5:30 Coffee: The Older Brother

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Older Brother

One particular idea that challenged me in The Prodigal God by T. Keller is that we're probably the older brother. That is to say, I think that most of us tend to identify with the prodigal son, the younger son. Keller challenged me to think, to some degree, that I'm probably closer to the older brother, at least as a religious guy.

In so many ways the church is the older brother. We see ourselves as having kept the rules, followed the right path, done the right things, been faithful, etc, etc. When people come toward the church we may not be accepting because we see them as the younger brother coming back after being away and getting the inheritance.

The older brother is clearly annoyed that the father is accepting the younger brother back and throwing him a party... "What's all this about? I've been serving you all these years and have been faithful, and now you're throwing a party for this knucklehead whose been squandering your money on hookers!"

One really interesting reflection made by "Jordan" at church last Sunday when I asked our congregation to reflect on the Painting (I had a huge framed print in the worship area) is that the older brother may be looking on the scene between the father and the younger son and wishing that he was feeling that embrace of the father. I hadn't looked at it that way.

Notice the servants (in the background) looking on incredulously. Have they ever seen anything like this? It's the story of the gospel... while were were still knuckleheads..."

3 comments:

Unknown said...: Pastor,

This is a very interesting portion of Scripture. Julianne really appreciated the message last week (I was at home with sick kids.)

To your point, I would agree that we as the church and as individuals many times take the position of "older brother." I think part of the reason for this, at least in my life, is my tendency toward skepticism.

When repentance occurs in someone else, my sinful, judgmental nature leads me to wonder if it is sincere. While I believe that we should not be simple minded and easily fooled, I think many times we have the tendency to swing to the other side of the pendulum and be on the defensive not wanting to be taken advantage of or duped. Instead, of giving the "little brother" the benefit of the doubt and nurturing/discipling their repentant spirit, it is easy to keep our distance and "wait for the fruit." This is obviously not how our Lord would have us to act.

That said, it seems that there is an important distinction that needs to be made between withholding forgiveness and withholding trust. Would it be fair to say that withholding trust from a person who has proven to be untrustworthy is prudent, even when repentance is present, until a pattern of trustworthy actions rebuilds this trust? Is it possible to fully forgive without fully trusting? Scripture is clear that forgiveness should not be withheld, but it would seem that trust takes time to rebuild.

Interestingly enough, even in his celebration and killing of the fatted calf, the father did not entrust an additional inheritance to the prodigal, but rather stated to the older brother, “Son, thou art ever with me, and ALL THAT I HAVE IS THINE…” reassuring him of his rightful inheritance.

Thank you for posting on this topic, it has resulted in great discussion around our house. :) Looking forward to next week's message.

Sincerely,

Ryan Y.; February 12, 2009 at 7:59 PM
John J. Roberts said...: Hey Ryan, thanks for commenting here, I'd love this to be a discussion point in my life. I've been a bit out of sync with posting, but I'm working at being more consistent.

Couple things: First I really agree that there is a balance point between full acceptance as a repentant person being welcomed with open arms into the fellowship of faith. I think prudence demands that we walk carefully at times with entrusting some tasks to those who are walking newly in faith, or those who have repented of specific sin and are walking out a process of church discipline/restoration.

We've developed a process of walking back into fellowship for those who, as Christian, have fallen into sin (adultry, addiction, severe marriage or family difficulties, and there could be other issues: We call it a "life journey group" that's made up of 4 to 7 people and runs for two years). Often there is a period of time when we shouldn't place signficant responsibility on a person newly in faith and it takes away from their opportunity to walk forward by making them busy. Secondly care needs to be taken about the blind leading the blind as Jesus said.

I think the case of the older brother is a bit more like Jonah who in essence is saying, "I didn't want him to repent!" It annoyed the older brother because he'd been jumping through all the hoops the whole time!

I would think that we fully embrace anyone walking back toward the Lord and accept them "no srings attached" as I think the father in this story surely did... but then not push them forward into something that will side-track their growth and abundance.

