The Texts for the 18th Sunday after the Pentecost, September 18th, 2016

First Reading: Amos 8:4-7

 4Hear this, you that trample on the needy,

  and bring to ruin the poor of the land,

 5saying, “When will the new moon be over

  so that we may sell grain;

 and the sabbath,

  so that we may offer wheat for sale?

 We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,

  and practice deceit with false balances,

 6buying the poor for silver

  and the needy for a pair of sandals,

  and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

 7The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:

 Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Psalm: Psalm 113

1 Hallelujah!

Give praise, you servants of the LORD; 

    praise the Name of the LORD.

2 Let the Name of the LORD be blessed, 

    from this time forth for evermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to its going down 

    let the Name of the LORD be praised.

4 The LORD is high above all nations, 

    and his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high, 

    but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?

6 He takes up the weak out of the dust 

    and lifts up the poor from the ashes.

7 He sets them with the princes, 

    with the princes of his people.

8 He makes the woman of a childless house 

    to be a joyful mother of children.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For 

 there is one God;

  there is also one mediator between God and humankind,

 Christ Jesus, himself human,

  6who gave himself a ransom for all

—this was attested at the right time.7For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Gospel: Luke 16:1-13

1Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

  10“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Greek Text of Luke 16:1-13

Greek Study Luke 16:1-13

v1 πλουσιος adj. "rich" 

οικονομον (ος) "manager" - steward. A trusted manager of a person's estate.

διεβληθη (διαβαλλω) aor. pas. "accused" A Hapax; expressing an aggressive accusation.

διασκορπιζων (διασκορπιζω) pres. part. "squandering, scattering” the essence of the charge, we are not told in what way the manager squandered.

v2 αποδος (αποδιδωμι) aor. imp. "give render, produce” 

τον λογον "an account" – word - final accounts, this is not an audit, it is a closing of the books.  The dishonesty/squandering is forgone by this point so the steward is not trying to hide responsibility, he has already been found wanting.  The remainder of the verse affirms this.

v3 ο κυριος (ος) μου "my master/lord. "employer” is best use here. The word is used here, in v5 and v8 but in v8 it is problematical.

σκαπειν (σκαπτω) pres. inf. "[I'm not strong enough] to dig" a complementary infinitive usually follows the verb it is completing, here it is a “dependent statement of perception” – a musing if you will so to be translated idiomatically as "what shall I do now that my employer is taking the accounts away from me, I'm not strong enough for manual labor and I'm not up for charity."

v4 μετασταθω (μεθιστημι) aor. subj. "[when] I a fired".

υοικους, of his former debtors.  His employer’s debtors will help finance his forced bout 

v5 προσκαλεσαμενος (προσκαλεομαι) aor. part. "he called in" – there is another pun here, when Jesus “calls” disciples, Luke uses this same word (5:1) 

v6 Two examples are provided describing the nature of the embezzlement, vv6-7.

βατους (ος) acc. "[nine hundred] gallons" - [one hundred] barrels [of olive oil]. The Hebrew batos was about 9 gallons – this total was three years' wages for a laborer.

v7 κορους (ος) acc. "[a thousand] bushels [of wheat]" - A cors is a dry measure of about twelve bushels, 390 liters; or ten years' wages for a laborer!

v8a We now comes the contentious verse. There are three basic ways to approach it:

1. The verse is part of the parable, where the narrator notes the employer’s response and comments on it; 
2. The verse is wholly part of Jesus' application of the parable, "The Lord (Jesus) commended the worldly manager ....", or
3. The first half of the verse is part of the parable and the second half is Jesus' application, or even an editorial comment by Luke Danker opts for this.

ο κυριος (ος) "the master" - employer or Jesus. The use of the definite article alone here is at issue, and it DOES make a difference whether Jesus is passing on a second hand commendation of the servant’s dishonesty or commending the action Himself.

επηνεσεν (επαινεω) aor. "commended" – this cannot be ignored, although note this is the only use of the word in Luke, so sarcasm is possible if unlikely. It is usually suggested that the master praised his employee because: 

1. the discounted invoice made the master look generous; 
2. the manager had rewritten the invoice removing improperly added interest, interest applied in defiance of the Law; or 
3. the master admired the shrewdness of his employee. The third option seems best.

