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Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32


Once upon a time, there lived a big fruit tree with many branches. The tree was visited by a little boy who would play on and around it every day. The boy would climb to the very top of the tree, scrambling up its branches then back down. He would eat the fruit when he got hungry and took a nap under the tree’s shadow when he got tired. He loved the tree and the tree loved him. Time moved on, as time does, and the little boy grew older. His visits to the tree happened less and less until they stopped completely, and this made the tree very sad.

One sunny day, as the tree danced in the gentle breezes and its leaves drank in the warmth of the sun, the boy came back to the tree with a sad look on his face. The tree noticed the look on the boy’s face and said to him in an attempt to make him happy, “Come and play with me.” Without thinking of why the tree offered companionship, the boy said, “I am no longer a young kid and I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy continued, “I want things like a bike or a skateboard but I need money to buy them.”

The tree wanted to make the boy happy. “Sorry, I don’t have money, but you can pick all my fruit and sell them so you will have money.” The boy was excited and once again climbed through the branches of the tree to pick all of its fruit. He ran off without so much of a thank you, but the tree was happy to have had him play in his branches on more time.

Time moved on and the boy didn’t come back which made the tree sad.

Several winters passed when a man in his thirties braved the cold and wet weather to stand in front of the tree. The tree immediately recognized the man and as his branches spread out and his leaves began to shake off the wetness, he said to this man, “Come play with me.” The boy replied, “I don’t have time to play. I am very busy with work and trying to raise a family. You see our current apartment is too small and very cold. We need a house to keep us warm and safe this winter.”

“Sorry, I don’t have a house, but you can chop off my branches to build your house.” Once again the man climbed through the branches of the tree, cutting each one down so he would be able to build a safe and warm place for his family. After all of the tree’s branches were cut down, the man left without saying thank you, and the tree stood in the rain, without his branches and leaves to protect him.


After many years an older man came to the tree. The tree recognized him immediately as the young boy who used to play in his branches, the same branches he gave to this boy when he was a man. “Come play with me.”. said the tree.

The older man replied, “I have not had a good life. My family and I are separated, I’ve retired from my job and feel lonely all the time. What I would really like is a boat with which I could sail away to find a happier life somewhere. The tree felt nothing but compassion for this older man and said to him, “My son, you make take what is left of my trunk to build your boat and find your happiness.” The man chopped down the tree’s trunk and walked away.

Many years later a very old man came to the tree, and the tree recognized him immediately. “My son, I have nothing left to give you. My fruit hasn’t been able to grow for many decades. My branches have been removed and my trunk has been cut down so far that all I have left are the roots which grow wide on the ground and deep into the earth.”

The man was very old and very tired, his voice soft as he replied, “All I need now is a place to rest my body.” The tree smiled as he invited the man to sit within his roots. The man nestled into the tree, closed his eyes, and took his final breath. The tree smiled knowing that for as long as it’s been alive, he had loved that boy completely.

Unconditional love and acceptance is probably one of the more difficult kinds of love we are called as Christians to achieve. It involves the understanding that regardless of who someone is and where on life’s journey they find themselves, we accept them and invite them to be a part of us.

Today’s passage, known as the Prodigal Son is one of the greatest examples of this kind of love.

A young man wants to see the world. He tells his father to give him what he feels he is owed, and he goes into the world; only to squander every last penny of his inheritance. Things go from bad to worse. A food shortage hits the land and the only way for him to survive is to hire himself out as a pig-feeder. When most of us think about feeding pigs we imagine holding a bucket and leaning over a short fence to place the feed into a trough of some kind.

This is not what the son in today’s story does. He has to go into the fields and look for the pigs. It’s most likely the pigs have made a home for themselves in the mud and muck of the land and it’s in these conditions the son has to take the food and walk among the pigs in order to feed them.

It's here, among the pigs, the son has an epiphany. He is hungry, and I’m going to say exhausted. He thinks about how even the pigs are eating better than him and recalls how at home, his father’s house, even the servants have more than enough to eat. He makes a decision to return home and apologize to his father.

The scene which touches me most in this passage is that of the father who might be working in the field, or maybe sitting in front of his house. He sees his son walking down the road and even though he was far away the father recognizes him. The father was so moved with compassion that he immediately stopped what he was doing, ran as quickly as he could to his son, and without a second thought gave his son a tight hug and kisses.

Here now is what the focus of this story has been for me. “Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life!

Then they celebrated.

I simply love this passage for what it says and what it doesn’t say. Yes, the son went into the world and squandered away his life’s earnings. Yes, he went home to his father and apologized. But none of that mattered to the father. All that mattered was his son was home.

The word "but" is known as a negation word; it negates everything which comes before it."I think that's a really nice shirt, but..." I really enjoyed the lasagna, but..." Sure, you can come home, but..." In our passage the word "but" negates the apology from the son.

He took his son back only because the son came back. There are no qualifiers. The father doesn’t ask, “Have you prayed to God and asked for forgiveness?” “The father never says, “Before I can let you back home I need to know if you have changed your ways to be more in line with our ways.” The father, neither by words or actions, does not place conditions on letting the son back into the family.

This, my friends, is how we are called as Christians to love. We are called to bring people into the family of Christ regardless of who they are, the lifestyle they have lived, or where on life’s journey they find themselves. This is the same kind of love Jesus has for us.

We are still on our Lenten travels. In Lent we want to take a serious look at our relationship with others, even the strangers among us. Our reflection for this week is “Can we honestly say that all people are invited to be a part of the family of Christ – all people.”

God is with us always.  Amen.