Deuteronomy 26: 1-11
Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16
Romans 10: 8b -13
Luke 4: 1-13

“Come, Enter the Wilderness”

We begin Lent by hearing these words of scripture: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil....” Lent is an invitation to take a journey to the wilderness and to spend time with God, and with our calling as disciples.

The word, ‘wilderness’ has come to be associated with a desert, like the Sahara, a place of sand, scorching sun, extreme daytime heat, freezing nights, and an almost total lack of resources. The wilderness around the Jordan would have been very similar to this description.

Yet the term wilderness actually means ‘an uninhabited place’. A wilderness can be any place where one can get away from the daily demands of deadlines and schedules, jobs and hockey tournaments, weather forecasts, grocery shopping, and meetings. A wilderness can be any place of solitude away from those demands which separate us from our connection to the holy. Writer and retreat leader, Keri Wehlander writes, “We go to deserted places so that we do not desert our truest self and our authentic calling. We rest there, regroup there, and re-member there. It is a place where we can quiet our Spirits enough to hear the word of the Spirit, just as Jesus did.” (From Seasons of the Spirit)

I read a book a few years ago by a man who went on what was originally planned as a 40 day pilgrimage into the wilderness of Tararua Mountains in New Zealand (though it was cut short by a few days because of concerns about his frostbitten toes). It was a journey of endurance, self discovery and spiritual growth. During this time, away from the distractions of his day to day life he learned that he could be at home in the silence with no schedule imposed on him and no outside forces competing for this attention. He learned to trust in the guidance of the Spirit and felt personally loved and affirmed by God in a way he had never felt before. His experience changed how he viewed his goals and priorities in life. His mountain journey was not the end of his spiritual quest though, it was a continuation of his journey up to that point and it continues today, long after his return to civilization.

In today’s gospel lesson we are told that immediately after his baptism, he was led or even driven, depending on the gospel you are reading, into the wilderness. While in the wilderness, as I read today, he was tempted and resisted that temptation.

According to the biblical record, spending time alone in the wilderness was a common activity for prophets in the Old Testament. Clearly, Jesus begins his ministry in the same vein as these prophets of old. Luke wishes to make it clear to his readers that Jesus was operating out of the best of the tradition of the people of Israel.

Yet, his identity as God’s son, confirmed at his baptism, makes things a little more confusing. If he is God’s son then his life will be without the regular problems faced by prophets of God. He will not need to fear for his life when he says the ‘wring thing’ to the people in power and he will note be tempted to compromise the message for any reason. NOT!

Luke’s gospel makes it abundantly clear that Jesus, while being God’s son was also fully human and tempted in every way that human beings are tempted. Hebrews 4:15 says, that we do not follow someone unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but rather, “one who in every respect has been tested as we are “. Luke’s gospel also makes it abundantly clear that Jesus did not succumb to this temptation.

When we look a the temptation we need to know a little about what the people were expecting from the Messiah. Basically, they wanted someone to overthrow the hated Romans, reinstitute the reign of David, purify worship and some even expected that the vineyards would yield bumper crops when the Messiah had returned. Each of the temptations relates to an aspect of this hope of the people. Luke’s gospel seeks to make it clear what this Messiah didn’t come to do. There will be no theatrical demonstrations here. Jesus came to show that the true work of the Spirit requires faithfulness. Jesus needed that time in the wilderness and subsequent journeys into solitude so that he would not be tempted to compromise his goals or concede to popular demands .

So how does this account of the temptation do this? Based on the commentary in the New Interpreter’s Bible- Luke and John, Abingdon Press, 1995 FIRST: The temptations clarify the nature of Jesus work as God’s son. They answer questions such as ‘what kinds of things will he do, or not do?”

SECOND: The temptations identified Jesus with the heritage of Israel. Jesus consistently uses the scriptures of his people to ward off the tempter’s offers. He remains firmly grounded in the heritage of his people. One thing that we tend to forget is that Jesus lived AND DIED a faithful Jew.

