The Prodigal Mother

March 17, 2007 Joshua 5:9-12 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 repreached on 3-10-13 You don’t hear of me that story that was just read to you did you? I am Lydia, the mother of those two boys. Those two very different boys. Nathaniel, my oldest, and then there is Zachariah, he will always be my baby. And of course I am Simon’s wife. I am beginning to think that the whole world knows my story – some people seem to think that our last name must be prodigal. They refer to the prodigal son, the prodigal father, the prodigal sons. But I never get mentioned as the prodigal mother. Prodigal means either extremely wasteful, or extremely abundant. The funny thing is, I don’t think of my family as extreme at all. We are very normal, just like any other family. And the story told is not about the behavior of any one of us – it is about all of us, together as a family. It is a story of our families struggles with faith – faith in ourselves, faith in one another- faith in a God who goes out of the way to love us. But anyway, let me tell you a little more about my family. Do any of you have children? So you know that no matter how much you try to raise them the same- they come out so different. Each with their own personalities and their own stories. Take for instance, my baby, Zachariah. He was always so active and always asking questions. When he has younger, it was easy to keep up with him, and to keep up with his questions. Mommy, why did God make the sky blue? Why is it that we don’t eat the meat of pigs, like the people who live in the camp down the way? Why can’t I go play with the kids that I see in that camp – they seem to be having so much more fun. As he got older, his question got a little harder – why do I have to work in the fields with daddy- I would rather have time to dance and to learn to play my music. And then it just seemed that his questions got to hard for us to answer as parents- why do I have to stay here? Why do you want to find a wife, I am don’t want to settle down here. And then one day I think that Zach’s questions got to big, even for himself to answer. My gosh, I will never forget that day – the day that he asked my husband for his inheritance. My husband said that he felt like a knife had been struck through his heart. And it had, after all asking for his inheritance was the same as saying I wish you were dead- so that I could go on with my life. My hsband, simon, swallowed his pride, put aside his hurt. He did it – he gave Zach his inheritance and let him go- out into the world that he has always seemed to look to. We had to let him go- let him go to find what he was looking for. But I was greatful on that day that I have two sons- two very different sons. My oldest son Nathaniel never asked any of those questions. As a matter of fact, he never gave me any trouble at all. Whatever we told him – he accepted it, whatever we taught him he did it. He never wondered what was going on out there- he was always there to help his dad. We knew, from the moment that he was born that Nathaniel would be the one to take over the family business. And he has never not for one moment in his life, given us any reason to doubt that decision. Now that he and his new wife are expecting, we are looking forward to passing the business on to the next generation. And passing on our faith, which our family has held onto for many generations before. But of course, my mind always goes back to Zach, my baby. It’s like he needed to go on a journey to find himself. Those questions had to be answered. He is not a bad boy- and I know that I raised him to do the right thing. I don’t think that he will get too out of hand, when he goes onto town. And the faith that I taught him- he hasn’t come to temple with us in a very long time. But I know that God is in his heart- and God will take care of him. And Zach will return to the faith that we taught him in time. I just need to give him some time. God promised that anything that is lost will always been found. Anything that is lost will eventually be found- even family members that you don’t understand. Have you ever lost something? My family has a history of being lost, and being found. Lost to God and found by God. For years we wondered in the desert, trying to escape the oppression of Egypt. But I think the oppression of being lost in our own wilderness, is far worse than anything that someone else can do to you. To be lost somewhere between who you are and who God calls you to be – can be a horrible feeling. To be stuck between a past that you know doesn’t work – and a future that you don’t know or understand- that can be a hard thing. A friend of mine-her name was Virginia Daily, talks about a personal wilderness this way – she says that we look back with dismay upon our wrong decisions, poor choices, we dwell endlessly on our past mistakes until we make ourselves miserable and physically or emotionally ill, we are haunted by those the past, we keep dragging it out- continually rehashing of previous mistakes can cause us to lead gloomy lives. We don’t become free of that past, until we stop rehashing it in our spirits, and we are willing to give it up to God. There is a time to hold on to things, and there is a time to let go. There is a time to be lost, there is a time to be found. My family knows that well, being lost and being found. They wandered around in the desert for 40 years- trying to erase their past. It took a young man by the name of Joshua to lead the out of the wilderness, to the land that God had promised. They crossed the Jordan river, over into Gilgal – the place of a circle, the entryway into a new life that God had always promised them. A land of abundance, a land of freedom, a land of new ways, a land full of promise. And at that moment, you know a funny thing happened. In the wilderness, where they had no sense of direction, and no understanding of God’s promise. God provided a miracle for them. They ate that stuff there, on the tree. (see photo on the screen). Manna – a gift of sustenance from God. That was the miracle food that got them through the tough times. When the tough times were over, the miracle disappeared. But you know that funny thing is- that they didn’t need it anymore. Because the land that they entered-the promisedland- was full of food and many opportunities to create new ways of providing a new living. It is those times of transition in all of our lives, where we can realize that God has supported us, in ways that we couldn’t support ourselves. just as we realize that support as a gift of God- before we can become thankful enough to depend upon it- it disappears. And we are stuck in that moment of transition – when we ask ourselves the question – what do we do now. I bet you are in that transitional time right now- you are probably asking yourself what to do next? We all need resources to live- we’ve all experienced those times when those resources dry up and disappear. It’s funny, there is nothing in this world that last forever. Things that we think our very life depends upon can be taken away at a moments notice. I thank God for my faith during those times of transition. That story about Joshua helps me to realize that God had taken care of my in my past, and I may not know how, and I may not know why- but God will provide. In new and exciting ways- if I am open minded enough to listen and to learn. Everything that I need is growing right now, somewhere in the future that God has led me to. I just have to put aside old ways of thinking, leave old questions- and let God reveal a future that has always been promised to me. That happened to my family when they were finally willing to let the Egypt of the past go, and they entered into Canaan. I don’t know about your family- when good things happen my family celebrates with a feast. They had a Passover that people have been talking about for years. Anything that is lost will always be found. That is because God is always working – working to find us when we are lost, working to bring us back to the table, working to prepare us for the celebration. The celebration of life, the celebration of new life. I wouldn’t say even that God is a prodigal. God is not extravagant, or wasteful, or ridiculous. God know what god is doing. Bit I would say that God has a prodigal love for God’s family. An extravagant, ridiculous, abundant love for each and every one of us. God will do anything that I takes to find each and every one of us. God will go as far as sacrificing God’s own son for each of us. We are all gods children – and you know what- in those times when we are lost in our own personal wilderness- we can never find our true identity outside of God’s love for us. Speaking of personal wilderness, of searching for one’s true identity, asking questions that can’t be answered. He came home today! My baby Zach came home. I have never seen my husband run so fast for anything. But he welcomed him home. We are preparing for the feast now- to celebrate his being found. To celebrate being family. To celebrate God’s ridiculous, abundant love for our son, our all of us no matter who we are. I have two sons, one that had to leave to find himself, and one who has been here all of the time and just didn’t know. Maybe you can see yourself in their story. Maybe you can see your story somewhere in the story of my family? We are celebrating together, because God found all of us in the wilderness of our lives and bought us together to the promiseland. As you stand in the entryway of a life, what is is that you have to celebrate finding? Now that the manna has dried up, what are the new fruits of the land being offered to you? What preparations are you doing for the celebration? What have you found in the presence of God that you thought you had lost? And most importantly who is it that sits at the family table with you? And who in your family are you still praying for to come in from the wilderness and join the family meal?