I am no longer worthy to be called your son

I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

But when this son of yours came back

Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours

This parable is mainly known as “The Prodigal Son.”
While there is nothing wrong with that title, it doesn’t really do justice to the whole of the story.
The story is not just about the son.
It is about the father.
It is about the older brother.

 It is about the relationships between all three:
father and younger son, father and eldest son. It is about the relationship between the two brothers.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

This is how the youngest son feels when he comes to himself after his journey into dissolute living.

Why does this mean he is no longer worthy to be called his father’s son?

His behaviour is one reason, but we need to remember that he asked his father for his share of the inheritance.
This was due to him, yes, but not until his father died.
By asking for it early, he is saying that his father is dead to him.
There is great pain here. Yes his behaviour and squandering the money is selfish and short sighted, but his desire to get it before his father’s death is difficult.

 But when this son of yours came back

The son has returned back home, and his father has welcomed him back with an overwhelming joy.

The speech he has prepared in his mind

"Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son;
treat me like one of your hired hands."

He does not get to finish: he is cut off by his father’s extravagant overwhelming love.
He doesn’t get to say: treat me like one of your hired hands.

He does repent, but he does not need to degrade himself.

But the speech when compared what the elder son says reveals much:

'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you,
and I have never disobeyed your command;
yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes,
you killed the fatted calf for him!' 

Where the younger brother felt he was no longer worthy of being called a son, the elder brother feels he has been treated like a slave.

Both siblings feel in some way they are no longer sons.
One feels he is not worthy, the other that he has not been treated like a son.

Furthermore, the elder son no longer feels kinship with his brother:

But when this son of yours came back

He has disowned his brother, and feels he has been treated like a slave by his father.
Note, he must have been feeling this resentment before his brother returned home.


So, who really is lost?
The younger son left, misbehaved, repents and returns.
The elder son stays, works hard, and feels mistreated.

Who is the lost son?
Who has the father really lost?

The elder son feels he has lost his brother and his father.
His resentment at his father’s forgiveness means he is removed from both his father and his brother.

God’s forgiveness and love for us is confronting and reassuring.
Like the younger son we sometimes go far away, selfishly doing what we want, not thinking of what God or those closest to us want and need from us.

Like the younger son, we also come to ourselves.
We realise how far we have gone, and make our way back.

Always, God is there. He only needs to feel our sorrow in what we have done.
He does not need us to denigrate ourselves.

But I can’t help but feel that those of us in the church are a bit more like the elder son.
We are always here.
We are the ones who keep the place going.
We are the ones who pray for everyone.
We are the ones who will help the dying.
We are the ones who deserve God’s love.

We feel like we have worked like slaves, keeping our noses clean, doing everything right.

We see those outside of us.
We may say they are as deserving of God’s love as we are, but do we really mean it?
Are we not a bit like the elder son?

But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him.

Sometimes it is very difficult to accept how forgiving God is.
It can feel like we have been ripped off

I have never disobeyed your command;
yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.

We do not earn God’s love.
We do not earn God’s forgiveness.
It is by God’s grace that we receive his love and forgiveness.

And God asks us to do the same to others.

Forgive us our sins and we forgive those who sin against us

The father says to the elder son:

'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 

He is saying:
I love you.
I have always loved you.
I am with you to the end of the age.
My love is big enough for everyone there has ever been and ever will be.
It does not mean I love you any less, or my love is worth any less.

God forgives us all we do wrong.
He asks us to do the same for others he loves.