THIRD: The temptations show the reader that God’s way is always in conflict with the ways which would dissuade the faithful from the paths to which God calls. This has been going on since the Garden!

FOURTH: The temptations emphasize that Jesus’ ministry fulfills the scriptures. Even though he had no intention of fulfilling the popular ideas of what the Messiah came to do, Jesus was, most certainly, the one that the scriptures spoke of.

FIFTH: This is not a unique something that only Jesus could possibly accomplish. This account offers us a model for our own times of testing; we can get through it as he did. In the temptation story Jesus is fulfilling the command at the heart and Judea’s and hear O Israel Lord our God the Lord is one

All that being said, how can we take this story into our day to day lives? A large part of the problem with this story is that these days temptation does not come to us dressed as a recognizable devil, if it ever did!

Very few temptations are blatant struggles between black and white. Will I steal that chocolate bar or not? Will I copy my friend’s essay or not? Will I kill my noisy neighbour nor not? While these temptations are real, they are not really the focus of this passage.

We know that life is not like a western in which the shootout in the otherwise deserted town square is a showdown between the bad guy in a black Stetson and the hero in a white one.

How does our baptismal identity change how we live in the world? Because of it, Jesus refused to do certain things or act in certain ways. When we were baptized we were named as God’s beloved child. How does this identity affect our daily lives, if at all? How do we wrestle with the questions that come our way, as we go about our work in the world, in the light of this baptismal identity?

We are called to wrestle with many moral and ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. In the church we tend to limit the idea of temptation to “black and white” moral issues about stealing and murder and adultery and the like, but as I have already said, there is much more to it than that, and the gray areas are much larger.

What if our job required us to do something that was not immoral, but unethical. What if, as a reporter, we had to suppress a story, not to protect the innocent, but to shield the guilty from scrutiny and to keep our job? What if we were required to promote and increase sales of a product which we believe was harmful? What if our honesty would ‘show up’ the dishonesty of co-workers, and we were compelled to keep silent to keep the peace?

Just as the temptation helped Jesus to clarify his mission and ministry, our most serious temptations help us to clarify ours.

If what we have always believed about Jesus is true he was not tempted to do the impossible. He was fully capable, for example, of turning the stones into bread, or of worshipping the devil, or of seeking God’s protection for crazy acts of derring-do? We are not tempted by the same things. I guess, for me, it comes down to the question, “Just because we can, does it make it right, or appropriate?” We are called to ask, “What is the larger picture and what are the implications of each choice?”

It’s not just personal moral and ethical dilemmas which are addressed by this story. To use one very current example, we are all forced to answer the question: What do we want our community to be like, in relation to environmental issues? When does the corporate good outweigh the need of individuals? Or does it ever? What has a higher claim: the needs of the unemployed for jobs or strict anti-pollution standards that protect the ecology but end up closing down industries that have been long time employers?

How do we wade through all of the current controversy about genetic engineering? If it is good to use fewer pesticides on our crops such as potatoes and canola, is it alright to do that through genetic engineering? What are the benefits? What are we required to compromise to achieve these benefits?

Despite what we may think, genetic engineering is not new. When I was in grade 3 or 4 I read about the development of a new strain of wheat which could be grown in the harsher climate of the Canadian prairie. It was developed in the very early 20th century by the crossing of a wheat variety originating in Poland, known as Red Fife, with an Indian wheat known as hard Red Calcutta, to create the Marquis wheat which resulted in a variety which matured 6 days earlier and became the standard for evaluating all subsequent varieties. Wheat could be grown where it had been previously impossible. That was about 100 years ago.

Medical questions abound as well. If we could cure a debilitating disease like Parkinson’s, would it be ok to use fetal stem cell tissue? Would the source of this tissue make a difference?