So the master praised the crooked manager because he knew how to look after himself from a worldly point of view.

v8b Application, v8b. Jesus seems to draw thiw observation from the parable, the "righteous", unlike the worldly wise, when faced with the day of judgment don't use their resources well. Knowing life on earth is transient, instead of using mammon to secure a place in eternity they use it in the here and now.  They bet on the wrong horse knowing in advance it is going to lose. 

του αιωνος τουτου gen. "[the people] of this age/world" – attributive so "those who belong to this age" or better "worldly people" who stand over and against τους υιους του φωτος, "the sons of light". Similar language was used by the Qumran community and this is a Palestinian way of our secular/sacred divide.

φρονιμωτεροι adj. "[are more] shrewd [.......than]" 

εις την ενεαν την εαυτων "in dealing with their own kind" an idiomatic phrase; "the people of this world look out for themselves better than we do!"

v9 The utilitarian element here is echoed in the Didache, if you can't be perfect do the best you can.

ποιησατε (ποιεω) aor. imp. "use/make”

της αδικιας (α) gen. "unrighteous [wealth]" Mammon entails everything that makes up this world's resources upon which humans rely: time, energy, talents, possessions and specifically that which these generate, "money". As for "mammon" being "unrighteous", the sense is here is "the things of this world in which one puts their trust".

φιλους (ος) "friends" - There the exhortation in this verse may be about the generous allocation of wealth to the poor, a kindness repaid in eternity (where Lazarus is poor no more.” By giving alms, the poor become friends, and since the poor, like Lazarus, are found in eternal dwellings, they will be there to welcome us when we arrive. Is this works righteousness?   More like James, the obligations of faith – more in the OT prophetic line. 

δεξωνται (δεχομαι) aor. mid. subj. "They may welcome you" - possibly a Hebraistic passive with God as the agent (so you may be received by God)", but it is more likely "they" are "the poor."

v10 The saying reveal the divine expectation for the proper use of μαμωνας, This saying of Jesus reinforces the point of the parable, that the "children of the age to come" are anything but sensible when it comes to using mammon wisely. 

ο πιστος "whoever can be show faith" in ελαχιστοω adj. "very little" 

v11 ουκ εγενεσθε (γινομαι) aor. "[if] you have not been" πιστοι adj. "faithful". It is an interesting idea that we are mere custodians, rather than owners, repeated in v12.

το αληθινον adj. "with true riches" - the real thing  as opposed to unrighteous mammon. 

v12 Note the allusion again to "someone else's property". Is the "someone else" God or is this just a general statement, i.e. trustworthiness dealing with others? 

tω αλλοτριω dat. adj. "someone else's property"

το υμετερον adj. "property of your own"  An eschatological interpretation is dominant among commentators; that which is on loan to us on earth does not compare with what we will possess in eternity.

v13 δουλευειν (δουλευω) pres. inf. "[can] serve" δυσι κυριοις (ος) dat. "two lords" ‘serving” or “slavery” implies an exclusive relationship.  

mishsei (misew) fut. "will hate" – begins a string of future tenses- ανθεξεται (αντεχομαι) fut. "he/you will be loyal to

καταφρονησει (καταφρονεω) fut. "despise" hold in little respect and here is the root of our modern problem, in that we respect mammon over God. a

To be thankful for thankfulness

"If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty." The “Gospel” of Thomas saying 3, Nag Hamadi Library

Before you pick up knives for me quoting a Gnostic text, hear me out. Even our dear Luther believed in some form of heavenly “union.” The early Luther, who could write “On Christian Liberty,” had no problem with the image that Christ had taken residence in the inner Adam or Eve and was now in the process of converting the outer Eve or Adam to conform with the inner one. We have usually read “On Christian Liberty” as an allegory and then we have made it an essay on ethics. Luther had plenty of chance to interact with the mystics of his time from whence he gathered this way of speaking about the “joyous exchange:” my filth for his riches, my sin for his righteousness, my condemnation for his atonement, etc. 

