Luke 15:22-32

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ 28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ 31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

So far the parable that Jesus has been sharing with the Pharisees has focused on the father and the prodigal son but now in verse 25 we are introduced to the older and seemingly more pious son. This is the son that the Pharisees would have approved of, he was responsible and hardworking, he was the son that followed the rules. Yet what we discover is that while he was good at following the rules he also had a rift in his relationship with the father. When confronted with the celebration over his brother’s return we discover that the pious older brother was really a pouting person. It’s the father’s party that reveals his real heart, and while we may be tempted to admire his hard work we also have to recognize his hard and unforgiving heart. At first it’s the prodigal son who appears to have the problem, but when we chose to look at the attitudes as well as the actions we quickly discover that both sons had a hard heart problem. While the younger son had a possession problem the older son had a pride problem. While the younger sons heart problem was lived out in a lifestyle of rebellion the older sons was seen in a self-righteousness attitude. The older son served the father faithfully his whole life, but it was out of a sense of duty not desire. He was driven by rules instead of relationship, obligation instead of a heart of obedience. Like many of us he made it about followed a list instead of loving the father. While he never left his home physically, it’s clear that he had a dysfunctional relationship with his father as well as his brother. The older son represents religious people, those who while they may not have sinned against God by running off to pursue a rebellious life are participating in a prideful and pouting life instead of a life of praise. These are the Pharisees who have reduced a righteous life to that of following the rules and warming a pew. Who when it comes to really celebrating what God is doing in the lives of others, refuse to rejoice. These are the party poopers, and I wonder what percentage of God’s family fall into this category? It’s easy to see the rebels but do we see the self-righteous? I am convinced that there are probably more critical “older brother” Christians in the church than there are those guilty of the younger son’s sin. It’s here in Luke 15 that we see two things:

1. The Characteristics of a Pouting Son.

After working hard all day in the fields, the older brother arrived at his house to hear the sound of music and celebration. When he inquired as to what was going on he learns that the party was in celebration of his younger brother’s return. It’s at this point that he became angry and refused to join in the joy, choosing resentment over rejoicing. In his attitude and angry statements we see several common characteristics of a pouting prodigal starting first with:

• An angry spirit of grumbling

Verse 28 tells us that he became angry, in fact the word used indicates that he flew into a rage. Instead of rejoicing with his brother he resented him, choosing instead to protest the party with an attitude of anger. But this was not righteous anger it was resentful anger. When his father came out to plead with him to participate in the party, he began to grumble and complain. Saying, “I’ve never left home and spent all my money on prostitutes, and you’ve never even killed a little goat for me!” It’s the pity party, poor me mentality. Why didn’t he join in the party, because his focus was on self not on the celebration. Instead of worship he chose whining, instead of joy he gave in to jealousy. It’s often easy to recognize the pious older son because when given the opportunity to praise they often pout, grumbling and gripping is their go to. They are slow to celebrate and quick to complain.  They usually begin a sentence, “Now I don’t mean to be critical but…” and then that’s exactly what they do, they criticize. Instead of celebrating and joining in the joy they get caught up in complaining. These are the grace grumblers and often they will use spiritual disciplines to communicate their disapproval, disciplines like prayer. Instead of using prayer as a means of connecting with the father they use it as a means to be critical, prayer becomes a way to piously point out other people’s problems. Their righteous life is really just a façade of faithfulness, because when the praise is not pointed at them they pout. Are you hiding behind a façade of holiness? It’s easy to get angry with these critical Christians but we need to remember that the Father loves them and we must too. The father loved both sons equally, and was willing to pursue both of their hard hearts. His response to the pouting son was to go and plead with him to join the party. Yet like many pouting prodigals he chose to be miserable and remain on the outside. What he really missed was the miracle of God’s mercy because he didn’t think he needed it. He chose to rely on the rules and missed resting in the relationship. I believe that one of the greatest challenges to the church is not the prodigals but the pouters. The ones who say things like, “Pastor, I don’t think we ought to clap and lift our hands in church, if we are not careful we’re going to become charismatic.” Yet the irony of their words is that often these are the same people who will go to a football game and lift their hands in the air and shout “Touchdown!” They are ok celebrating college football but not Christ. They are ok getting excited about sports but not the Savior, because somehow things are going to get out of hand if we celebrate in church. This is the son who was so afraid of going out on a limb that he never got near the tree. It’s not hard to spot the pouting prodigal, they are constantly complaining and seldom happy. Instead of responding with rejoicing they chose resentment and bitterness. What about you, do you celebrating or complaining over those who come home?  Are you celebrating Gods party or sitting on the pity potty?