These days, our quality of life has been greatly improved by medical advances. Research into certain debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis has been greatly aided by genetic research. The development of insulin was one of the biggest advances of the last century. We need to ask, however, is experimenting on, or with, human tissue, given the possible good that may come of it, a temptation to which we should succumb. Have we really sat down to clarify the issues, or are both sides of the debate operating from firmly entrenched positions from which there can be no dialogue or no learning?

Unfortunately neither the story, nor the other scriptures to which they refer, offer us direct guidelines on these and many other ethical dilemmas. Even those passages that seem to apply directly need to be carefully studied as our view of the world and scientific discoveries are so very different that they were thousands of years ago. We need to wrestle seriously with these questions both within and outside of the scientific, industrial and farming communities.

The temptation to use our powers for inappropriate purposes is great. The temptation to use our power to build ourselves up at the expense of others, is great. Yet, God gives us intellect and the desire to know and to develop and there can be nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. God gives us the ability to decide what it is that we are to be about in the world.

As we contemplate our personal goals and priorities and as we contemplate our place in and reaction to the questions of the larger world we are called to be connected to the faith of the church, to the scriptures of that faith and the Spirit who breathes life into us all. Let us use this lenten time as a time of renewal and discovery and struggle and knowing. May we emerge from it with a stronger resolve to be the people God calls us to be.

Amen.

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13: 31-35

What are the signs of success? Having many people follow after you? Living to a ripe old age?
Having plenty of money set aside for your retirement?
Having a two car garage, twice yearly vacations, a set of snowmobiles for winter and a boat for the summer?
Living till you are 100 and in good health?
Being well thought of?
Having a job that brings you instant respect and recognition?
Or?
Having your picture on notice board of every police station from St John’s to Victoria?
Being executed for a capital crime by an oppressive totalitarian state?
Having your friends desert you when the chips are down?
Having your only friends be the marginalized folks of society?

The gospel lesson for today is certainly an intriguing one. I am not sure what I think of the Pharisees who are portrayed in today’s passage, especially after having seen Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” just over a week ago. In contrast to the ones we meet later on in the gospels, who insist on Jesus’ crucifixion, I am not sure of the motives of these Pharisees. I wonder if they are genuinely interested in Jesus’ welfare, or if they are really gloating in a ‘they are going to get you’ kind of manner?

I would like to believe, and there is good reason to do so, that some of the religious leaders known as Pharisees, were genuinely supportive of Jesus and his mission and ministry. We must guard against the belief that fosters much antisemitism, which is that “the Jews” are responsible for Jesus’ death.

Many people, like the disciples, many of the crowds, and as I said, perhaps some of the Pharisees, were supportive of Jesus and his ministry. What is at issue here in this passage is their level of understanding of the real nature of his ministry and mission. They had missed the notion that Jesus was essentially turning the world and its accepted values on its head. Jesus was often quoting aphorisms such as, “You have heard it said, ‘an eye for an eye’, but I say unto you, ‘turn the other cheek!’” They were, for the most part, left scratching their heads in confusion.

Now, this unwillingness of Jesus to avoid his own possible arrest was all the more confusing.

As I have said before, many people to whom Jesus spoke, had envisioned a world where they, the people of Israel, would once again have all the trappings of success, and military security and might to boot. Instead Jesus came along teaching new ways to serve God and indeed, new ideas of success. His teachings all but turned the world on its head.

Back to Jesus response to the warnings of these Pharisees. The first part of his response is a clear indication that he has a plan and that nothing is going to make him alter those plans, at least not a concern for his own life. Jerusalem as the centre of power seemed to have a reputation for being hard on prophets, as prophets had a reputation for being hard on the status quo.

Then Jesus goes on to talk of his desire to care for the city of Jerusalem and its people. The image he uses is startling but very easily accessed in an agrarian culture. Anyone who has seen hens with their chicks has seen the kind of protective behaviour described here. However, it is a surprising image for the messiah to use to describe his mission and ministry. Surprising, but very apt.

