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"Party" (For our Graduates) When I graduated, I wanted to get away from home, get outta Dodge. I wanted out. Away. I was sure there were better things out there to experience, to see. Where there was opportunity. Where there were things to do. Where there were interesting people to meet. I know a fellah like that. I found him in the Bible. In a story Jesus tells to some folks. A story about a young man, I don’t know, but I suppose about your age. Grew up working along with his brother on the farm. And he decided he’d had enough. He wanted out. Where there were opportunities. Where there were things to do. Interesting people to meet. He wanted out, and he devised his plan. He stood to inherit some fairly significant holdings when his father died. He and his brother. They would split the family farm, the equipment, the livestock, the cash and investments. But that could be years from now. Decades. The young man goes to his father to strike a deal. “Hey ol’ man. Tell you what. Why don’t you give me my inheritance now, at whatever it’s worth now. Buy me out. You know I don’t belong here. There aren’t any opportunities for me here. In fact, if I stay here, I’ll probably just make a mess of it all. Give me my inheritance now, so that I can go and find my own way. Then, you won’t have to worry about me. And the amazing thing
is, the father did just that. Quite a persuasive speaker, this young man. The
father gives him his inheritance, and he heads off and with a wad of cash in his
pocket like he’d never seen before. He was ready for a party! A party. Or “par-tay!” That’s what the boy’s looking for. Remember that. The boy wanted a really good party. That’s what he was after. And he had the cash to make it happen. So he went to a distant country. That’s what Jesus says. Booked a flight to Cancun, or Babylon or wherever young fellahs like him went to party and live it up. And he spent his money. Well…more than that. The Bible says he lost his money in dissolute living. Now there’s a word for you. “Dissolute.” You know what that means? Dissolute. Living that dissolves. Living that causes all that you have to sort of fall through your fingers like water. When you’re wad of cash is gone and for the life of you you can’t remember where you spent it? How many of you have ever had something like that happen to you? You get some cash and before you know it, that 50 or 100 bucks is all gone and someone asks you, “what did you spend it on?” And you try to reconstruct what you spent it on and it never adds up to the whole amount? “I should have 20 or 30 bucks left!” but you don’t. I’ve done that? Has that ever happened to you? That’s dissolute living. Living you can’t hold onto because it dissolves away. Any way, the young man, now in a distant country, goes through it all—his whole inheritance, in dissolute living. Can you see him having a good time? Can you see him? The parties? The high life? The women? Little umbrella drinks one after another? The big tips he leaves to show what an important guy he is? Until the waiter comes and brings his card back. “I’m sorry sir, your card was not accepted.” That can’t be! He had plenty of money! Where had it all gone? Dissolute living. Busted. Flat broke. Nada. He had spent it all. Here he is in this distant country, and he doesn’t have change enough to order a junior bacon cheeseburger from the value menu. So he has to get a job. He hires out to feed and take care of pigs. Now, that may not sound like a job you’d want to do, but its even more complicated than that. This young man, he’s a good Jewish boy, and Jews don’t eat pork. Pigs are unclean animals. You wouldn’t touch one, let take care of one. But it’s the only job the boy can get. Slopping pigs. And as he takes the slop over to the pigs, he’s so hungry…the Bible says he would have gladly eaten the pigs’ food. When you’re willing to eat slop, you’ve pretty much hit the bottom. He’s flat broke. Feeding pigs. Hungry enough to eat slop. You can’t get much lower than that. But funny thing…when you hit the bottom, sometimes it does something for you. It allows this young man to start thinking—thinking not about his way out, but the way back home. He begins to think
about his father, and the farm. And the life he left behind. Not
this….this….dissolute life. But a life that had some substance to it. Of
course, home seemed so far away. And he could never go back with everything
