Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:12-20
Nutshell
Oops!
Jesus Christ has liberated us from slavery to sin, our passions, and death. We mistakenly think that this means we belong to ourselves and can do what we want. Yet, this has only led to being enslaved to the whims of our culture, our jobs, and that which gives us instant gratification.
Ugh!
Because we allow ourselves to be enslaved by these things, our priorities are turned upside down. Those things that make us anxious, depressed, overworked, and tired control our schedules and our lives. And, it’s exhausting!
Aha!
The Good News is that Christian freedom isn’t about being freed and thrown into a dangerous and tempting world to be enslaved all over again. It’s about being made a part of God’s household. We belong to God, and so our business is to glorify Him and not worry about the temptations of this world.
Whee!
Being a part of God’s household means that we’re united to Christ, and just as Christ was raised from the dead, so too will we be raised from the dead. This also means that we are, in a way, God’s temple, the place where God lives in the person of the Holy Spirit. So, what we do now matters, not just in this life, but in the next.
Yeah!
As a result, we can see what’s eternally important, not just what’s important right now. We respond by reprioritizing our lives in a way that shows others that God is our Lord, not what’s trendy, our jobs, or any other distraction. Living in this way gives us a peace that can only be found in God’s house.
Full Text
Oops!
As I often tell folks in Bible study, Paul’s letters to the Corinthians are always a fun read. Not because of any deep theological revelation—not that it doesn’t have any theology, it does!—but because the Corinthians have messed up the gospel so badly that it’s fun to read Paul’s rebuke of them.
The Corinthians mistakenly believe that the gospel has completely set them free from the Law—any aspect of the Law. So, they think they can now do as they please.
There’s one gentleman who, in order to prove that he’s free from the Law, purposely started doing what the Law forbids. In this case, he was sleeping with his father’s wife.
He must have heard only the first part of today’s Epistle lesson, “All things are lawful to me …” He forgot the second part of that sentence, “All things are lawful to me—but not all are beneficial.”
Of course, this sort of thinking doesn’t sit well with St. Paul, who tells the Christian community in Corinth to throw this man out until he repents.
You see, it’s true: Jesus Christ has liberated us from slavery to sin, our passions, and death.
And, like the Corinthians, we often mistakenly think that this means we belong to ourselves and can do what we want.
Yet, this sort of thinking only leads to being enslaved to the whims of our culture, our jobs, and that which gives us instant gratification.
Ugh!
Instead of being free, how many of us feel like you’re stuck in the rat race at work—competing with co-workers to move up the corporate ladder?
How many of us feel tired trying to keep up with the Joneses; whether it’s driving the right car, wearing the right thing, or vacating in the right spot?
And, how many of us feel enslaved to fulfilling our desire for instant gratification, whether it’s going down the rabbit hole of social media, using pornography, drinking alcohol, or binging Netflix?
Because we allow ourselves to be enslaved by these things, our priorities are turned upside down. We chose those things of the world rather than prioritizing Christ, the Church, or our spiritual lives.
And when we choose the things of the world, they make us anxious, depressed, overworked, and tired.
They control our schedules and our lives. And, it’s exhausting!
Aha!
The Good News is that Christian freedom isn’t about being freed just so we can be thrown into a dangerous and tempting world … to be enslaved all over again.
It’s about being made a part of God’s household.
We belong to God, and so our business is to glorify Him and to not worry about the temptations of this world, nor to allow the things of this world control us or drive our motivations.
Whee!
But, how, exactly do we belong to God? Well, we belong to God because we are the Temple of God.
I spoke a little bit about this two weeks ago. But, essentially the Temple, the place where God resides, is not a building made of stones.
Instead, the temple is made of flesh: God living in us because we have been sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit through our chrismations. In addition, we are a community formed by hearing (and obeying) God’s instruction in scripture to love him and our neighbor.
And by heeding God’s instruction, God lives in us. This also means that we are a a part of God’s household, and we’re united to Christ, so that what’s true of Christ is also true of us … including resurrection!
As St. Paul reminded us today, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?”
So, just as Christ was raised from the dead, so too will we be raised from the dead. We are the Body of Christ.
So, if we are the Temple of God, a part of God’s household, and the Body of Christ that will be raised from the dead, then what we do now matters, not just in this life, but in the next.
Yeah!
This means we fight against the world and its ways, even if it means personal risk to us.
As a result, we can see what’s eternally important, not just what’s important right now—such as the concerns of this world.
And focusing on the eternal becomes a treasure, as St. Paul says,
“… we have this treasure in earthenware pots [i.e, our bodies], so that the extraordinary quality of the power may belong to God, not to us. We are under all kinds of pressure, but we are not crushed completely; we are at a loss, but not at our wits’ end; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are cast down, but not destroyed. We always carry the deadness of Jesus about in the body, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body.” (2 Co 4:7-10)
We respond by reprioritizing our lives in a way that shows others that God is our Lord, not what’s trendy, our jobs, or any other distraction.
And that life of Christ which we demonstrate to others shows that we live in God’s household and that being a people of resurrection is—simply—who we are.
Amen.