There is a story told about a farming community that was hit by devastating grass fires. It had been a hot dry summer and the grass was tinder dry. One hot, hazy day, the farmer looked off into the distance as he completed his noon-time chores and he saw the tell tale smoke. He let his animals out of the barn to fend for themselves and he and his wife packed the family dog and a few prize possessions onto the wagon and they headed for town as fast as the team would take them.

The next day when they ventured back to the farm they were met with total devastation. As he walked around the barnyard, between the blackened buildings he saw a charred black lump fluttering in the breeze. His dog raced over to it barking excitedly. It was one of his hens, the one who had just hatched a large clutch of eggs. He called off the dog and walked around some more. As he walked toward what was left of the house he came upon the carcass of the chicken again and, without thinking, he kicked it. The black lump rolled and then, it stared to make a noise; or rather many noises. From underneath ran a half dozen yellow, fluffy chicks. It seemed that the hen had stayed with her chicks, shielding them under her wings, dying in the attempt.

It is much like the image that would have been far more like the great king David, that of a shepherd, but it is no less powerful.

Remember that Jesus is expressing his desire to do this, but also states that the people were not willing. That seems to be the overwhelming sadness of Jesus in the gospels; the people not listening, not caring, not wanting what Jesus was fully prepared to give to them. They just didn’t get it! They just didn’t see! The passage ends with an allusion to the events of what we now call Palm Sunday; the day on which they praised their Messiah, but again, had little real notion of what he was really coming there to do.

So, what does this all mean for us? The historical events of that particular journey to Jerusalem have come and gone. Jesus has already died on the cross. Other than remembering that this desire of Jesus to gather the people together, also applies to us, what does this passage have to do with our own lives?

I think that the level on which this passage intersects with our own lives is on the level of Jesus resolve to complete that journey which is frightening and initially painful and difficult, but which has, as its goal, greater life and greater freedom. Just as Jesus goal was showing people the truth that life comes to those who live in trust and hope so too we can face the obstacles that are placed before us with courage and faith.

I know of a number of people, as do you, who have made very difficult life choices and who have found, in walking that road, the presence and strength and care of God in very surprising and very real ways.

I can think of some of the people I have known who choose to end very emotionally and physically abusive marriages. They know the statistics about children who gown up with abusive alcoholic fathers and they want something different for themselves and their children. They have tried everything else. Initially things became more difficult for many who are in this kind of situation, but in the end, and even along the road, many know that they have made the right decision.

I know of people who have had to walk the long hard road of recovery from and addiction to alcohol. I know too of the people who have taken a diagnosis of a serious illness such as cancer and have taken charge of their treatment, or even lack of treatment, and have decided to live their lives, rather than let their disease dictate to them what they can and cannot do. They live with courage through incredible difficulties and they are not defeated, even of they do not end up being cured.

Because the gospel is not about avoiding death, it is ablut finding the source of Life. It is about walking the journey of life, intentionally and with faith and courage. It’s not about letting our lives happen around us; its about making choices and them living in faith as the results of these choices change us and the path that lies ahead of us.

The recent sponsorship scandal has brought to light the difficulty that people have when they become aware of illegal activities in their workplaces. Sometimes the journey of truth is the only way to live with oneself, but it seems to be the hardest way.

Long ago a friend of mine, who was a little afraid of the water, was swimming alone, against common sense and her parents’ advice, and became trapped under a raft. She surfaced under the raft with only a minute air space and remembers thinking, “Duck under, swim in any direction and get out, or die!” It was a clear choice. The choice was between, “I might drown” or “I will drown” !

Sometimes our choices are as clear, such as when we are compelled to exit a burning building or a smoking car, but at other times it is our emotional and spiritual health, or our personal integrity which is at risk.

The season of Lent is not meant to be a mere historical observance. The season of Lent is designed so that we can walk with Jesus, and he with us, and together arrive at that place where we ahve found the abundant life that he promised to all who followed after him.

Come, the love of God in Jesus is seeking to protect and shelter you in his immense love. What will your answer be?

Amen.

