“You Are Always With Me And All That I Have Is Yours”
Sermon Text for March 18:
Luke 13:1-9
The sounds of the party were all around him. People were laughing, sharing stories, and generally having a good time. There were toasts and singing, and good natured ribbing. Everyone seemed at ease at the party except for him, he wasn’t in a party mood. The more he thought about it the more troubled he became, and he wondered why he had come to the party at all. He found a quiet corner in the small library off the main room where people were partying and began reading esoteric books about church law. The relative quiet of the library was soothing, but he couldn’t help hearing the laughter from the other room, and he didn’t like it. How could those people have such a good time?
He remembered with nostalgia when laboring among the Children of God brought joy to him. In those days celebration came easily and naturally because even work was invigorating. In those days he believed that his hard work was an investment in a better world, and maybe even a down payment on the Kingdom of God. But that seemed a lifetime ago. Sometimes he struggled to recapture the feeling of those earlier years, but the feeling was faint, a vanishing wisp, a phantom.
In his heart and mind he still tried to hold onto the values that he had when we started working in the family business. But inside he felt hollow and exhausted. Why were those people laughing? He felt so left out.
Sometimes he wondered if he had become the prodigal son. Certainly he felt distant from God. And yet he had not gone away into some far off country to wallow in sin. He had never denied God, and so far as he knew he had never conducted himself in a way that brought shame to the family. But still in his heart he knew that part of him had gone away to a place where God seemed absent.
It wasn’t that he abandoned the people of God. He was always with them, even when he was uncomfortable, like he was at this party. More than that, he seemed always to be in God’s house. He still worshiped every week and tended to God’s people. He still did his best to follow God’s law. But he was on automatic pilot working mindlessly and expending energy fruitlessly. Why were those people having such a good time?
He wanted to enter into the party and join the others in their laughter, but there seemed to be an unbreachable wall between himself and the others. He felt as if they knew some joyful news that they hadn’t shared with him. How else could he explain their joy and his numbness?
Do you recognize this man? He is the older brother, and a composite of people I know from across the Church. He is a pastor, an elder, a Sunday school teacher. He is the woman who always sits by herself in the back of the sanctuary, a choir member and a deacon. Some part of him is you and some parts are me. He is the older brother that Jesus talks about, who is incapable of entering into the joy of his Father.
Usually when we talk about the parable of the Prodigal Son we spend most of our time talking about the younger brother who behaves shamefully, wishes his father dead, runs off and looses his inheritance living an immoral life. We all feel good when the prodigal comes home because it helps us believe that one day the prodigals we know will come home and find redemption in God’s house.
But we don’t very often spend time talking about the older brother because he might just be us. And if that’s true then the lesson cuts too close to home. We don’t know too much about the older brother except that he is a good steady worker. If there is a field to be planted he is there. If hay needs cutting he is there. If the grass at the church needs trimming, or a class needs teaching, or the youth need one more sponsor for a trip, he or she is ready to step in. But don’t expect the older brother to be happy with rule breakers, people who have new ideas or those who want to do things differently.
The older brother works tirelessly for the good of God’s Kingdom and never admits that he wants a reward. We older brothers believe we work selflessly and that the work itself is its own reward. We do the work of God because the work is there to do, and it is a mark of our faithfulness.
But sometimes a disturbing, unsettling thought creeps into our minds, and before we know it our joy is replaced by anxiety. It says, “You deserve special recognition for the job you are doing. You really are more special than those others who don’t work as hard as you do. At the very least you ought to get you own way most of the time.” And suddenly if we are not careful we are no longer working for God, but for the special recognition that others give us. And that is the wrong focus – it is natural but it is wrong. If we work so that others will recognize us then the recognition becomes its own reward.
Jesus told the story of two brothers. One ran away from home and the other stayed. One lived an irresponsible, disgusting life, and the other was as steady as a rock. One ventured far from his Father geographically, spiritually, and emotionally. The other stayed physically close but created emotional and spiritual distance. One came to his senses and came home and the father celebrated with a lavish party. The other could not celebrate because in his heart he wanted some of the attention the other was getting. So he sat in the library during the party and reviewed books on Church Law, to see where he went wrong.
We older brothers and sisters sometimes find ourselves depleted. We are exhausted from always being there and carry thing the load while others benefit from our work. And sometimes someone else gets the reward that the tiniest voice inside us says belongs to us.
The Father’s words to the older brother are among the most moving in scripture, and if you are an older brother or sister then you should take them as God’s word to you. I know that I do. Friends, this is our recognition. The Father says, “Son, daughter, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
We older siblings are always with God and the Kingdom belongs to us. Now there’s a reason to party!
