We here at Calvary are in the midst of Regeneration and Reconciliation. We have gone through more changes in the past few years than a lot of other places experience in years, especially churches. I do not need to enumerate for you the feelings that come with living through these times of change here. In some ways our life now makes me think of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Most of the time we are preached the prodigal son passage from the perspective of the son returning home. Or perhaps a limited view of the father who welcomes him with love. I say limited because it seems like those times all we hear is the scene where the father sees the child from far away and runs to embrace him, and leave it there. But what about the feelings the father is feeling inside, the brother we often portray as mean even though he is asking reasonable questions?
So, let us look at the prodigal son story from the receiving end. What about that son who remained faithful the whole time, who worked hard, suffered, gave it all for that place? What about those servants who saw the young man take a fortune they will probably never see in their life time and waste it all away, and now they have to serve him!? They are being ordered to give him the best clothes, the biggest rings, the fattest calf! It is in those receiving the estranged son that regeneration and reconciliation become something more than just words. How do those who have remained faithful and worked hard, receive those who have not? How do those who’ve stayed, worked hard, and continue to work hard, simply hand over the fruits of their labors to someone who has not earned it? Reconciliation is tough.
Let’s bring this story bits closer, we here have a kind of returning child with which to contend. There was a time we were deeply involved in this community, people would walk to church. We knew what was going on in the neighborhood, we lived Norristown. We were part of the fourth of July parades, business owners were members here, we had concerts on our porch, children from the community lived here! Then gradually all of that seemed to have trickled away.
How well do we know our surrounding community now? Is Calvary still living and breathing the west end of Norristown? Or do we have a distanced relationship to mend? Some of that community is coming here and we have welcomed it with open arms, amazingly so. But how has it changed? This new west end is still the west end but it has changed in many ways since we knew it. I wonder if the father of the prodigal son experienced something similar. It would be very difficult for someone to live through what the prodigal son lived through and not be changed. I wonder how the father dealt with his changed son? It was probably easy the day of the embrace, or the party etc. But what about later, in the ordinary events of life, when all have started to settle into their new life? Scripture does not take us there, but could it be that the father knew he had chosen reconciliation so the “problems” that I'm sure came were "just part of life", not obstacles that make him doubt his choice?
Where do you see yourself in the process of reconciliation and regeneration? As we, as Calvary, receive the neighborhood again where do you see yourself in the process of reconciliation with this returning, and different child?