Isaiah 55: 1-9
Psalm 63: 1-8
1 Corinthians 10: 1-13
Luke 13: 1-9

Within the last week I saw the following news reports on the TV: ONE: In the middle of last week a series of explosions ripped through the commuter system in Madrid, Spain. The death toll continues to rise and people there know that life “will never be the same again”. We wonder, WHY? TWO: Police investigators are continuing to look into the disappearance and murders of prostitutes from Vancouver’s Downtown East Side and their connection to the infamous pig farm run by one Robert Picton. New evidence about the disposal of the bodies has painted an even more gruesome picture than previously imagined. We ask, WHY? THREE: A hockey player is attacked during an NHL game and leaves the ice on a stretcher with two broken bones in his neck. We wonder, WHY?

Closer to home, we all know of people who are suffering from terminal illnesses, or are ourselves, or who have lost loved ones to illness, or to suicide, or in car accidents. We have all heard people ask the soul searching question: “Why?” or we have asked it ourselves! Or when tragedy has struck, we have heard someone say, with a sigh, “It must have been their time”! Or, again we have said similar things ourselves.

As a minister, I hear such conclusions and questions frequently. They are certainly among the most profound, honest and sincere questions ever asked by human beings; whether people of faith or not! These questions have been asked since the beginning of time, and they have been asked by people of no faith and by people of deep and profound faith.

In today’s gospel lesson we are presented with two events which raise such questions among those who followed Jesus. The first is an act of violence by the state. It seems that Pilate has massacred some worshippers. As Luke tells it, Jesus knows the nature of their questions, even before they ask. Were these people worse sinners than those who were not killed?

The second event, used as an example by Jesus, was the collapse of a tower. Was this God’s punishment for their sin? Jesus answers the question implied in both of these examples with a resounding NO! Yet, this is not the end of the matter, Jesus uses their questioning to talk about the universal need for repentance.

If it isn’t punishment for sin, why did it happen? Of course, there are often answers about whose fault it was. If we look at the two incidents reported to Jesus we can hazard a few guesses. In the case of the massacre of the worshippers, it was clearly Pilate’s action. But, Galilee was not a free society; perhaps the worshippers killed by Pilate’s soldiers were involved with some kind of resistance movement. Pilate had a reputation for crushing such movements with great violence and cruelty. It was his job to keep the peace. In the case of the tower that fell, perhaps it was erected by an irresponsible or incompetent builder?

We can look at tragedy today with the same kind of lens. The drunk driver kills the innocent child walking along the side of the road! The driver is clearly at fault. A paedophile targets children walking home from school. A mafia hit takes place and an unrelated bystander is caught in the crossfire. Innocent people are killed simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Innocent people suffer because of the evil of others. Yet, even when there is someone else to blame, victims and their relatives still ask, “Why me?”; “Why us?”

While asking the question is a natural part of life, AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH SUCH INQUIRY, the answer given by Jesus in this passage, calls us to take our questions to a different level.

When I was a teenager our minister preached a sermon on the whys ofhuman suffering. I remember the sermon as being very disappointing. In the end, he did not tell us why the innocent suffered; instead, he talked about the importance of faithfulness and “using our talents for the Lord!” For a long time I thought his sermon was a cop-out. I wanted an answer! Looking back, I now realize that he had no answer, and preached the sermon in the only way he could.

Of course, we have to use common sense about our lives and our personal safety and our family’s safety. We buy car seats for our kids and smoke detectors for our homes. We child proof our homes and look both ways before we cross the street. We know that safety is our responsibility.

Sometimes though, the “it was his time” mentality contributes to irresponsible behaviour. I recall conversations in which people have said that it did not matter if someone didn’t wear a seatbelt, for example, because if it wasn’t ‘his time’ nothing would happen; if it was, nothing could prevent it from happening.

When people ask the soul wrenching question, why, what I think people are really looking for is an assurance that the world is a safe place and that, if we play our cards right, if we know the cards to play, that is, we avoid such heartache and sorrow.

