Sermon Notes March 18, 2007

A New Creation

People like new things. This may be most evident in advertising. How many times do you see the word “new” on packaging of familiar products? You might expect, “new & improved” or “new ingredients” even “new flavor” how about “new technology” but we also get “new size” and “new package design.”

In a society so obsessed with the new, how is that reflected in our relationships with other people? Do we find some people to be as disposable as a worn out television? If someone’s life is a bit of a mess do we toss them away like a disposable towelette? What regard to we have for those who are older? Do we really believe “older is wiser?”

What lessons can we take from this great parable of the man with two sons? We rejoice with the son when we are told of the father’s overly gracious welcome home. Yet, we also find sympathy with the older son who is mad as hell that his stupid little brother has been welcomed home after causing so much strife for the family. The older brother doesn’t want to party, the older brother just wants things back they way they were.

Most of you have had an experience of grace that changed your life. At some point you were asked if you wanted to be a Christian. It might have been asked of you at a Baptism, or you might have responded to an call to accept Christ.

How would you like the older son to respond? What if the older son celebrated with everyone else? What if the elder son filled the younger one in on all the news since the time he left? What if the elder son began showing the younger some of what he knows about being happy and successful on the family farm?

We must continue to change because we all know people who are the younger brother. We know people who are lost in the muck and see no way out. We know people who need a measure of God’s grace. Can we respond like the father instead of the older brother. Can we continue to nurture others in faith? Can we be the brother or sister of faith that we wish the older brother had been?