BIBLICAL PASSAGE : Luke 15:
1-3,11-32
but the Pharisees
and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable.
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father.
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable.
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days,
the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a
distant country
where he squandered
his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely
spent everything,
a severe famine
struck that country,
and he found
himself in dire need.
So he hired himself
out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his
farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to
eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him
any.
Coming to his
senses he thought,‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still
a long way off,
his father caught
sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son,
embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve
to be called your son.’
But his father
ordered his servants,
‘Quickly, bring the
finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his
finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened
calf and slaughter it.
Then let us
celebrate with a feast,
because this son of
mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and
has been found.’
Then the
celebration began.
Now the older son
had been out in the fieldand, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son
returns
who swallowed up
your property with prostitutes,
for him you
slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are
here with me always;
everything I have
is yours.
But now we must
celebrate and rejoice,
because your
brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has
been found.’”
SHEDDING
THE LIGHT
In this parable Jesus gives a vivid
picture of God and what God is like. God is truly kinder than us. He does not
lose hope or give up when we stray. He rejoices in finding the lost and in
welcoming them home.
CHALLENGE
Do you know the joy of repentance
and the restoration of relationship as a son or daughter of your heavenly
Father?
"Lord Jesus, may I never doubt
your love or take for granted the mercy you have shown to me. Fill me with your
transforming love that I may be merciful as you are merciful."
-Adapted from rc.net.com
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