It is interesting that Jesus, on the one hand says that these tragedies were not caused by sin, but, on the other hand, uses the questions as a way to talk about the need for repentance.

While this may seem contradictory, it’s not! We make a mistake when we limit the concept of sin to specific actions and we make a further mistake when we equate repentance with a emotional, chest beating- “I’ll never do that again”, kind of resolve. Sin and repentance are about relationship and direction in life. Sin is not a specific act but rather a way of living which ‘misses the mark’ or ‘God’s intention’ for us as human beings. It’s not simply about breaking commandments or your mother’s rules, but about not living up to God’s will and intention and design. Similarly, repentance is not about a resolve to avoid bad things but a ‘turning around’; a change of direction whcih puts the things of God in front of us, as something which we walk toward, strive for; a way of life which we live into. In fact, the Greek word for ‘repent’ literally means to ‘turn around’. Turn around and go in the direction of God’s will and God’s way.

The parable of the fig tree is the best example Jesus can think of. As it stands now, this tree is not producing any fruit and, is thus, useless - but the gardener is not willing to give up on it. The gardener insists on another chance. Instead of seeing the fig tree and the gardener and the gardener as representing specific people in the scheme of salvation, its more like a whole example of how things are in God’s kingdom. While we are alive we have this gift of life, we have this one time and one chance, so let us grow as we are intended to grow, produce as we are intended to produce and live as we are intended to.

We know that life is fragile. We know that tragedy strikes those who are bad and evil and we know that it strikes people who are basically good and faithful. That is not the real issue.

Jesus is telling the people that following the way of God is not designed as a guarantee against tragedy but to fulfill our mission as God’s people. We don’t follow in order to gain brownie points, but because that is what is expected of us, its who we are. It is the fruit we produce; the fruit we are expected to produce. While we are alive, its’s never too late.

In our own personal lives, many of us are aware of the ways in which we need to make changes, either spiritually, on in terms of attitudes or behaviours. As we reflect prayerfully upon the scripture and Christian tradition we can gradually come to a place where we can begin to make the desired, if somewhat daunting changes. And, as most therapists will tell their clients, it’s never too late to change; it can be done.

What I’d like to talk about now is corporate repentance; both church and society going in new directions, when we feel that the gospel calls us to do so. One of the things that the United Church has been involved in most recently is the “Beads of Hope Petition”. More than 30,000 members, adherents and friends of the United Church have signed a petition calling on the government of Canada to make a serious effort to address the AIDS crisis. We know that while AIDS is a serious disease for anyone, it has almost totally devastated entire African countries. We in the west have the resources to make a difference, if we have the will. The United Church, in deciding to first put its money where its mouth was, set a goal of $1 Million dollars over a 2 year period. The beads of Hope Campaign has already raised more than that, after only one year. The petition is the second step in the call to sit up and take notice; a statement that we cannot ignore the plight of our brothers and sisters in Africa just because they are not Canadian.

We must take seriously the teaching that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, and we can add Canadian or non-Canadian. Of course, we are a relatively small country by population, but we have a wealth of resources, both human and natural, and while we can’t do everything, we can do something; something significant.

One of the events that has been in the news recently is the violation of the principle of ‘sanctuary’ in Quebec City with the arrest of Mr Mohammed Cherfi, who sought sanctuary with the congregation of St Pierre United Church. As a denomination the United Church has had a long history of speaking to the government on issues of national and international import, as well as issues of domestic policy. That we now differ with the government on many fronts should make our role even more important.

As Christians we are called to follow the gospel’s call in everything we do, including seeking to influence the public agenda of our country. Let us seek to order our lives in ways of faithfulness. Lets not distort the call to faithfulness by seeking to lay blame when we could be using our elergy to make real changes in our lives and in the fabric of our nation.

God is reaching out to us in this season of Lent, seeking to offer us Life in agreat abundance and showing us the path of true faithfulness. As we seek to follow in the way of Jesus of Nazareth, let us follow trusting in the grace and mercy of the God who has called us and named us as his own.