Luke 15:11-24

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Not only did the father clothe the son with the best robe and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet but he also:

4. Chose to Celebrate

Verse 23 tells us that the Father ordered the servants to bring the fattened calf and kill it so that they could celebrate that his son who was lost and dead was now alive and found.  You see restoration should result in rejoicing. According to God the proper response when a prodigal returns is to thrown a party. Yet there are many today who would rather pout than party because they believe that rather than partying the prodigal should be punished. You see they are still focused on the failure rather than on forgiveness. These are the ones I call the party poopers, the ones who miss the whole message because they fail to understand God’s forgiveness. These are the Pharisees who Jesus was sharing the parable with, the ones who completely missed God’s message of mercy. You see we will never party properly until we look at life from God’s perspective. Why did the father rejoice, because a relationship had been restored. Which brings me to this question, what are we celebrating, what matters more to us riches or relationships? Are people or possessions more important to us? As Christians we should be caught up in the celebration over those who were lost and now have been found. Yet so often instead of voicing the victory and choosing to celebrate we act like sour lemons. Instead of praising we pucker up and pout around. But when you read the scriptures you soon discover that we have a father who loves to party: In Psalm 23 David spoke of the Lord “preparing a banqueting table before him in the presence of his enemies – anointing his head with the oil of blessing and showering him with such abundant goodness that his cup overflows. In the Song of Solomon 2:14 Solomon writes, “He brought me to His banqueting table and His banner over me is love.” In Isaiah 62:5 the prophet writes, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” And in Zephaniah 3:17 it says: “The Lord your God is in your midst…he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” The story of the prodigal son reminds us that God loves to celebrate and that there is joyous partying in heaven when one who has been lost is found. The father called for the fattened calf to be killed so that they could celebrate and eat together. Because the son not only needed a robe to cover him but food to fill him. When he came home he was starving because the life he had been leading was empty. Sin may satisfy for a season but it will always leave us starving. The father did more than just put food in the son’s stomach, he restored his satisfaction. Only the father can fill us and satisfy the deep hungers of our heart. Which should cause us to stop and ask ourselves, what are we filling our lives with? Is it the Father or are we snacking on fillers? Many of us are trying to find our satisfaction in substitutes, and as a result we are living empty lives instead of energized ones. While the son tried to find his satisfaction in sin we need to remember that not all substitutes are sinful. What we chose to pursue may be a good thing just not a God thing. There is nothing sinful about enjoying sports or hobbies the problem becomes when we try to find our source of satisfaction in sports or fill the hole in our heart through our hobbies. We can participate in one of two parties, the world’s or God’s, one that drains and leaves us dry or one that fills us to overflowing. The joy that God wants to fill us with doesn’t just satisfy for a season and leave us empty and hollow it fills our heart to overflowing. What party are you participating in?  The father ordered that the fattened calf be killed so that the celebration could begin but I want you to note that the fatted calf didn’t get fat overnight. The father had been preparing for this day for some time. Which begs me to ask the question to those of you who are parents of prodigals, are you preparing for the party? Some of us are so focused on the problems that we have forgotten to prepare for the party. Here was a son who went from the pig pen to the party. Which means I also have a question for you prodigals, why are you living in the pig pen when God has provided a party? Stop settling for second best and start seeking God’s best, because God’s parties are for all people, regardless of your race or your rebellion. From God’s perspective you are precious and you are worth throwing a party over. If you are tied of living on empty them come and participate in God’s party because his feast will fill you to overflowing.