Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 3/30/2025
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Awaken me to myself and others
Dear brothers and sisters - let's start out on a serious note:
So how do you like the pink?
On this one Sunday in 6, in which Mother Church gives our Lenten disciplines subtle reprieve, Rose Sunday, I have yet another reason to approach this esteemed pulpit with a smile.
For I come, once again, with great joy to be with you, indeed you are my second family - or as apostles of old might argue, my first family –
- to quote Jesus, once surrounded by fellow believers when his family knocked at the door and he replied to their plea for attention by motioning to his gathered friends saying, "For these are my mothers, brothers, and sisters!"
So we come together not simply rejoicing in these bonds of affection, but strengthening them
as we sit beneath the tree of wisdom to hear that wandering Sage from Galilee - and his epic tale you know so well, The Prodigal Son and His Older Brother.
And you and I are quick to notice that in this parable we see Jesus not merely communicating a two-thousand year old sibling dispute -
- but making a much larger statement about much larger truths - universal truths - truths that have not gone away or out of style - about issues that plague us today.
For ours are also anxious times of rivalry and entitlement, inequality and unfairness.
And the dark forces of selfishness and "me-first-ism" are alive and well, threatening to shatter our blessed relationships, communities, and institutions, just as they took-down those in Jesus' day.
For we continue to suffer under the dark clouds of moral ineptitude -
- where the race to violate the first commandment seems to heat up more and more each day - as an increasing number of people and institutions seek to put money and things before God and God's people.
Into our time, then, comes the Eternal Word - the Eternal Wisdom - in the story of a young squire who'd had enough of small town life -
We all know about that young buck - who made the bold break from his devoted family, insulting them by taking half their estate - and heading off on his own!
And not to invest in a Subway franchise or an I-R-A!
No, he squandered that inheritance -
- and found himself so penniless and poor that he was jealous of the food the swine were eating - a curious twist to a Jewish story...
But that's what it took for that young man - as our text tells us - to 'come to himself' -
- and to experience the grandest of awakenings!
One that brings light to the darkness, alertness to the asleep, and even life to the dead!
It is this astounding event that fuels his 180-degree turn back and journey home - to the open arms of his father - who was praying and waiting all along.
It is with the joy of today's Psalmist, whose words we just chanted: "Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven!" -
- that Father and son planned a party as grand as had ever been held: for the lost had been found!
This, of course, was not great news to the other main character in the story - the elder brother - whose reaction serves as our cautionary tale, and title of my remarks. "The Man Who Would Not Go to the Party."
In him we find the heartbeat of criticism Jesus leveled against his grumbling accusers - who had started it all - by complaining: "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
And it is here, you and I find the chink in the armor of so many succeeding religious, corporate, and governmental institutions!
These are our brothers and sisters who have ascended the heights of earthly accomplishment - climbed the corporate ladder - risen in the religious ranks - and have a fancy title in front of their name!
But their success has gone to their heads - and not to their hearts! As they choose that well-worn path to perdition - falling prey like so many before - to that pernicious trap - to elevate the means BY which they live, over the ends FOR which they live.
When Jesus calls us to greatness, he calls us to service.
We are elevated to high places to look out for other people!
The higher we are called - the lower we must go.
And when we put "Created Things" above "The Creator" - we have lost before we've started.
And so this older son would not go to the party: why?
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First, his entitlement would not let him.
We imagine this elder brother was upset that his younger brother had left him to do all the work.
We imagine this elder brother was mad that his younger brother had spent his inheritance the way he did.
We imagine this elder brother was outraged at his father for being so kind and accepting - and not judgmental and putative - as that younger brother certainly deserved!
After all;
It was the older brother who, now, had to bring in the crops,
It was the older brother who, now, had to feed the fatted the calf!
It was the older brother's inheritance that his father was now stealing and giving: a ring, a robe, and sandals! to this intrepid fool of a brother!
Give ear to the grist of the older brother's anger in his sizzling, 60-word diatribe against his father, we hear the words 'me, mine, and I' and never the words 'ours and we!'
When will we learn that all wealth is commonwealth? Nobody makes it on their own. We are an intricate web of inter-connectedness that we ignore to our peril!
While the older brother had worked on land that wasn't his, Depended on servants who weren't his,
And labored under favorable weather that was beyond anyone's control -
His entitlement did not let him see things that way!
When will we learn that every day is a gift?
That nothing is owed, and everything is a given?
We do not cause the sun to rise in glory, nor our hearts beat in rhythm!
And if we're honest, and really got what we deserved, would any one of us be here today?
Absent of gratitude and humility, then, came pride, judgment, and anger. We know this attitude, because it's gotten us into a lot of trouble.
America's original sin is its land grab from the Natives, And, for hundreds of years, building the world's biggest economy on the backs of black, slave labor,
Because of entitlement!
And we see its ugly visage raise its head once again as we hear of deportations and land grabs - that make us like the elder son - whose example we cannot follow.
Because we have chosen to follow Jesus - who showed us that the cure to entitlement is humility.
That we are not here to dominate, but to serve. We are not to Lord over because we can, we are to serve because we must!
For our very survival is at stake.
Selfishness and entitlement can get us to the first round - but never to the winner's circle.
Jesus taught us to put on the eyeglasses of another -
Walk a mile in their shoes -
Empathize and sympathize!
If heaven is a big party where everyone's invited - entitlement will keep you out.
