themselves, "who is this that speaks with such power and authority?" It could be said that one of the reasons that Our Blessed Saviour spoke to so many is because He spoke directly from the heart. And one of the ways in which He did this was to grab the attention of those gathered around Him with powerful stories that we heard today. He grabbed their attention and in turn they wanted to find out what happened next.
Now, everyone knows this story by heart. It is the story of a young man who, quite frankly, had a lot of nerve, to say the least. He demanded one day that his father give him his inheritance even before his father was dead!!!! What hutzpah! Well, to make a long story short, he took the money and ran, literally! He went off and spent all of the money that his father gave him on harlots and riotous living as his brother reminds us later in our story today. But when he hit rock-bottom . . . keep in mind when you hit rock-bottom, there is nowhere to go but sideways or to go back up! . . . . but when things seems like they could not get any worse, that is when he came to his senses and decided that he would go back home to his father and to admit that he was wrong to do what he did and ask for forgiveness.
Now, as I have stated in years past, I think this parable is misnamed. We have come to identify this story as the "Prodigal Son" but, in my humble opinion, it should really be called the story of the "Loving Father" because it is really the father who stands out as the hero of the story.
One of the most beautiful passages is all of Scripture occurs in Verse 20 where we hear the following: "And (the son) arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." The imagery in this brief sentence is spectacular, to say the least. The fact that Our Blessed Lord points out that the father saw his son implies that the father was looking for his son ever since his son left. And once he saw his son, he did not wait for his son to come to him, he took it upon himself to run to the son.
He did not lord it over the son what he had done wrong. He did not act with bitterness. The father did not hold it over his son's head. On the contrary, he stated for the servants to get the best robe and put it on him. Now, as with most things in Scripture, keep in mind, items such as this symbolize important things. In this case the robe symbolizes honor and dignity. Harken back to Zechariah 3:4: "And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment." Now, this is certainly what the father did for his son. He placed on him the best robe to signify the love he had for his son and not bitterness.
Next, he placed the ring on his son's finger. Now, especially in those days, giving someone a ring signified authority that you were giving that person to whom the ring is given. It was sort of like giving that person a power of attorney to act on their behalf. In Genesis 41:42 it is written what Pharaoh did for Joseph: "And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck." So, too, did the father give to his son, a symbol of authority. Hardly the gift to give to someone that he held bitterness against.
Finally, he stated to give his son shoes to place on his feet. Keep in mind that shoes represented freedom because only free people wore shoes. Slaves did not wear shoes. Think back to what the son had planned to ask the father. He wanted the father to make him a hired hand, a hired servant. Now, a hired servant, when you think about it, was even lower than a slave because a hired servant could be let go at any time for any reason. Whereas a slave was considered part of the household, and in that sense a part of the family. So when the son was asking to be made a simple hired servant, he was really asking to be made lower than a slave. His father made him higher than a servant or a slave by placing shoes on his son's feet.
Now, what started all of this off was when the son came to his senses. As we heard today: " . . . and when he came to himself . . ." In other words, this phrase means that the son came to the realization that something was wrong, he woke up, he came to his senses. etc. The only other time I could find that his phrase was used in Scripture was in the Acts of the Apostles when St. Peter was locked up in prison and the doors were opened and his chains were broken and we hear: "And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his angel . . . " (Acts 12:11)
Now the Prodigal Son came to himself, he came to, he woke up, he came to the realization that something was wrong in his life and that something needed to take place to correct it. Now recognizing the fact that something is wrong is only half of the battle. The key is to recognize that something is wrong and then follow through and do something about it. Very often, people will recognize that something is wrong but they choose not to do anything about it. What about if you have a leak under your sink and you recognize that there is a leak because you hear the constant drip drip drip and you have to keep emptying the bucket of the water every so often. So you know that there is something wrong with the plumbing but until the make the effort to either fix the leak yourself or to call a plumber, the problem will continue to be there. In that sense, recognizing the problem is not enough. The Prodigal Son knew he had a problem. The change came when he followed through and finding a solution.