But I digress. In our parable, we have a celebration going on. If anyone was reading the book of Luke in sequence they would notice that three celebrations have been urged in chapter 15. On finding the sheep, on finding the coin, on finding the son. 

If a village in ancient time had gotten news that the peasants, who worked on someone else’s land for percentages or worse, for set amounts of their produce, had a master who had just forgiven them half their debt, it would have been so incredible, so liberating, that they would have had a real, raucous, probably excessive celebration. This would not have been kept quiet in any way or form.

So what is a landowner to do? He has the right to walk into the village and tell them all that the debt cancelation was a mistake, a clerical error, and demanded his due. He would never be trusted by servant or friend or even traveling stranger ever again. But, if he let’s it ride the way the dishonest steward set it up, word of his generosity and his honor will spread quickly to far places. His response to the servant might suggest that he went with the latter approach. 

Those who loved money, ridiculed him for this parable and his subsequent sayings. A peek inside would have told them that they loved money more than anything and were willing to offend in the cause of their pursuit of it. They would have walked into the village and demanded their due because it was their right. They would walk into the world and condemn those whom they called sinners and complain that anyone associate with them. Their hearts are exposed, both concerning debt and debtors and to sin and sinners. They worried more about those who could make them rich here on earth, who could give them honor and status as righteous, but thought nothing of the one who could make them rich in eternity. It is an echo of: ”Do not worry about those who can kill the body rather worry about the one who can cast both body and soul into hades for eternity.” 

Yet, these were descendants of Moses, who himself urged God to be merciful with the straying Israelites. “Who, God, will trust you if it becomes known that you led them out of Egypt to the desert just to destroy them?” Amos has a similar conversation with God. These descendants of Israel should have rejoiced at the mercy God again shows to sinners who had gathered to Jesus. Instead, they hear this parable to be only about money, a master they cannot serve if they wish to maintain that the Lord God is their master and Lord. Their pursuit of wealth exposes them as functional atheists who have no thought of a resurrection or judgement. To that judgement, they will bring nothing. Their riches here on earth will mean nothing at all. That was the gist of the parable of the rich fool some weeks back. Further, their scoffing exposes that they are not willing to be gracious with their wealth just as they cannot imagine that God might be gracious with his Kingdom. Why then would anyone trust them when it comes to the weightier things of life: The Kingdom of God or the interpretation of the law, or the forgiveness of sins?

Great now is the honor of the master and large is the cohort of friends to the steward, who has risked debtors’ prison until he could pay off the amounts he has forgiven. Yet, the master commends him. He has acted shrewdly. It seems that the master will let it go at that, otherwise the commendation would have been out of place. 

The Pharisees on the other hand have answered: No, the older son will not enter the celebration of the waiting Father and neither would we. They are, to come back to Thomas, true poverty. God has looked into their hearts (Lk 16:15) and has found them empty. They have yet to take a look. 

Confession and forgiveness are an odd ritual of the church. How dare we declare the forgiveness of sin to a known sinner without any guarantee that said sinner will never sin again? How dare we do this? We do this because the angels in heaven will celebrate (Lk 15:7) that a sinner has dared to look inside and get to know himself as a sinner and has come to step on the road of being transformed from his baptism out, from the deepest reaches of her soul where the Holy Spirit made a dwelling out. In this way, a path of continuous transformation has been opened. That path is blocked immediately when some pose that these sinners must not come close but must get their life in order before they draw near, that sinners must give reparation for their sins, or that the church might go too far in forgiving - nobody wants to hear that notorious murderers have found Christ and that a pastor or priest has heard their confession and, worse, given absolution. But, what we forgive on earth will in heaven be forgiven. This parable might ask us to be generous and gracious with the privilege to forgiven. 

The Texts for the 17th Sunday after the Pentecost, September 11th, 2016

First Reading: Exodus 32:7-14

7The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; 8they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”

  11But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

Psalm: Psalm 51:1-10

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your

                            loving-kindness; 

    in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness 

    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, 

    and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you only have I sinned 

    and done what is evil in your sight.

5 And so you are justified when you speak 

    and upright in your judgment.

6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, 

    a sinner from my mother's womb.