just as it was. And he starts rehearsing his apology. “I will get up and go to my father and I will say to him, “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” The Bible doesn’t go into a lot of detail just how the boy made his way back to the farm from the distant country. I suppose he hitched a few rides, did a lot of walking. But he made it back. And he’s walking up the driveway to the home place, when an amazing thing happens! The dad sees him. In fact, has been watching for him. I imagine that old man’s been out there on the front step every day since the morning his youngest son took off, looking down that road. Watching. For a day like to day. For the day he’d see his son walking up the drive. And the old man jumps off of the steps and runs up the drive to meet up with his son. And he grabs him. Puts his arms around him. And kisses him. And the young man begins his speech. “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son;” But the dad isn’t listening. He’s turned around, calling one of the hired hands over. “Quick, go get my robe, my best robe and put on this boy. No son of mine is going to go around looking like this!” And to another, he says, “go get my ring, and put it on his finger, and for goodness sakes, get some shoes for this boy. Hurry!” and finally to another he says, “And go out and find the best fat steer we got, and get it ready for the barbecue, so that we can eat and celebrate! This son of mine was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And the Bible says, “And they began to celebrate.” You know what this sounds like to me? A party! Isn’t that what the boy wanted all along? A really good party! This story—you know—it’s about more than just a old man and his foolish son. It’s about God. And it’s about us. It’s about God willing to let us go when we are so sure we can find our own way. It’s about God waiting and watching, always waiting and watching for us to come back. And it’s about God throwing his arms around us, and kissing us, and honoring us, and it’s about God throwing one terrific party when we come back home. The party we all want—the party we all long for—the party we try to throw on our own that never turns out quite like the party we have in our imagination and in our heart. When we come back to God’s waiting embrace—there’s going to be some partying going on! Of course, you know Jesus didn’t end the story there. Jesus continues: While the party’s going on inside, the young man’s older brother comes home from the field. He’s the one who stayed down on the farm working with is father. The sensible one. He hasn’t heard the news, hasn’t been told about the party. He comes to the house and hears the music, the laughter. Smells the meat smoking. He calls one of the hired men over. “What’s going on?” he asks. “Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has got him back safe and sound.” Ooooh. The older son’s not thrilled with the news. He refuses to go in, and true to his nature, the father came out and met him on the steps, pleading with him to come in. But the older son’s tone is sharp with his father. “Listen! For all these years I have been breaking my back for you, working like a slave. I have never, NOT ONCE, disobeyed your command. And now, junior here comes back like nothing ever happened and you throw a big stinkin’ party for him! Pop, this boy of yours, you know what he did while he was gone? I heard the stories pop. I know. He devoured your property with prostitutes. Did you know that? He’s had plenty of parties, dad, and you paid for them all. You know that? “Kill the fatted calf! You never even gave me a ratty old goat that I might celebrate with my friends.” The father tried to reason with his older son. “You are always with me. Everything I have is yours. A goat. A calf. A heard of cattle. It’s all yours, anytime you want. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead, and has come to life; he was lost, and is found.” I’d like to tell you the older brother came into the party just then. The truth is, I don’t know. But this is where Jesus ends the story. With the son and the father, still out there. He never tells us what happens next. But the older son is pretty hurt. Wouldn’t surprise me if he took off that night. People do that sometimes. When they’ve had enough. When they think they’ve been slighted. They cut themselves off. And in my mind, I can see the brother stomping off into the darkness, and the old man sadly going back into the party. You see, the father’s back right where he was. He has one son home, and another still out there. And you know where he’ll be, come morning? Out on the front steps, looking up the drive. Waiting. Watching. For his boy to come back to him. Waiting and watching for the day when he might see his son coming up the lane. When he can run out once more and throw his arms around his son and kiss him. And you know what? When that day comes? You know--there’s going to be a party! That’s the way it is with God. Jesus was trying his best in this story to help us understand. God will wait. Watch. And hold out for us. The Bible in Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Nothing. Oh, a person can walk away from it. A person can leave it behind to go and try to find something new and exciting. A person can escape it in far distant places, and even do all they can to fill their life with cheap parties and all the fun a person can buy if they have enough money. A person can even turn away from that love in disgust and hurt. But God will not turn away. God will not leave His watch. God will not quit waiting. So if you find yourself far away and turned from God’s love, I want you to remember this. The moment—the very moment you turn back--when you find yourself in a place where you think about going back…at that moment, God’s love is there--ready to embrace you. Like a daddy waiting for his kid to come home. And when that day comes? There’s going to be a party!
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