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Luke 13:1-9
The sounds of the party were all around him. People were laughing, sharing stories, and generally having a good time. There were toasts and singing, and good natured ribbing. Everyone seemed at ease at the party except for him, he wasn’t in a party mood. The more he thought about it the more troubled he became, and he wondered why he had come to the party at all. He found a quiet corner in the small library off the main room where people were partying and began reading esoteric books about church law. The relative quiet of the library was soothing, but he couldn’t help hearing the laughter from the other room, and he didn’t like it. How could those people have such a good time?
He remembered with nostalgia when laboring among the Children of God brought joy to him. In those days celebration came easily and naturally because even work was invigorating. In those days he believed that his hard work was an investment in a better world, and maybe even a down payment on the Kingdom of God. But that seemed a lifetime ago. Sometimes he struggled to recapture the feeling of those earlier years, but the feeling was faint, a vanishing wisp, a phantom.
In his heart and mind he still tried to hold onto the values that he had when we started working in the family business. But inside he felt hollow and exhausted. Why were those people laughing? He felt so left out.
Sometimes he wondered if he had become the prodigal son. Certainly he felt distant from God. And yet he had not gone away into some far off country to wallow in sin. He had never denied God, and so far as he knew he had never conducted himself in a way that brought shame to the family. But still in his heart he knew that part of him had gone away to a place where God seemed absent.
It wasn’t that he abandoned the people of God. He was always with them, even when he was uncomfortable, like he was at this party. More than that, he seemed always to be in God’s house. He still worshiped every week and tended to God’s people. He still did his best to follow God’s law. But he was on automatic pilot working mindlessly and expending energy fruitlessly. Why were those people having such a good time?
He wanted to enter into the party and join the others in their laughter, but there seemed to be an unbreachable wall between himself and the others. He felt as if they knew some joyful news that they hadn’t shared with him. How else could he explain their joy and his numbness?
Do you recognize this man? He is the older brother, and a composite of people I know from across the Church. He is a pastor, an elder, a Sunday school teacher. He is the woman who always sits by herself in the back of the sanctuary, a choir member and a deacon. Some part of him is you and some parts are me. He is the older brother that Jesus talks about, who is incapable of entering into the joy of his Father.
Usually when we talk about the parable of the Prodigal Son we spend most of our time talking about the younger brother who behaves shamefully, wishes his father dead, runs off and looses his inheritance living an immoral life. We all feel good when the prodigal comes home because it helps us believe that one day the prodigals we know will come home and find redemption in God’s house.
But we don’t very often spend time talking about the older brother because he might just be us. And if that’s true then the lesson cuts too close to home. We don’t know too much about the older brother except that he is a good steady worker. If there is a field to be planted he is there. If hay needs cutting he is there. If the grass at the church needs trimming, or a class needs teaching, or the youth need one more sponsor for a trip, he or she is ready to step in. But don’t expect the older brother to be happy with rule breakers, people who have new ideas or those who want to do things differently.
The older brother works tirelessly for the good of God’s Kingdom and never admits that he wants a reward. We older brothers believe we work selflessly and that the work itself is its own reward. We do the work of God because the work is there to do, and it is a mark of our faithfulness.
But sometimes a disturbing, unsettling thought creeps into our minds, and before we know it our joy is replaced by anxiety. It says, “You deserve special recognition for the job you are doing. You really are more special than those others who don’t work as hard as you do. At the very least you ought to get you own way most of the time.” And suddenly if we are not careful we are no longer working for God, but for the special recognition that others give us. And that is the wrong focus – it is natural but it is wrong. If we work so that others will recognize us then the recognition becomes its own reward.
Jesus told the story of two brothers. One ran away from home and the other stayed. One lived an irresponsible, disgusting life, and the other was as steady as a rock. One ventured far from his Father geographically, spiritually, and emotionally. The other stayed physically close but created emotional and spiritual distance. One came to his senses and came home and the father celebrated with a lavish party. The other could not celebrate because in his heart he wanted some of the attention the other was getting. So he sat in the library during the party and reviewed books on Church Law, to see where he went wrong.
We older brothers and sisters sometimes find ourselves depleted. We are exhausted from always being there and carry thing the load while others benefit from our work. And sometimes someone else gets the reward that the tiniest voice inside us says belongs to us.
The Father’s words to the older brother are among the most moving in scripture, and if you are an older brother or sister then you should take them as God’s word to you. I know that I do. Friends, this is our recognition. The Father says, “Son, daughter, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
We older siblings are always with God and the Kingdom belongs to us. Now there’s a reason to party!
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 7:15 PM
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