7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, 

    and will make me understand wisdom secretly

8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; 

    wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, 

    that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10 Hide your face from my sins 

    and blot out all my iniquities.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

12I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. 16But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-10

1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

  3So he told them this parable: 4“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

  8“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Greek Study Luke 15:1-10

LOST IN PLAIN SIGHT

v1 ησαν ... εγγιζοντες (εγγιζω) pres. part. "were [all] gathering near" the construction leaves one wondering the type of action implied, eg. is it iterative, implying that tax collectors and sinners were constantly coming to Jesus? 

v2 λεγοντες (λεγω) pres. part. Idiom "muttered" lit saying. 

ουτος pro. "this man" - this one. Usually a contemptuous way to refer to another person.

προσδεχεται (προσδεχομαι) pres. "welcomes" – receives, "associates with" sinners

  
v3 την παραβολην "[these] parables" though singular "parabolic discourse" is implied. 

v4 τις ..... ου "Suppose .... does [he] not / doesn't [he]" – a negated question which expects a positive answer

απολεσας (απολλυμι) aor. part. "loses [one of them]"  εν + dat. "in [the open country!" - expressing space/sphere. To translate “desert, mountain or wilderness” implies a lack of care, so “in the pasture land" seems best. 

v5 ευρων (ευρισκω) aor. part. "when he finds it" χαιρων (χαιρω) pres. part. "[he] joyfully [puts it]" επι + acc. "on [his shoulders]".

v6 ελθων (ερχομαι) aor. part. "goes home" and συγκαλει (συγκαλεω) pres. "gathers together" – a historic present tense for dramatic effect. 

λεγων (λεγω) pres. part. "and says" 

συγχαρητε (συγχαιρω) aor. imp. "rejoice with" - aorist tense here expressing immediate, urgent action.

οτι because. το απολωλος (απολλυμι) perf. part. “the sheep which was lost" 

v7 υμιν dat. pro. "[I tell] you" - οτι "that" ουτως adv. "in this same way" εσται (ειμι) "there will be more [rejoicing]" - future tense is logical, stating what is, rather than what will be.

μετανοουντι (μετανοεω) pres. part. "[one sinner] repenting participle is adjectival, limiting "sinner". Luke, in his selection of gospel episodes, shows us that repentance is a change of direction, like accepting an invitation.

δικαιοις adj. "righteous persons" - righteous, just. Adjective used as a substantive. Does Jesus mean "self-righteous "? It is possible, for the sake the argument, that Jesus means "righteous" in the same sense as Zechariah and Elizabeth "were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord", 1:6. If so, are there actually people "who do not need to repent"? It is possible that the phrase is facetious (an ad hominem argument); "those who think they do not need to repent". 

μετανοιας (α) gen. "[who do not need] to repent" - the genitive can be treated as adjectival; "they have nothing of which they need to repent."

  
v8 εχουσα (εξω) pres. part. "has" - [what woman] having [ten drachmas, if she loses ....]. 

ουχι αϑπτει (αϑπτω) pres. "does she not light [a lamp]" - syntax forms a question expecting a positive answer. The imagery here is of a mud brick and earth/stone floor single room home, dark due to few windows, and in need of careful sweeping to find anything.

εως ου + subj. "until [she finds what she lost].

v9 ευρουσα (ευρισκω) aor. part. "when she finds" λεγουσα (λεγω) pres. part. "and says" μοι dat. pro. "[rejoice with] me οτι because

v10 ουτως adv. "in the same way" υμιν dat. pro. "[I tell] you" γινεται (γινομαι) pres. "there comes to be”

του θεου (ος) gen. "[in the presence of the angels] of God" - out of deference to God he is not described as rejoicing, rather there is a general rejoicing "before" the angels. 

επι + dat. "over" μετανοουντι (μετανοεω) pres. part. "who repents" - The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "one sinner." As above, repentance in the sense of a turning to God, a decision to rest humbly on God's mercy rather than an expression of sorrow or regret.

