Sunday – Lost

Luke 15:11-12 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.   In his book about parables in the gospel of Luke, Kenneth Bailey writes, “For more than 15 years, I asked people of different nationalities and customs, from Morocco to India and from Turkey to Sudan, about the consequences of the son’s request for his inheritance, while his father was still living. The answer was always the same and the conversation looked like this.” “Has someone in your village ever asked for something like that?” “Never!” “Could someone ever make this kind of a request?” “That is impossible!” “If someone did this, what would happen?” “The father would obviously beat him!” “Why?” “This request implies that he wants his father to die.”   What the younger son did was a very serious thing, not only towards his father and his family, but also towards the community in which he lived. The community had to reject him because of his unheard of request and the subsequent cashing in of his inheritance, for he dishonored all that was holy to them. Everyone expected that the father would punish his son, but in an outrageous act of love, he gave his son, not only a part of his inheritance, but also the right to use it. The older son, on the other hand, was expected to turn down his share of the inheritance, scold his younger brother and try to reconcile the father and the younger son. Even if the older son hated the younger one, it would still be his responsibility to formally try to help them reconcile with each other, both because of his own honor and because of his father. However, the older son is silent. His silence and his acceptance of the portion of the inheritance not only show his bad relationship to his brother, but also the violation of his relationship with his father. They are both lost. Both sons are failing and cannot live together, and the relationship they have with their father is the same.   Prayer Points:

• There are many people leaving their families or churches, because they think that they can find whatever they are looking for elsewhere. Pray for courage for the parents and churches to let these people leave, and for a steadfast hope that they will find their way back home or to God.
• Pray for genuine freedom in the church. Pray that it will respect the need of people to be themselves, but also their need for love and a home.
• Pray for those who have abandoned us, for those who hate us, for our enemies, and for those who criticize us. Pray for those people who were close to us and have hurt us, either in our family, community or church.
• Pray for those who don’t fit into the typical church categories, that they would be able to feel at home and find acceptance.
• Pray that our churches would be real homes full of fatherly acceptance and that they would not have a need to manipulate them or dote on them
• Pray for the greatest “sinners” in our vicinity – people known for their corruption, injustice and deceitfulness – that God will use these people as a testimony to His power despite our expectations.
• Ask yourself, “How God can see that I personally, or my church, love sinners; not only in word, but also in deed?”