Amen.

Joshua 5: 9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5: 16-21
Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32

‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father give me the share of the property that will belong to me” ‘. So begins one of the most familiar passages in the gospels! It is an intriguing, heartwarming, yet troubling story. It has been used and misused in many different ways over the past 19 centuries. It has been interpreted as an instruction manual on parenting, telling parents that they MUST forgive their wayward children. As such it has caused guilt and heartache in those parents unable to do so, or who felt that they had to remain unforgiving, who could not sweep away the very real hurt done to families by such prodigals. It has been used against the ‘older brother’ types who do not have it in their hearts to forgive. It has been used to encourage the prodigals of many ages to ‘return home’. It has been used as an example of divine love.

Before we get into the parable itself, I believe that it is important to know the context in which it is placed in Luke’s gospel. We are told in the first few verses of this chapter, that all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to Jesus so that they could listen to him. While this is an obvious exaggeration, (they weren’t ALL there) it is clear that Jesus had a large following, and that they were people regarded by some others as “undesirable”, in some way. The Pharisees and scribes, the religious leaders of the community, were grumbling about the company he kept. Or at the very least it was a concern of some of those leaders. It seems that their chief complaint was that he welcomed sinners, but, it was especially, that he ATE with them! It is in response to this criticism that he told three parables, of which this is the third and last. The other two are also well known by their common titles, as “the Lost Sheep” and “The Lost Coin”.

Why would the religious leaders be so upset about Jesus welcoming and eating with sinners? Marcus Borg, a noted biblical scholar, has written a book that sheds a great deal of light on the life of Jesus, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, HarperSanFrancisco , 1994 . He tells us that the problem comes from two differing and mutually incompatible views of the life of faith. The primary model of life for Jesus was centred on compassion, while for the Jewish leaders of his day it was centred around purity . In Leviticus 19:2 we read, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” This way of ‘imitating God’ became the ethos of the entire community, not just of the individuals within it. A large part of it seemed to centre on separating oneself from anything which was seen as unclean. Over time, a hierarchy of purity developed with some people, or groups of people, being more pure than others. Priests were on the top with various classes of people taking their places as the line of purity went down. People who were disabled or maimed in certain ways were automatically considered impure. The other major factor in defining and maintaining purity related to behaviour. Those who made their living at various occupations were considered impure. For example, the tax collectors, who worked for the hated Romans, were considered sinners and thus, impure. Since wealth was seen as a blessing from God; poverty was seen as a punishment; hence, the poor were impure. Some activities though, rendered one impure only until proper sacrifices could be made or sufficient time had passed. In the process of conceiving and having children impurity was inevitable, but it was temporary as was the impurity that came from touching a dead body. While not all Jews were considered pure, all Gentiles were automatically and permanently impure.

One of the worst things a faithful Jew could do was to share a meal with someone who was impure. Such activity implied a kind of acceptance that was scandalous.

Borg emphasizes that the world of Jesus was a world with very clear social boundaries: pure and impure, righteous and sinner, whole and not whole, Jew and Gentile, male and female, rich and poor.

This purity system centred around the temple and its priests, the ones charges with the responsibility to maintain the most stringent levels of purity. That being said, we need to be reminded of the utter sincerity of the Pharisees and those who thought like they did. Their principles were definitely biblical and they sought faithfulness for themselves and their people.

Yet, Jesus’ by his lifestyle and his teaching, presented a challenge to this way of life and thinking. Just as there is that verse in the Bible that speaks of imitating God’s holiness , there are verses which speak either directly, or implicitly, of imitating God’s compassion . It is that way of bing in the world that Jesus chose as a replacement for the imitation of purity and holiness. So it is a conflict of fundamental life- guiding, principles and values here, not a simple and clear cut conflict between good and evil, or right and wrong. There is nothing wrong, per se, with a concern for purity, actually it’s very biblical, but Jesus challenges it as the central life principle.

