Will It Be Awkward?
Luke 15:11-31
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
High school reunions can be awkward. You go back to your old school and see people you haven’t seen since graduation, since the last reunion 10 years ago, or even in a half-century. What will you talk about? What if you’re not really on the same page job-wise or your sense of humor has changed? What if you’re at different places in your lives now? What if you’re too embarrassed to talk about what you’ve been doing since the last time you saw each other? Awkward.
What about reuniting at church?
Perhaps your story isn’t quite the same as the prodigal son’s. What I mean is, the reason you haven’t been to church isn’t because you haven’t wanted to be at your Father’s house. It’s because you’ve been staying safe. But now as COVID cases continue to drop (as of yesterday, under 700 active cases in Collin County for the first time since September 12, 2020, and under 4000 active cases in Dallas County for the first time since June 8, 2020), and you’re planning your return to in-person worship, the question keeps popping into your mind, “Will it be awkward?”
Perhaps your story is similar to the prodigal son’s. That could be true in two different ways. It could be that you’ve been like the prodigal son at the beginning of the story. Certain that you can make it on your own without your Father’s help. Using the blessings he’s given you only for yourself, squandering them. Or it could be that you’re more like the prodigal son at the middle of the story. Embarrassed. Uncertain. Anxious. Not wanting those feelings to bubble up as you pass through the doors and see those faintly familiar faces. And the question keeps popping into your mind, “Will it be awkward?”
In Jesus’ parable, the prodigal son finally does realize he can’t live without his father. He recognizes how long he’s been away. How awkward the encounter might be. He rehearses in his head how he wants it to go. But all that gets thrown out the window when the father comes running up the path to him, gives him a big ol’ bear hug, and kisses him. The son stammers out his script, but the father is too giddy to listen. The awkwardness melts away because the father has compassion on his son and receives him as though he were back from the dead.
What could be awkward about returning to your Father’s house? The Father will gladly receive you, though he has been with you this whole time. He sent his Son to get you, like a shepherd going after his sheep (Luke 15:3-7). Indeed, whether or not you identify with the prodigal son in your current circumstances, you were at one time dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1). “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4,5). The Father’s love for you has not changed. The awkwardness melts away because the Father has compassion on you, his child, and has brought you back from the dead.
But there is another character in Jesus’ parable. The older brother. Perhaps you’re not so worried about the Father’s reaction to your return. You’re worried about your brother or sister’s reaction. Have they thought, “So-and-so really should have come back already”? Will they look at you like they’re trying to remember your face and your name but can’t quite place you? Will your face reflect that look, too, as you look at them? Will you receive any welcome at all? Will they judge you?
Jesus doesn’t relate any direct interaction between the brothers in his parable. But we know how the older brother feels. Rather than addressing the “younger brother,” now Jesus addresses the “older brother.” He doesn’t want to go into the party. He’s insulted. Resentful. He’s been there the whole time, working hard for his father, earning his inheritance, attending church faithfully since it reopened a year ago, or at least since Christmas and/or Easter.
The father listens carefully to his son’s complaint. Then he replies, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” The father recognizes his son’s faithfulness. But he also refuses to let the awkwardness and resentfulness hang between the brothers. He implores his older son to come and rejoice with him. If the father has welcomed his prodigal son, so can the brother.
Even if your circumstances are similar to the older brother’s, don’t let your attitude be. Rather than focus on ourselves, we focus on our Father’s grace, which welcomes all of his children home one-by-one. We are not members of the Father’s household because of our hard work or our physical presence in church, but because of his love for us in Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, our perfect older Brother. The Father’s compassion toward us and toward our brothers and sisters melts the awkwardness away. With the Father’s welcome behind you, welcome your brothers and sisters home.