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Luke 15:1-32
With thanks to page sponsor:
Rev. Ewing W. [Bud] Carroll, Jr., Pastor
Immanuel United Methodist Church
Saipan, Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands, U.S.A.
(Feb 07-08)
 | Reading the Text:
|
| Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | The
Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto. |
| Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit.
|
| Comparative texts about Pharisees
& Sadducees from Josephus, Tosefta, Mishnah & Babylonian Talmud. Comparative
primary texts about Purity and Social Relations (see
esp "Tax Collectors Visit," from Mishnah, Midrash, Tosefta, and Babylonian
Talmud. At Mahlon H. Smith's (Rutgers University) Into His Own: Perspective on the World
of Jesus. |
|
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
in Christianity and Buddhism, Ernest
Valea, 1999. |
|
I.VIII.4,
I.XVI.1,
III.XXIII.8,
IV.XIV.2,
IV.XXXVI.7,
Adversus Haereses,
Irenaeus
of Lyons. (c. 180) |
|
Chapter 1, Paedagogus,
Clement of Alexandria (c 200) |
|
II.15, Stromata,
Clement of Alexandria (c 200) |
|
Section XXXIX, Who Is the Rich Man Who Can Be Saved?
Clement of Alexandria
(c 200). |
|
Chapter XIV, Against
Heresies,
Tertullian (c.
200) |
|
On
Modesty, Chapter VII ff.
Tertullian (c
200). |
|
Chapter XII,
On Patience,
Tertullian (c.
202) |
|
Chapter
VIII, Considering Repentance,
Tertullian
(c. 203) |
|
Chapter
VIII,
Chapter XI, Against
Marcion,
Tertullian
(c. 210) |
|
Chapter VII-IX,
On Modesty,
Tertullian (c.
217) |
|
VI.XLVII, The
Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena),
Hippolytus of Rome.
(c. 225) |
|
Epistle XLVI,
Epistle LI,
-- The Epistles of Cyprian,
Cyprian of Carthage (c.
251-252) |
|
Section 14,
Anonymous
Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian, (c. 255) |
|
Chapter X, The Paschal Canon of Anatolius of Alexandria,
Anatolius of Alexandria (c. 270) |
|
Chapter
IV (Tusiane), The Banquet of the Ten Virgins, Methodius of
Olympus (c. 300) |
|
II.III,
II.V,
II.IX,
III.XX,
VIII.II,
VIII.XLVII.52, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles
(c. 400) |
|
A Canticle of Mar Jacob the Teacher on Edessa, Memoirs of Edessa (c.
late 5th cent) |
| From the Geneva Notes.
 | "The beginning of repentance
is the acknowledging of the mercy of God, which encourages us to
hope expectantly." |
|
| From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary (c. 1700).
| "The parable of the prodigal
son shows the nature of repentance, and the Lord's readiness to
welcome and bless all who return to him." |
|
| From
Wesley's
Notes.
John Wesley
(1703-1791).
| "Let no elder brother murmur
at [the father's] indulgence, but rather welcome the prodigal back
into the family. And let those who have been thus received, wander
no more, but emulate the strictest piety of those who for many years
have served their heavenly Father, and not transgressed his
commandments." |
|
| "An
Appeal to Sinners: Luke 15:2," Charles H. Spurgeon, 1856.
| "It is in the present day quite fashionable for everybody to lie against
what he believes, and to say he is a sinner, even when he believes himself to be a very
respectable, well-to-do man, and does not conceive that he ever did anything very amiss in
his life." |
|
| "The
Prodigal's Return," Luke 15:20, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1858. |
| "The
Approachableness of Jesus: Luke 15:1," Charles H. Spurgeon, 1868.
