Sermon Luke 15:11b-32 Jesus Tells about a Father <\/p>\n
By Fr. Bill Wigmore<\/p>\n
Well once again, welcome to the service & Happy Father’s Day to all the dads here – how’re we doing tonight?<\/em><\/p>\n Sometime back, I came a cross one of those top ten lists<\/em> And I figured, since this is Father’s Day, Number 10 “Well, how ’bout that! … I’m lost!<\/em> Looks like we’ll Number 9 “You know Pumpkin, now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be Number 8 “I noticed that all your friends seem to have a certain Number 7 “<\/em>Here’s a credit card and the keys to my new car Number 6 “What do you mean you wanna play football? Number 5 “Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend … Number 3 “Now Listen! No son of mine is going to live under this Father’s Day can bring up memories & feelings for all of us <\/p>\n And for those of us who grew up in homes touched by alcoholism or drug addiction, the memories aren’t always happy.<\/p>\n I know a priest who served for many years as the chaplain in a very large state prison. And so the priest said to himself next time, <\/em>he wasn’t going to be When he asked one of the other chaplains why nobody wanted the cards the guy said: I’ve spoken about the problems I had with my own father.<\/p>\n My experience of what a father is<\/em> – wasn’t good.<\/p>\n Now tonight’s gospel story is one that we read here at the service two or three times each year. <\/em>We read itso often <\/em>because if there’s one story in all of scripture<\/em> that I wish we addicts could each hear, and really take in and let it change us, <\/em>then this is the one.<\/p>\n And maybe it’s especially important for those of us who’ve had our “God-images”<\/em> damaged by our pasts; Now Jesus tells this story because he’s being asked by the And so it’s in this context that Jesus tells them this story.<\/p>\n It’s Jesus explaining to the church people of his day what he’s doing –<\/p>\n because what he was doing, But, according to Jesus,<\/em> what he’s doing is exactly what the God of his understanding<\/em> is always doing<\/p>\n When you came into the service tonight, I hope everyone received a little card.<\/p>\n Now I don’t know if you can see it on the small card probably not <\/em> but there are two things about the father that the artist painted into the scene that most people can very easily miss.<\/p>\n The first has to do with the way he’s painted the father’s eyes In Rembrandt’s imagination the father doesn’t even have eyes to (See, you don’t get your inheritance until your father’s dead He’s blind to the insult He simply keeps on loving<\/em> – and instead of giving him the back of his hand he gives the boy exactly what he asks for.<\/p>\n (So the kid winds up living with the pigs .. and we all have our pig stories!)<\/p>\n But, being a little con artist that he is, All this loving father<\/em> can do is throw his arms around his son And there’s something else about this painting For some reason Rembrandt’s painted each of the father’s hands <\/em>very differently Rembrandt’s saying something very powerful here about the God of his understanding – <\/em>and about how it is<\/em>that God loves us.<\/p>\n He seems to be saying that God loves us both as a father loves and as a mother loves too.<\/p>\n This father is strong and that’s the male hand that’s supporting his son <\/em><\/p>\n But with the other hand,<\/em> while all of this is going on, The scriptures tell us that we’re each wonderfully made. If our God is only one and not the other, I want to close now with another list I came across not too long ago. Someone gathered up one liners<\/em> from the Old and the And if you’ll listen to them carefully,<\/p>\n It reads like this:<\/em><\/p>\n MY CHILD . . . <\/em><\/p>\n You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1 You are my child. Acts 17:28<\/p>\n I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5 I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7 Signed:<\/em> Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n Copyright 2009, Bill Wigmore. Used by permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sermon Luke 15:11b-32 Jesus Tells about a Father By Fr. Bill Wigmore Well once again, welcome to the service & Happy Father’s Day to all the dads here – how’re we doing tonight? Sometime back, I came a cross one of those top ten lists that David Letterman reads on The Late Show. This one … Continue reading “Luke 15:11-32 Jesus Tells about a Father (Wigmore) – Bible study”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
that David Letterman reads on The Late Show.<\/p>\n\n
it might be a good night to read it. So here we go<\/em>:
Ten things you never heard come out of your father’s mouth:<\/p>\n
have to stop and ask for directions.”<\/p>\n
ready for un-chaperoned car dates. Won’t that be fun?<\/em><\/p>\n
“up yours” attitude” … I really like that!”<\/em><\/p>\n
GO CRAZY!”<\/em><\/p>\n
Figure skating’s not good enough for you, son?”<\/em><\/p>\n
you might want to consider throwing a party.”
