Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Watch
Illuminate Community Church pastor Jason Fritz presented a twist at Chapel on Monday at Global Credit Union Arena.
Fritz started with a Rembrandt painting of “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” only to expand his message by explaining the parable of the Prodigal Son in following this academic year’s theme of “Jesus Stories from the Gospels.”
The ideal older brother? It’s Jesus, Fritz said.
Referencing Luke 15:11-32, Fritz explained the differences of two brothers – portrayed in the legendary painting with the younger brother being consoled by his father after confessing for his selfish acts that leave him in despair, while his older brother crosses his hands in objection to his father’s compassion for his younger brother.
“The younger son attempts to use his father by being bad,” Fritz said. “Everybody noticed that. But the story behind the story, and what makes this story relatable to every person who listens, is the older son.”
Jesus addressed a crowd mostly comprised of tax collectors and sinners through parables about lost sheep and a lost coin. He adds there was a lost son in the crowd.
The Pharisees and scribes already were baffled because Jesus had accepted sinners and ate with them despite them being deemed as outcasts and distant from God.
Nevertheless, Jesus described a father who was told by his younger son that he wanted his share of property earmarked to him.
“This is what happens with prodigals,” Fritz said. “They never fully realize the consequences of their action toward others. This is the way sin works. We see the choice that's in front of us. God sees the effects of that choice on those around us.”
During this era, property meant everything – from making a living to feeding a family to social status. The younger son rejected his father’s authority by seeking what typically would not be available until his father’s death.
“This is another ugly side of sin in our lives,” Fritz said. “It's as if we are saying essentially to God, ‘I'll enjoy what you provided without your lordship in my life.’ That's a rejection.”
The father consented to the younger son’s request, and the younger son soon gathered his new belongings before departing to another country.
The younger son spent his entire inheritance after living recklessly.
“That's the way sin is at first. It’s always the sugar coating, and never the cavity that follows,” Fritz said. “… (The younger son) quickly assumed what he had without regard to the consequences.
“And by the way, you can do this in life. We can make these kinds of decisions. If you make these kind of decisions, just know that you will become very vulnerable in life, and you will be taken advantage of.”
The younger son fell into despair so deep that he submitted himself to working for a citizen who dispatched him to a farm to feed pigs and yearned to eat in the carob (caramel-flavored) pods with the pigs. He realized his father’s servants were eating well while he starved.
“This is Jesus painting a picture in His time,” Fritz said. “You cannot get any lower than this. A Jewish boy longing to eat what the pigs eat. This is rock bottom.”
The younger son finally came to his senses, returning to tell his father, “I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."
The father saw his disheveled son and showed compassion by actually running to him before embracing and kissing him.
“This, too, is an unexpected statement from Jesus,” said Fritz, explaining that men running was considered undignified and that elderly men were expected to have their affairs in order and appear more in control.
Nevertheless, “There's compassion. And when you're moved by compassion, you don't care what other people think. You're motivated to reach out to that person. If you're here now, most of you don't have kids. People here do have children, and if you have a prodigal in your life that has turned away, you can relate to this father.”
The father called for a celebration by telling his servants to deliver the best robe and a pair of shoes to his son before killing a fattened calf for a celebratory meal.
The older son, however, heard the music and learned of his father’s motives because the younger brother showed repentance and returned safely.
The older brother grew angry and refused to join the celebration, telling his father that he never disobeyed his command and never even received a goat while his brother devalued his father’s property and still got a fattened calf to eat as part of his celebratory return.
The father appealed to the older son by saying, “You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours,” adding that the younger brother had been lost and found, which was cause for celebration.
“You’re (thinking), ‘Jesus, where are we going with this?’ “ Fritz said.
This story let the tax collectors in the crowd know that no matter where they’re at, “they’re never too far removed from the outstretched arm of the Father God, who is there to receive you,” Fritz adds.
“Jesus says, ‘If you’re a prodigal, the invitation is always to come home.’ ”
The Pharisees, meanwhile, were reminded by Jesus that they may think they have an older brother heart, but they should display the same kind of grace as the sinners they looked down on, and that grace is available to them.
Jesus, Fritz adds, saved some of His harshest words for religious people that included the Pharisees, adding that God has an invitation for those who believe they’re above others.
“The Father's house is not a place where we celebrate how good we are, but the Father's house is a place where we all celebrate how good God is,” Fritz said.
Fritz concluded his service by asking students: “Who do you identify with most: The heart of the younger or the heart of the older?”
“Whichever is the case, just know this: You have an older brother that the younger brother actually should have had. The older brother should have rejoiced and celebrated. But he didn’t.
“Our older brother, His name is Jesus. Not only does he rejoice and celebrate, but he's the very one who makes the party possible.“
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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Next Chapel speakers: All Musical Worship, featuring the Alumni Band, Nov. 9, 11 a.m. at Global Credit Union Arena.
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