Henrietta United
Rev.
David Inglis
Luke 15:25-32
“Finding Our Worth,” Part 2–The Elder Son’s Choice
(Looking angrily at door as though his father
has just gone in) Father!
Wait! There’s no way I’m going
into that party! I don’t care what he
says! I’ve always done what my father
told me to do. I’ve obediently followed
his orders, day after day, year after year.
But this is so unfair! What’s going on in there is just plain wrong!
You
know what my kid brother Aaron did with my father’s hard-earned money. What if I had had his attitude? I would have asked for my share, gone and had
my fun, and left my father to manage everything by himself. If he did
it, why couldn’t I? But no, I did
my duty, I shouldered the extra responsibility, and I worked longer and harder
than ever so that my brother’s shameful behavior didn’t break my father’s body
as well as his heart.
Even though I had always done the lion’s share
of the work, it seemed like all my father could think about was his missing
lazy son. I don’t know if my father even
noticed how much extra I was doing after Aaron left! He never said, “Samuel, your faithfulness
means everything to me now. What can I
do to show you how much I appreciate everything you’re doing for me? Why don’t we kill the fatted calf and invite
our friends and neighbors? I’ll say, ‘I
have lost one son, but my Samuel here is making up for it and more. Come celebrate his loyalty, maturity, and
dedication to our family.’”
No! He
waits until his good-for-nothing son comes back in rags and shame, and throws a
party for him-- with the choicest calf to boot! And then he expects me to put on a happy face
and dance and sing celebrate with him!
How can he even asked
me to do such a thing? He’s betrayed the
values he raised me on, spit on my hard work, and made light of my
loyalty. You’re supposed to be rewarded
for being good and punished for being bad, right? Isn’t that what fairness is all about? All my life, I’ve worked hard to earn my
father’s respect, to make him proud of me, to be worthy of his love. Over and over again, I proved to him that I
was capable and trustworthy and responsible.
It was easier to do that when Aaron was
around. There was someone my father
could compare me to. Aaron was smaller,
weaker, and less experienced. I worked hard to excel
at everything. We all just knew I was the favorite son.
But then Aaron ran off. Maybe he couldn’t take being such a loser.
The game was over. I had won, hands
down. But then it seemed like my father
thought more about Aaron than me! What
was this twisted devotion that kept his heart hooked to such a
good-for-nothing, and that compelled him to throw this party for him? “We had to celebrate and rejoice,” he said, “because this brother of yours was dead and has
come to life; he was lost and has been found.”
Is that all my father’s sons have to do to earn his love– just show up alive
and breathing?! Where’s the honor in
that? Where’s the incentive to
excel? Where’s the reward in proving
your worth? You don’t have to
prove it, I guess. Aaron comes home having proven
how disgustingly unworthy he is, and he gets the fatted calf I was
hoping would be for me. So all of my
hard work and loyalty and responsibility–what’s it been for?
(Reflectively) What has all of my effort been for? I
guess it’s been partly so I would know that I was worthy, I was deserving of
love. Why did I have to keep proving it
over and over again–always beating out my brother, never disappointing my
father? What was it he just said to
me?–“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Was his love for me quietly there underneath
everything all along, whether he said anything or not? What if I never had to prove I was
worthy of it? Huh, I could have been as
bad as I had wanted and I guess he still would have loved me! ’Course, if I had really felt that love
coming from him, why would I have wanted to hurt him?
So is that what’s going on in there with that
party? Is this party for Aaron about a
love you don’t have to earn or prove you deserve? Is it about a love that doesn’t require me
to keep sucking it up and shoulder more responsibility than I can bear, while
resenting my father for not giving me special rewards? Is that party about a love that would maybe
allow me to ask for what I need, to find out who I am,
to make mistakes without feeling like I didn’t deserve to be in the
family? Is that the kind of love my
father is showing in there? (Looks wistfully at the door, approaching it a little.)
(Pulls back in hesitation) Is it a love that has no favorite sons? Is it a love that would require me to accept
my brother as he is? Is it a love that
would require me to stop comparing myself to him and beating him out all the
time? Is it a love that I can only feel
if I let go of my pride and let go of my judgements?
(Is torn between entering and staying put) My father really wants me in on this
party. He never begged me so hard to do
anything before. Does he know how
much I’ll have to give up to go in there? (Paces back and forth) What should I do? . (Looking at the congregation) What would you do?
(Hesitates, takes a deep breath, then slips through the door.) “Father. Aaron”