If you read the Confessions of St. Augustine, you will read the following line: "Thou has made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee." St. Augustine was a young man who, simply put, went from one thing to another to another searching for satisfaction in his life. Everything he tried only satisfied him for a brief time and then ultimately whatever captured his fancy for a time would ultimately lose its' hold on him and he would search for something else to capture his fancy all over again. And he discovered a pattern in his life: everything that he found pleasure in . . . whether it was drink or women or even his beloved academics . . . . each of these things gave him much pleasure for a short time but the pleasure and the satisfaction wore out each and every time. It was not until he discovered God that he found his satisfaction in God never wore out: " . . . our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee!"
St. Augustine wrote: "Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved You! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you, yet if they had not been in you, they would not have been at all."
"You called, You shouted, and You broke through my deafness. You flashed, You shone, you dispelled my blindness . . . You touched me, and I burned for your peace."
St. Augustine is acknowledging the fact that he was finding pleasure in created things instead of the Creator of these things. He came to the realization that nothing could bring him true, everlasting joy like God did.
Like the Prodigal Son and like St. Augustine, simply recognizing that there is a problem is only half of the battle. We are called to gain the solution to the problem. " . . . for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee." (I Chronicles 28:9) As Christians, we are called to search for God on a daily basis. We are called to search for Him not just on Sundays when we come to Mass, not just when we feel like it, not just when we hit rock-bottom like the Prodigal Son did. We are called to search for God and to have a relationship with Him.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (St. Matthew 6:33) "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth." (St. Matthew 7:7-8)
We are called to seek God. We are called to have a relationship with God. We need to seek God on a daily basis. Give your heart to Him. Give your life to Him. We are called to be born again each one of us, because we need to give our lives over to Him: "Seek ye Me, and ye shall live!"
Please visit the St. Margaret of Scotland website:
St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church
" . . . and when he came to himself . . ." (St. Luke 15:11 ff)
Today St. Luke relates for us what some commentators have deemed, perhaps, the most famous story in the entire world. Certainly, this may in fact be true. Even in TV shows and Movies which have done this theme or at least use the story-line of this story. Certainly, one of the reasons that this story was so powerful to the original audience and to numerous audiences over the years is the fact that this is something that everyone of us can hear it in terms that each of us can understand. Our Lord was a powerful speaker. People gathered from far and near to hear Him preach. They would ask among themselves, "who is this that speaks with such power and authority?" It could be said that one of the reasons that Our Blessed Saviour spoke to so many is because He spoke directly from the heart. And one of the ways in which He did this was to grab the attention of those gathered around Him with powerful stories that we heard today. He grabbed their attention and in turn they wanted to find out what happened next.
Now, everyone knows this story by heart. It is the story of a young man who, quite frankly, had a lot of nerve, to say the least. He demanded one day that his father give him his inheritance even before his father was dead!!!! What hutzpah! Well, to make a long story short, he took the money and ran, literally! He went off and spent all of the money that his father gave him on harlots and riotous living as his brother reminds us later in our story today. But when he hit rock-bottom . . . keep in mind when you hit rock-bottom, there is nowhere to go but sideways or to go back up! . . . . but when things seems like they could not get any worse, that is when he came to his senses and decided that he would go back home to his father and to admit that he was wrong to do what he did and ask for forgiveness.
Now, as I have stated in years past, I think this parable is misnamed. We have come to identify this story as the "Prodigal Son" but, in my humble opinion, it should really be called the story of the "Loving Father" because it is really the father who stands out as the hero of the story.
One of the most beautiful passages is all of Scripture occurs in Verse 20 where we hear the following: "And (the son) arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." The imagery in this brief sentence is spectacular, to say the least. The fact that Our Blessed Lord points out that the father saw his son implies that the father was looking for his son ever since his son left. And once he saw his son, he did not wait for his son to come to him, he took it upon himself to run to the son.
He did not lord it over the son what he had done wrong. He did not act with bitterness. The father did not hold it over his son's head. On the contrary, he stated for the servants to get the best robe and put it on him. Now, as with most things in Scripture, keep in mind, items such as this symbolize important things. In this case the robe symbolizes honor and dignity. Harken back to Zechariah 3:4: "And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment." Now, this is certainly what the father did for his son. He placed on him the best robe to signify the love he had for his son and not bitterness.