So, when the Pharisees complained, yet again, that Jesus was breaking the established norms of the purity system, he challenged them with a parable: the Parable of the Prodigal Son”. We sometimes forget that this is a parable, in a series of parables, not just a simple story, certainly not a true story! I believe that this story was formulated by Jesus in such a way that it assumes a certain reaction to the characters in the tale, and then forms the details of the story in such a way that the outcome is totally unexpected. It is in the unexpected ending that the meaning is found. Through it, Jesus is engaging in a debate with the accepted values of his community and culture. Through it, his intention to shock people and to provoke deep thought, was realized.

In this tale he shows us a character so unlikeable, according to the values of the day, that the ending, in a normal tale, would be a foregone conclusion. When the ending was completely different people from the expected, people would certainly have noticed. What WOULD be the accepted values ignored or challenged by this story?

One: In a time when respect for elders, particularly of parents was expected this young man gave to his father the ultimate insult. He in effect said to his father, “I wish you were dead.

Two: A view of life based on close adherence to purity laws would have made feeding pigs totally unthinkable. When the son was forced to do this, for an obviously Gentile farmer, he had sunk lower than one could imagine.

Three: The father’s reaction to this lazy, good for nothing son should have been to , a) beat his son upon the initial request, and, b) NEVER allowed him back into the family. After all, misfortune was God’s punishment for sin!

Four: The implied view of a God which demanded punishment for straying from the straight and narrow and rewarded those who kept the faith, was being criticized by this parable which reeked of soft hearted compassion.

While this story sounds like real life, we know that ‘it would never happen that way’! Because this parable is a response to questions about purity this parable is much more than a story about family, it is about life in God’s realm. We must remember this! As I have already indicated, most parables resemble real life, but end up being, “real life, with an unexpected tending, with ‘a twist” and, the meaning is in the twist.

The ‘twist’ in this story is not the older brother’s reaction, (that is the reaction we would expect) but in the actions of the father. This parable is characterized by the celebration which ends it; that’s the chief characteristic of the realm of God: CELEBRATION. The realm of God is not about keeping people out, but about inviting as many people as possible into true and loving relationship with God. It’s about restoring people to community, not about excluding people from it!

I suspect that there were two basic reactions to these stories. The people who had the means and the opportunity to measure up to the expectations of the ‘purity codes’ thought he was ‘soft on crime’, as the modern expression might go. However, those who could never, for whatever reason follow all of those laws, but who were seeking to be faithful nonetheless, would have felt that someone had opened a window and fresh air was replacing stale, common sense, the letter of an old and antiquated law. It was a fundamental conflict between old and new. One world view was being challenged by another; its no wonder the various groups in power wanted him dead!

All that being said, the real question is, “Who are we?” Someone has said that we are the older brother, at times; and at others, the younger brother. In the journey of faith, we seek to become the father.

A few years ago there ran an ad in a large newspaper. “Pedro, all is forgiven. Meet me at the town clock at 2:00 on Tuesday. Love, your father.” At 2:00 o’clock on the appointed Tuesday, over 100 young men named Pedro showed up, hoping that the “father” of the ad was theirs!

As humans we have a great yearning for forgiveness, but we also have a great yearning for justice; to ensure that the guilty do not ride roughshod over the innocent and make victim after victim.

Jesus’ challenge to our ways of thinking asks us to look at the situations and people we encounter with the ‘father’s eyes’. Compassion will go a long way toward understanding and forgiving and restoring. What this parable is about is not the sweeping of sin under the rug, but rather, the restoration of relationships. Salvation is neither prize nor reward, it is a relationship of grace. The father yearned to teach BOTH of his sons this. Jesus yearned to teach this to his disciples, to the multitudes that followed and the Pharisees who grumbled. When we realize that, we will we be able to look at others, and ourselves, with eyes of hope, love and compassion.

May this lenten time be a space for us to be able to guide our journeys in the ways of God and God’s compassionate forgiveness.

Amen.