A sermon based on Luke 15:1-3,11-24, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
We come together during Lent, to reflect on God’s immeasurable love that bought our salvation on the Cross. He calls us to repent and have a deeper relationship with Him. May we draw near Him with open hearts and minds, ready to listen, pray, and commit to bearing witness to His grace so we may walk this path with faith and unwavering devotion.
The Gospel reading presents one of the three parables that only appear in Luke’s Gospel: The two sons and their loving father, the lost sheep, and the lost coin.
Why did Jesus tell these parables, particularly the one about the prodigal son? It was His response to the Pharisees and scribes who grumbled about His mingling and eating with sinners and tax collectors; a rebuke to the self-righteous religious people who focused on the sins of those who did not look like them, worship like them, or act like them.
This story illustrates God’s faithful, prodigal love demonstrated toward the undeserving. He cares about the sinners and rejoices with them in heaven when they repent in response to His love.
He extends His prodigal grace and love to the sinners and outcasts that the self-righteous religious people reject. When we shift our focus to the actions of our loving Father, this parable should not be called “The Prodigal Son” but “the Father’s Prodigal Love.”
I pray that God will draw us close as we hear the essential truth He wants to reveal through His Word, and allow ourselves to be shaped by His love for us.
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