The issue of the father not trusting his returning some with a further portion of inheritance is an interesting idea. I assume that the father does have more inheritance for the younger son. I think it's demonstrated in the full acceptance of him as a son - robe, ring, and sandals. When he says to the elder son, "Everything I have is yours" I don't think he is saying it in a literal way. I think he's saying it more like, "I have never withheld anything that I have from you... and that's going to continue.

Ryan, I have to think more about that topic by the way - But by giving him a ring... that is if it's the family signet ring... he's immediately entrusting the younger son with famly authority which can be sealed by the ring of the family... the family seal perhaps.

It's great to dialogue with you on this!

John

PS: We'd love to get together with you and Julianne sometime and chat if you're interested. Let me know if there are some times that work for you guys.; February 13, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Unknown said...: Yes, now that you mention it, I see the Jonah connection. This makes more sense now.

Regarding the inheritance, that is an interesting perspective. As a picture of God, I can see how there would be an additional inheritance since God is giving from an unlimited supply. Practically speaking in the parable, if the father is to give the Prodigal an additional inheritance, this means that the older brother will get less of his "rightful" inheritance. Maybe that's why he's so upset? :)

Maybe I am getting off track here since the context of the parable is finding that which is lost. Anyway, lots to think about.

Yes, Julianne and I would very much like to get together, we'll email you some possible dates soon to set that up.

Ryan; February 13, 2009 at 9:41 AM

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Life and Ministry

I've been alive for 46 years... I know that's not much compared to some people, but it's enough that I realize I'm on the downhill side, probably, unless I live past 92! That would be interesting I think. Otherwise, however, I'm at a point of deep reflection... how will the rest be spent. I've been in the same spot for 20 years now, doing pretty much the same work, so it's time for serious evaluation.

There are two things that have challenged my thinking... one old, one new. First, the 9th stage of Eric Erikson's psycho-social development; "Integrity vs. Despair." It struck me twenty some years ago. Erikson basically says that there will be a time when you will begin to reflect on your life and you will conclude that it's been a life full of good decisions and directions, and work done well - if that's the case you'll come away with a sense of integrity; your life has had meaning and purpose. If on the other hand you look back and see that it's been filled with missed chances and squandered opportunities you'll have a sense of despair. I want my reflection to lead me to integrity!

Second, I had a class on 2 Timothy this summer at Regent College with Earl Palmer. He and I had lunch one day and it was just a great encouragement. He said to me, "Never think of yourself as old... I'm nearing 80 and I don't think of myself as old! You have lots of life ahead of you... your most productive years! Realize that you are young and God has alot of stuff for you to do!"