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And so, the second attribute we see in "This Man Who Would Not Come to the Party" is unforgiveness.
Inscribed on our church's grandest and perhaps most beautiful stained glass window, shining down on the multitude of 12 Mile Road commuters - is the word 'Go!'
It joins countless other memorials of similar sentiment that line the corridors of Christian history.
For that verb is an encapsulation of that great mission to which every one of us have been called - to go out - and do many things - but perhaps best put under the banner St. Paul unfurls in 2 Corinthians 5 - when he unequivocally states that you and I are "Ministers of Reconciliation."
Ours is the work of forgiveness and reconciliation.
We are not to passively await the arrival of the offended party to grovel over to our thrones and repent!
No!
We are to go!
We are the ones who work to mend the fence, We are the ones who sew up the tear, We are the ones Christ has enlisted to make right, what has gone wrong!
To forgive and to reconcile!
Jesus' mission was to train a small cadre of peacemakers - because it doesn't take many - to go out into the world as salt and light - to season and illuminate - to bring out the good flavors of harmony, by enlightening us on what needs fixing - to right that which has gone wrong!
Blessed are the peacemakers!
And what the elder son lacked is what our homes, communities, and nation also find in increasingly short supply:
We fight, divide, and cut off: And this, to our own peril!
We vilify, demean, and dehumanize; to our shared societal detriment! When we avoid reconciliation, peacemaking, and walking together, we sow seeds of disintegration and decline.
For we know the truth in that age-old cry: United we stand, and divided we fall!
Start in your home - start in your neighborhood -
Refuse to return that slap on the cheek!
Offer up the olive branch!
Take that first step towards forgiveness!
What makes us think that the bitter brew of unforgiveness is better than that new wine, freely flowing at the party to which all are invited?
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And the third attribute we see in "This Man Who Would Not Come to the Party" is that he lacked the vision to carry on his father's legacy.
Many of you here are the oldest child in your family. You know what it's like.
For upon you lies a heavy burden you did not ask for, nor can you avoid.
Upon you rests the responsibility of legacy.
When family problems or responsibilities emerge, you are the number one person in training to handle this.
You remember when your parents died - and all those people you told, "Don't call me Mrs. Smith, that's my Mom!" Well guess what, Mrs. Smith?
To carry on that legacy is to pay attention to it.
It is to observe closely how the Father has organized the household - what are the rules, behaviors, attitudes, and mission we are to carry on?
What is our place in God's world - as bearers of God's good word to the families we have now started, the neighbors that now surround us, and the changing world in which we find ourselves?
How easy it is to look at the responsibilities of this legacy and to choose a different path -
As did the elder brother -
Turning a blind eye to that heritage and giving in to selfishness, vengeance, and refusal to give the father's mission the time and place it deserves.
You and I are the first-born in God's family charged with carrying on our Father's legacy.
And you and I are tempted to do as the elder son did!
We too find it difficult to live up to that sacred work of love and healing Jesus has left us.
This is daunting -
For our world is super-charged with pain, suffering, and injustice! From the violent ghettos of Port au Prince, to the empty kitchen pantries of Oak Park, to the strung out addict who's broken into yet another home to get money and guns.
How easy it is to shirk the responsibilities given to us by the Father?
It's far easier to look inward - instead of outward -
To sit down - and not stand up -
As we wonder if these days will be remembered, *not for the few who caused trouble, but for the *many, who stood still, and did nothing?
I know this is not us, dear saints -
For as you leave our service this morning you will notice a new table in our Atrium. It's a new table, with a familiar face!
It's called our Action Table. Here you can take action. Here you will find resources on problems God is asking us to solve: Here you will find ways to stop the suffering in Haiti - Here you will find ways to stop hunger in our backyard - Here you will find ways to end gun violence in Michigan.
You and I, as members of the household of God, carry on that honored legacy of our Father as we fight for fairness and stand up to injustice!
We heed the wisdom of the elder son - to live up to our legacy!
Lean in to our heritage!
Follow in the ways of the Father, whose arms are wide, whose doors are open, and whose way is the way to eternal life!
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One of the most appealing and intriguing segments of this parable is its ending - or lack of it - for we do not know if "The Man Who Would Not Go to the Party" - actually attended?
Did he come to grips with his entitlement, unforgiveness, and lack of vision?
Did he come to see, not just the error of his younger brothers ways, but of his own?
I like to think that he did.
I like to think that the boundless love and endless affection of the Father found a crack in his dam of self-righteousness,
And that this house party turned into an earthly incarnation of that heavenly feast when the elder brother finally capitulated to the Father's grace - and divine love burst that dam and lifted that whole family to new heights, as they floated down that soothing river of life, toward that star-bright heavenly destiny!
I like to think that just as the younger brother 'Came to himself' so, did the older -
And so can you and I!
God is awakening God's people to a new day, a new life, a new vision! May that vision take root in our hearts today!
Let us turn away from every temptation toward entitlement - realizing that all we have is from God and every bit of it is to be used to God's glory!
Let us put an end to unforgiveness - and take hold of our calling as reconcilers and peacemakers!
Refusing to participate in dissension and disparagement - never letting the sun set on division!
And let us look up and live up to that legacy!
Let us behold, anew, that purpose and those promises to which we have been sacredly entrusted!
Turning toward the voice that calls us, the light that guides us, and the love that empowers us to boldly enter in to the Father's endless feast!
Amen.