<\/em>
Number 4 “Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with your car.
Probably one of those doo-hickey thingies you
know — that makes it run or something. Just have it towed to a <\/em>
mechanic and pay whatever he asks.”<\/em><\/p>\n
roof withoutan earring so quit your belly-aching, and let’s go to themall!”
<\/em>
Number 2 “Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? <\/em>
I make plenty of money for you to spend!”
<\/em>
And the <\/em>Number 1 thing you never heard your father say:
“Would you mind turning that music up a bit!”<\/em><\/p>\n
And he tells the story of how, during his very first year there:<\/em>
when Mother’s Day arrived in early May,
he was overwhelmed with requests from the prisoners for
Mother’s Day cards for the men to send home.
He gave out boxes and boxes of em<\/em> but he never seemed
to have enough to meet all the demand.<\/p>\n
caught short
and so the very next month, when Father’s Day rolled around,
he’d stocked up with plenty of cards
but he was shocked at what happened next
almost none of the men asked for them. <\/em>
This time h<\/em>e was left with boxes and boxes of unused cards.<\/p>\n
“Welcome to prison! <\/em>Most of these men never knew their fathers
and a lot of the ones who do would just as soon forget em.”<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
because this Father<\/em> that Jesus describes is so unlike any we knew growing up.<\/p>\n
righteous, church-going people in his town:
Why’s he hanging out with the ones they consider <\/em>
all the lowlife scum in their community?<\/em><\/p>\n\n
wasn’t what any of them were doing.<\/p>\n\n
\n
because according to this artist,<\/em> the father is blind.<\/em><\/p>\n
see any or all<\/em> of the terrible things that his son has done to him.<\/p>\n\n
“Drop dead!” <\/em>is what his son was saying.
“Drop dead, Dad, so I can get what’s then legally coming to me!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\n
this kid is still trying to manipulate his old man.
“I’ve got a plan!” <\/em>he says, “I’ll tell my father that I don’t deserve to be called his son<\/em>
I’ll play on his mercy I’ll ask him to take me in and treat me like one of his servants.<\/em>
At least I’ll get myself: three hots and a cot.” (Been there & done that!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n
And instead of treating him like a servant (which was his plan)
he treats him like royalty (which is God’s plan!)<\/p>\n\n
that’s puzzled people<\/em> for centuries.
It’s the way the artist depicts the father’s two hands.
Hands that are holding on to this wayward son.<\/p>\n
One hand is very clearly the hand of a man
And the other is just as clearly, the hand of a woman.<\/p>\n\n
then with his other hand, with his female side<\/em>
this father’s also gently hugging his son’s neck
He’s embracing him, much as a mother would hug<\/em> her
child.<\/p>\n\n
They say we’re made in the very image and likeness of God
And because we reflect him and who he is,<\/em>
then God must be male and God must be female too <\/p>\n\n
then we’re still holding on to our old ideas
and we’re missing out on the Real Thing.<\/p>\n
It’s a collection of scripture passages that were put together to make up an imaginary Father’s Day cardfrom our God.<\/em><\/p>\n
New Testament and strung em all together.<\/p>\n\n
I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head I’ve numbered. Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my own image. Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28<\/p>\n
I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26<\/p>\n
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4
And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son Jesus. John 17:23<\/p>\n
I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15
My question isWill you be my child? John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32
Come home. Luke 15: 7<\/p>\n
With Love Everlasting
Your Dad<\/em>,<\/p>\n