Looking forward!
John

Book Reviews

Are Women Human (Dorothy Sayers): This little book (about 80 pages at most) is a lot of fun, but also profound. It's actually a compilation of two essays - I think both lectures - which Sayers gave around 1938 to a women's group in London. They wanted her to talk about the importance of feminism – which she didn’t want to talk about specifically. She's very fun to read... very British... very to the point... very intelligent and articulate. I read it as preparation for the sermon series in 2 Timothy because I'm trying to think of Paul's treatment of women and this book was suggested to me by Earl Palmer (University Presbyterian - Seattle) at a class I recently took from him. Here, in my estimation, is the essence of Sayer's view, "Women should be doing everything they're gifted to do... but not in order to prove that they can do what men can do. There are fundamental differences between men and women; they're made for different things. If you have to choose between a woman or a man to do a certain task you should choose the one who is best at that task. It gives our lives meaning to do what we're good at... it honors God to do what we're made for. A woman shouldn't become a mechanic to prove that women can be mechanics... nor should she be kept from mechanics because she is a woman. Great treatment of the subject I thought. My view of Paul and women, incidentally, is that he thought very highly of them. He speaks specifically in a coupe places about them being silent, but then talks all over the place about their roles as prophets, teachers, deacons, and "outstanding among the apostles." I take his specific instructions about women and silence to be a specific address to a specific problem. Barth says, "There are no NT letters apart from the troubles of the NT church." He's right about that.
Searching for God Knows What (Donald Miller): Miller is great... his writing style is interesting and very conversational. A little too conversational at times for me. But I love to be challenged by what he's saying, both in this book, and "Blue like Jazz" which is also enjoyable, and challenges some ideas that we have about life, faith, and church. Miller makes me laugh at one moment, and then get very serious the next. Honestly, I howled with laughter during the first chapter, "Fine Wine: The Failure of Formulas." He gave me cause to think anew about Shakespeare’s Play, "Romeo and Juliet." I have to go back and reread it... it's been way too long. Here's a bit of a summary statement for the book, from chapter one: "I realized the gospel of Jesus, I mean the essence of God's message to mankind, wasn't a bunch of hoops we needed to jump through to get saved, and it wasn't a series of ideas we had to agree with either; rather, it was an invitation, an invitation to know God."
Before I Go: Letters to Our Children About What Really Matters (Peter Kreeft):Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters (Peter Kreeft): This is simply a delightful little book. I don't mean "little" in a way to demean it... rather it reads like a little book. There are 161 short letters, from a couple sentences to a couple pages of advice that Kreeft is leaving mostly for his children. Here is a quote from #23, Sacred Time: "Visit a church at least once a week and just spend five minutes in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, just adoring Him. He came a long way for this meeting: all the way from heaven. And He brought you a long way for this meeting: all the way from nothingness, out of which he created you. He thinks this meeting is that important. And you don't? Which one of the two of you do you think has it right?" I love the sacredness of Kreeft's Catholicism. I like his writing. This book is full of good stuff. It's been especially meaningful to me since I'm preaching through 2 Timothy which is Paul's "Last Words" -- literally.
Playing for Pizza (John Grisham): Nothing profound here, but it's an enjoyable read. Maybe I'd classify this as a "feel good" novel. It's not going to change the world, but it's a story with some redemption, victory, set mostly in Parma, Italy. There is some interesting information here about various parts of Italy. Story is an NFL Quarterback, Rick Dockery, who can't seem to make it in the NFL, and ends up playing in the Italian NFL, for the Parma Panthers. They're putting all their hopes on him to win the Italian Superbowl! In the end... Easy read about 260 pages.
Fish!: This is a great little book,sort of expensive for the size of the book, less than a hundred pages. This book is really helpful for getting refocused on how to be a positive influence in a "toxic energy dump."
Real Sex (Lauren Winner): I really like Winner's writing. Heard her speak at the National Pastor's Conference in '07... she's fun. I read another of her books, Mudhouse Sabbath, which I loved. I think you should read this very articulate and frank discussion of Sex within the faith framework. Read it.
Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell): Thought provoking look at the church, faith, and the journey. I'm not crazy about Bell's writing style, but readable, and challenging ideas. I'd recommend it. If the church doesn't stay relevant it will end up the like the "Velvet Elvis" painting Bell found in the basement of his house... obsolete.
His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman): I read the trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) as well as Lyra's Oxford. As advertised the books are hard on "the Church" but that's to be expected from Pullman's atheism. The books were a fun read, we're reading them to our boys now. Good opportunity for dialogue about important ideas. Lyra's Oxford was disappointing, and very short. Few observations: (1) "The Church" is probably a little too exercised about this series. (2) I think "killing God" is a little too strong a description of what happens. (3) I think it's very interesting, given Pullman's atheism, that there is so much metaphysical stuff in this series. (4) If you haven't read the books or seen the movie... see the movie first... they foul up everything in the movie which makes it difficult to enjoy if you've read the books. Trilogy books are around 250 pages. Fun, but definitely not The Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia... not close.
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck): This is a classic that I'd never read until recently. It's a very interesting portrayal of friendship, caring, and loyalty. It's accessible, and about 90 pages. Glad I read it.

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Older Brother

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