A Flight of Parables

Now God wails from eternity about my great misery. He remembered his mercy and resolved to be my help. His Fatherly heart he turned toward me. It was not merely a trifle for him, no he allowed it to cost his best and dearest. - Martin Luther, Nun freut euch liebe Christen (Good Christians one and all rejoice) my translation 

You are probably aware that chapter 15 of Luke is made up of three distinct but related parables. They are told in response to the complaints against Jesus that he was a magnet for those who were known, true, recognized and confessed sinners who came to him. They, verse 7 suggests, came “repentantly.”  That being the case a question: “What do the parables hold in common,” might occur to us. 

There are three of them: A Father waits, and it seems he has waited in longing and anguish, for the return of a son who has walked off. Someone who has 100 sheep (he is not called the shepherd) proved to be the true and right shepherd of every and all of them. A woman notices the absence of a coin and does not rest until she has recovered it. The end of all three is joy and celebration, as there will be in heaven over returning sinners (Lk15:7) 

We have heard of parables and situations that talked to us about rank at table. Where will you sit and does it really matter? We have heard parables (we really did not hear them but they were in the skipped stuff) that spoke of stepping away from the table for worldly reasons and concerns. Now we confront the even deeper problem of not even knowing that there is a feast or that one should be joyful at a feast that one, according to the wedding banquet parable, is excusing oneself from. 

But Ezekiel saw a new shepherd: 

“11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” 

Of course you do not get to be a prophet unless you first say something about he current shepherds. That something is found in Ez 34 and it is not too kind. 

“3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.”

How indeed does one complain about Jesus healing on the Sabbath or how does one urge the woman bent over to come back and be healed on another day when one oneself has neither the power nor the inclination to heal? Ought one not bring the sick - the sinners - to the very Lord who can heal and forgive? New Testament Pharisees and synagogue officials are pondering this question. They have not done so. They are not seeking the lost. But, Messiah is, just as Ezekiel saw he would.

Will the bride, the church, do any less? Will she sweep diligently through all the house to retrieve that which is lost or astray? Not necessarily even buried in sin. Just without guidance and without anyone to interpret the words of the prophets or the law. (Acts 8) The sin of the gentiles is that they are, well, Gentiles. They are plain lost. Unlike the sheep who presumably know the flock and the fold, they know not how to call out, to whom to call out, or that they ought to call out. 

Why is Messiah and his church doing this? Because the Father’s heart aches for the children that wander the far country, dare we say: the land of Nod, in peril of wolfs: the flesh, the world, and devil. (Mt 4, Lk 4)

You may pardon the little allegorical flight that I just landed on your desk.  Maybe it does not work as neatly as I make it sound but it is not too far fetched. In all these cases, however, one thing is common: There is joy over any, over all, including, eventually, gentiles, who turn to the Lord and submit themselves to him. 

We can refine our picture of the parables a bit by their placement in the Lord’s discourse. The Shepherd, the true Messiah, goes and seeks the lost. The Church and the Spirt seek the lost. The Father awaits them urgently and longingly. The young man in the third part did not come to his senses himself: He had been sought and converted.

Our lives are cluttered. That clutter, says Jesus, will not fit through the “narrow door.” (Lk 13:22ff) Those who live under the weight of clutter that the ways of the wolves of life have us carry, those who live by pretense while having made compromise with the ways of the wolves to gain a wolf’s peace need to put down a number of things. Now, after having explained the narrow door we see examples of those who, free of excuses for all their clutter, pretense and compromise, are coming to Jesus. The shepherd has found them, the woman has swept away the veil: They are in the far country and know that the only real option is coming home. The unconditional Love of the Father and the humble obedience of Messiah are their only hope and they have grasped it. 

The cycle of parables ends with the older son. Will he go in? Again, a narrow gate. Will he enter to eat of the fatted calf or will he enter to celebrate his brother’s return which is his father’s joy? His words suggest that the fatted calf is not enough. Those are for mere parties, not for celebrations that come from the heart. The latter can merely be bread and wine. 

Oh, mother church: Why do you seek new children? Why do you go to feed the naked and clothe the hungry? For the fatted calf or for the joy of the Father in Heaven? Even now, angels are longing to peek into the salvation revealed to prophets, kept safe in heaven for those whom the Spirit has called. (1Pt1) Will the joy of angels be enough for you? (Lk15:7) Or will you need trumpets? (Mt 6:2)