Monday after the Third Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 4, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 15:11-32 (NKJV)
15:11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Devotion
Our Lord’s parable of the prodigal son illustrates the humility that His Spirit creates through faith, especially in contrast with sinful self-importance. God speaks clearly in giving us this well-known picture of His grace, but people still often misunderstand it. The father in the story gives and loves and forgives. The younger son is foolish and self-destructive, but he repents in great earnestness when he not only recognizes the lowliness of his condition, but that he has brought it upon himself. The older son did not sinfully wander and waste like the younger son, but he fails to show the good characteristics his father and brother did—their understanding of sin and grace.
Too often we act like the older brother, even after we say things like “I repent,” or “I’m a poor, miserable sinner.” Our sinful hearts make us think we are entitled to things according to our expectations. The son that was truly humble was willing to take what might come from his father’s graces, even if it meant being a servant, and that is the example of faith that Christ is teaching us!
The Pharisees and scribes had complained against Jesus for His gracious behavior. Even as He taught in parables, our Lord was trying to be gracious to these quarrelsome false teachers! The truth of God’s Law and Gospel needs to be received and applied according to His merciful will, not according to man’s prideful desires.
Prayer: O God, the Protector of all that trust in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy; that Thou being our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