Next, he placed the ring on his son's finger. Now, especially in those days, giving someone a ring signified authority that you were giving that person to whom the ring is given. It was sort of like giving that person a power of attorney to act on their behalf. In Genesis 41:42 it is written what Pharaoh did for Joseph: "And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck." So, too, did the father give to his son, a symbol of authority. Hardly the gift to give to someone that he held bitterness against.
Finally, he stated to give his son shoes to place on his feet. Keep in mind that shoes represented freedom because only free people wore shoes. Slaves did not wear shoes. Think back to what the son had planned to ask the father. He wanted the father to make him a hired hand, a hired servant. Now, a hired servant, when you think about it, was even lower than a slave because a hired servant could be let go at any time for any reason. Whereas a slave was considered part of the household, and in that sense a part of the family. So when the son was asking to be made a simple hired servant, he was really asking to be made lower than a slave. His father made him higher than a servant or a slave by placing shoes on his son's feet.
Now, what started all of this off was when the son came to his senses. As we heard today: " . . . and when he came to himself . . ." In other words, this phrase means that the son came to the realization that something was wrong, he woke up, he came to his senses. etc. The only other time I could find that his phrase was used in Scripture was in the Acts of the Apostles when St. Peter was locked up in prison and the doors were opened and his chains were broken and we hear: "And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his angel . . . " (Acts 12:11)
Now the Prodigal Son came to himself, he came to, he woke up, he came to the realization that something was wrong in his life and that something needed to take place to correct it. Now recognizing the fact that something is wrong is only half of the battle. The key is to recognize that something is wrong and then follow through and do something about it. Very often, people will recognize that something is wrong but they choose not to do anything about it. What about if you have a leak under your sink and you recognize that there is a leak because you hear the constant drip drip drip and you have to keep emptying the bucket of the water every so often. So you know that there is something wrong with the plumbing but until the make the effort to either fix the leak yourself or to call a plumber, the problem will continue to be there. In that sense, recognizing the problem is not enough. The Prodigal Son knew he had a problem. The change came when he followed through and finding a solution.
If you read the Confessions of St. Augustine, you will read the following line: "Thou has made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee." St. Augustine was a young man who, simply put, went from one thing to another to another searching for satisfaction in his life. Everything he tried only satisfied him for a brief time and then ultimately whatever captured his fancy for a time would ultimately lose its' hold on him and he would search for something else to capture his fancy all over again. And he discovered a pattern in his life: everything that he found pleasure in . . . whether it was drink or women or even his beloved academics . . . . each of these things gave him much pleasure for a short time but the pleasure and the satisfaction wore out each and every time. It was not until he discovered God that he found his satisfaction in God never wore out: " . . . our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee!"
St. Augustine wrote: "Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved You! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you, yet if they had not been in you, they would not have been at all."
"You called, You shouted, and You broke through my deafness. You flashed, You shone, you dispelled my blindness . . . You touched me, and I burned for your peace."
St. Augustine is acknowledging the fact that he was finding pleasure in created things instead of the Creator of these things. He came to the realization that nothing could bring him true, everlasting joy like God did.
Like the Prodigal Son and like St. Augustine, simply recognizing that there is a problem is only half of the battle. We are called to gain the solution to the problem. " . . . for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee." (I Chronicles 28:9) As Christians, we are called to search for God on a daily basis. We are called to search for Him not just on Sundays when we come to Mass, not just when we feel like it, not just when we hit rock-bottom like the Prodigal Son did. We are called to search for God and to have a relationship with Him.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (St. Matthew 6:33) "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth." (St. Matthew 7:7-8)
We are called to seek God. We are called to have a relationship with God. We need to seek God on a daily basis. Give your heart to Him. Give your life to Him. We are called to be born again each one of us, because we need to give our lives over to Him: "Seek ye Me, and ye shall live!"
Please visit the St. Margaret of Scotland website:
St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church
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