Lent 4C - 2025
Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare Sunday)
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
The Rev. Andrew McLarty
The Scandal of the Story
Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most beloved and frequently preached stories in Scripture. It is a tale of reckless rebellion, extravagant grace, and the tension that arises when mercy offends our sense of fairness. Yet, as biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine points out, we often read this parable with too much sentimentality, missing the real sting of Jesus’ message.
Because Jesus is telling this story to a group of Pharisees and scribes who are grumbling about the company he keeps—tax collectors and sinners, we realize this is not just a heartwarming tale about divine love; it is a challenge to the way we think about God, justice, and one another. The parable shows us how God’s mercy is always just, but not always fair.
The Problem with the Younger Son
It is easy to sympathize with the younger son. He leaves home, squanders everything, and then returns, humbled and hungry. But we should not romanticize his repentance. Levine reminds us that his return may not be as noble as we assume. He does not express deep sorrow for breaking his father’s heart—he is simply starving. He calculates a plan to return, not as a son, but as a servant, hoping at least to get a decent meal.
The father, however, does something unexpected. He runs to embrace this wayward son, cutting off his rehearsed speech and restoring him fully as a son, not a servant. He throws a feast. No probation period. No conditions. Just overwhelming grace.
The Problem with the Older Son
If the younger son’s problem was reckless living, the older son’s problem is resentment. He has done everything right, yet he has received no grand celebration. His complaint—"You never even gave me a goat!"—reveals a transactional view of love. He believes his obedience should earn him more than his brother’s recklessness deserves. His frustration is understandable. Who among us wouldn’t feel the same?
But here is where Jesus’ parable stings. The older son refuses to join the feast. The father pleads with him, but the story ends unresolved. We do not know if the elder brother enters the party. Levine suggests that Jesus leaves the story open-ended because the real question is not what the older brother will do—it is what we will do.
The Problem with the Father
However, could also be the story of the Father’s “wasteful grace” - the Father gives his son the freedom to reject, to “wish he was dead” and squander what the Father has spent his life working for. And upon return, the Father hangs over the signet ring (granting authority and access to possessions), his shoes (return of status), and the fatted calf (celebration, opposed to rejection).
Joshua
To compare, today’s reading from Joshua teaches us that God has faith in a humanity that has always wavered in faith and purpose, even into the darkest wilderness, and our faith that God’s promises are strong and will sustain, even in times that feel as if we are being divinely neglected.
The Prodigal Son, like Joshua, reminds us that no matter how far we stray, God’s love — unimaginable to our human hearts — will never not welcome us back into Their loving arms, an embrace that is indeed rich with milk and honey. “
The Invitation
As we journey through Lent, this story asks us: Where do we see ourselves? Are we the younger son, needing to come home? The older brother, clinging to resentment? Or—most challengingly—are we willing to embody the father’s scandalous love, welcoming the undeserving just as God welcomes us? This parable forces us to confront a difficult truth: Grace is unfair, yet just. God’s love is excessive, reckless even. It embraces the prodigal and the self-righteous alike, but it demands that we join the celebration.
So, will we?
Amen.
