Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Extravagant Love He never even finished his speech.   A shame really, it was brilliant in its brevity and emotional impact.   He rolled that speech over in his head on an infinite loop, making sure every word was just right.   He had rehearsed it so many times that the biggest challenge, at this point, was not remembering the words but making it sound sincere.   It was, admittedly, a sales pitch, even a strong one, but still as he walked the long road home, he was unsure if his father would buy it.   His father was soft, too kind, too loving.   The younger son knew that he left his father brokenhearted.   It was a tender situation.   This young man, his father’s younger son, was hopeful; but even so, it felt like a long shot. Today’s parable opens simply enough: there was a man who had two sons.   That is not terribly unusual.   I have two sons.   Also, I am a man....

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 A Father's Love I guess it's like one of those facebook quizzes. Which 2016 Presidential Candidate do you side with? Which Backstreet Boy should you marry? Which Disney character is your spirit animal? Only in our case, today, the question long posed in the Church is: Which son are you? The younger son or the older son? Growing up in the Pentecostal tradition everyone was quick to identify with the younger son; most of the people in the congregation could share their own delicious tales of hard living, difficult times, debauchery and eventual return home to the loving embrace of God. They read this parable and they became the younger son – eating the pig slop and then falling into the father's embrace. But for those of us who have lived good, church-y lives, who have good manners and solid morals, who have known the Lord's Prayer by heart since infancy, who call Christmas the Feast of the Nati...