This post is a follow-up to my previous post, "Prodigal Worship Part 1," and it was originally published on the Prodigal Preacher blog (http://prodigalpreacher.com/prodigal-worship-part-2/)
In Prodigal Worship Part 1, we looked at the beautiful picture of worship that happens when we embrace our "prodigal-ness." The younger son repented of his sin, humbly returned to his father, and the father lavished him with love, forgiveness, and blessings. But at the end of that post, we were reminded that the younger son is not the only player in this story. What does worship look like for the older brother?
When the older brother heard the rejoicing over his younger brother’s repentance and return, he was angry and refused to participate in the celebration. He thought the ability to have a relationship with the father and the honor of receiving a blessing from the father was only for him, the “good” son. The one who didn’t wander off. The one who didn’t need to repent and return. Or did he?
As a side note, the subtitles and divisions in our Bibles were not part of the original text. They have been inserted for our reference. Sometimes these subtitles are helpful, but sometimes they divide verses that should remain together. There is one of these subtitles dividing verse 10 from verse 11 in Luke 15.
Verse 10, which is the verse just prior to the story of the Prodigal Son says, “...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The next verse says, “Jesus continued...” (vs. 11). What He continues to do is to tell us the story of the Prodigal Son in order to paint a picture of one sinner who repents and the ensuing rejoicing ... except that in his story, the older brother refuses to rejoice.
The older brother’s claim is, “I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders” (Luke 15:29). Is that all that his relationship with the father is about? Duty? And he has never disobeyed? Never? He considers himself to be perfect? The apostle John tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). I would dare say that many of us who have been Christians, or at least those of us who have been in the church, for years or even decades can easily slip into following the way of the older son.
"I’ve followed all your rules. I’ve been to church every week. I’ve tithed. I've never done drugs. I've never...I’ve...I’ve...I’ve...” Just like the older brother. And just like the older brother, we may experience some difficulty in rejoicing over a sinner who repents. Especially a really dirty rotten one who squandered the blessings of the Father. We may not want them to receive grace or to be lavished with the Father’s love. We may feel that they should be punished for what they’ve done. However, If we look at everything the younger son experienced, perhaps he was punished enough. His own disobedience resulted in his punishment and suffering, and in turn brought about his humility, and eventually the desire to repent.
It can be difficult to remember that none of us are transformed by punishment. We are transformed by grace. Paul might as well be speaking to the older brother, and the rest of us who sometimes follow the way of the older brother, when he says, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Rom 2:4).
The father rejoiced when his younger son returned to him, saying, “this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24). Perhaps he also said to the older son, “you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up!” (Rev 3:1-2).
What does worship look like in our brokenness, in our prodigal-ness? In reflecting on this story, I think it looks like humility and repentance. It looks like being lavished with love, grace, and mercy by the Father and not being afraid to rejoice with each other that we are all in the process of being transformed from a broken mess into a beloved child of God.
This blog post was originally published last month on my friend Brandon Bradley's blog: Prodigal Preacher. As you might can tell from the title, the blog is built around Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son and the idea that we are all prodigals. Some of us have returned to the Father. Some of us may still be in the pig stye. Some of us may still be on the road in between the two.
Brandon asked to contemplate what worship might look like within this well-known parable. After delving into the story again, I believe there is so much we can see about worship and praising God in this rich parable that Jesus told that I am breaking it up into two parts.
The story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 is not really considered a "go-to" passage for studying worship, but it's in there. At first glance, we might grab onto verse 25 where the older son "heard music and dancing." They are singing and celebrating the return of the younger son. That's where the worship is taking place, right? I think it could be part of it, but the better picture of worship in this story is back in verses 17-20.
So we can clearly see an example of worship in this story, I want to start by giving you a working definition of worship. It can be defined as “an appropriate response to a revelation from God.” If that is true, how do we respond to God? How should we respond to God? James tells us if we are happy, we should “sing songs of praise” (James 5:13b). That is certainly an appropriate response to God. However, before we can sing songs of praise, the true worshipper responds to God in a very different way.
Let's look at the beautiful picture of worship that is presented in Isaiah chapter 6. The prophet Isaiah sees the Lord “high and exalted, seated on a throne,” surrounded by seraphim who are constantly declaring the holiness and majesty of the Lord (vs 1-3). When Isaiah witnesses this scene, what is his response? He does not immediately join in with the seraphim or burst out into joyful songs of praise. He falls to his knees in sorrowful repentance as a broken man. He cries out, “Woe to me...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips...” (vs 5).
I believe the picture of worship in the story of the prodigal son and the picture of our own worship when we embrace our “prodigal-ness” begins in verses 17-20 of Luke 15. In this scene, the son who has wandered from them father “comes to his senses” and returns to the father. He repents of his sin.
He is not a stranger to the father. He is his son. He lived in the same house for a number of years, so he is aware of the father’s character. He knows his father is gracious and loving. Perhaps this is why he thought his request to receive his inheritance early would be granted. However, the son is not fully aware of the depth of his father’s love or his tremendous willingness to lavish the son with love and forgiveness. In the depth of his sin and rebellion, he begins to reflect on his father’s character. He decides to repent, and to turn from his sinful lifestyle in order to return to his father.
Perhaps in his heart he heard his father saying, “You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Rev 2:4-5). The younger son's act of worship in this story is his act of repentance and his humble return to his father. The father then responds to his son’s act of repentance and returning home by lavishing his son with love, forgiveness, and blessings.
What the son received from his father is what we receive when we turn from our own sin, rebellion, and self-absorption and return to God: “the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Eph 1:7-8). The father welcomed his son with open arms just as God welcomes us. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
This is such a beautiful picture of worship. But the younger son is not the only player in this story. What about the older brother? What does worship look like for him? We will look at the older brother in the next post.
