Some people find it hard to laugh and celebrate the good fortunes of another. It is much easier for them to 'weep with those who weep' for misery loves company rather then 'rejoice with those who rejoice." Such is the case of the elder brother, the party pooper, who refused to join the party celebrating the return of his wayward brother. When his father pleads with him to come in, all of the pent-up anger and resentment inside his spiritual intestines let loose. The party pooper poops! In his pile of poop, he expresses a lack of respect for his dad, a lousy attitude toward work, an inflated, inaccurate view of himself, bitterness over perceived injustice, and hostility towards his brother. All of this bitterness that had been bottled up inside perhaps for years comes out. His father responds by gently reassuring his firstborn son of his love and reminds him of the riches that are already his. But the father again affirms the need to celebrate for his 'dead' son is now alive, the one who was lost is now found. Now Jesus does not finish the story, but it is up to us to write the ending. The perfect ending to the story would be for the elder brother to repent of his rotten attitude, ask forgiveness from the father, and join the party. The Pharisees' ending would be for the father to repent of his reckless actions of forgiving one who has yet to work off his debt, and to apologize to his guests and throw the prodigal son out of the house. The actual ending is that the elder son seized his father (Jesus), brought false accusations against him, and demanded his death-- and then celebrated the end of free forgiveness and grace-- and the preservation of tradition. |