| "You may thus contrast and compare our Lord's gentle manners with those of
kings, and nobles, and sages, but you shall find none to equal him in condescending
tenderness." |
|
| From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
| "The lessons are obvious, but
how beautiful! (1) The deeper sunk and the longer estranged any
sinner is, the more exuberant is the joy which his recovery
occasions. (2) Such joy is not the portion of those whose
whole lives have been spent in the service of their Father in
heaven. (3) Instead of grudging the want of this, they should deem
it the highest testimony to their lifelong fidelity, that something
better is reserved for them--the deep, abiding complacency of their
Father in heaven." |
|
| "The
Parable of the Lost Sheep," Luke 15:4-7, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1884. |
| From The
People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
| "If a son, then the returned
sinner is his brother. Unless he, too, can welcome him, then he
is the lost son." |
|
| "Many Kisses for
Returning Sinners; or Prodigal Love for the Prodigal Son," Luke 15:20,
Charles H. Spurgeon, 1891. |
|
| Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
|
Luke 15:1-10, Proper 24C,
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
"Exegetical Considerations,"
Pentecost 15, Richard
Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Using Greek for
Sunday Text Preparations.
| "How do the wealthy shepherd and the improvised woman
stand as a synkrisis of divine attitude and action?" |
|
|
"Care and Joy," Mary Hinkle, Pilgrim Preaching.
| "That everything-in-its-place kind of responsibility is
not what these searches are about. Instead, the search of the shepherd and
the woman are all about joy, a joy that overflows into the cheerful
disarray of a celebration." |
|
|
Dylan's Lectionary Blog,
Proper 19C, 2004. Biblical Scholar
Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary
of the Episcopal Church.
| "If one sheep is
with the shepherd and ninety-nine aren't, who's really the stray?" |
|
|
Laterally Luke,
(Luke 15:1-10) by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia. |
|
"First
Thoughts on Year C Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 16,
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "The love was unconditional. But it was
also very challenging, because he was also inviting them as valued people
to become part of the future vision." |
|
|
Exegesis,
Proper 19C, by
Richard Donovan at lectionary.org. |
|
Wellspring of
the Gospel, Ordinary 24, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn
Turner, Weekly Wellsprings. |
|
Exegetical Notes
by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
| "The main verb in the second conclusion
(v. 10) is ginetai a present = "There is". So, when a sinner repents, at
that moment there is joy in heaven. Will there be joy on earth, then seems
to be Jesus' question." |
|
|
"Losing
and Finding,"
Expository Essay, Luke 15:1-10, Dr. William R. Long.
| "These
briefly-expressed but beautiful parables are often considered solely
in context with 15:11-32, the parable of the prodigal son, but I
would like to suggest that they first be understood in
reference to ch. 14." |
|
|
"Clean Sweep," Jennifer E. Copeland, The Christian Century,
2004.
| "The lost sheep and the lost coin are more than
the prized possessions of their owners; they are also parts of a
whole." |
|
|
"Finding
the Lost," analysis and reflection by Mike Hoy in Sabbatheology by The
Crossings Community of St Louis, Missouri.
| "...self-righteousness is certainly in the hearts of the scribes and
Pharisees--and in the hearts of all who grumble disapproval or dissatisfaction with an air
of superiority." |
|
| LENT 4C: |
| Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, Lent 4C,
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
"First
Thoughts on Year C Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Lent 4,"
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "The message is basic: if a
parent loves that much, why can’t you think about God being like
that? Why can’t you see my ministry as doing that? Notice: the
father does not know the mind of the son, that he has repented, so
it is not about loving people after or if they have repented." |
|
|
"Exegetical Considerations,"
4th Sunday in Lent, Richard
Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Using Greek for
Sunday Text Preparations.
| "What is the literary context of this text? How does
that context provide an interpretive framework for this passage?" |
|
| Exegetical
Notes by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks
Christian Resources.
| "The father is seeking to
reestablish the proper relationship between himself and his older
son; and as Culpepper writes: "In the world of the parable, one
cannot be a son without also being a brother." [p. 304]" |
|
|
"The Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Son: Gospel Analysis,"
Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
| "We have one brother who is the prodigal of the flesh
and the other is a prodigal of the spirit. Both are loved. Both are
loved deeply by God, the Father." |
|
|
"Hearing Parables in the Cotton Patch," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at)
"Parables," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2006. |
|
Laterally Luke,
(Luke 15:11-32) by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia. |
|
"All
the Tax Collectors and the Sinners Were Coming Near,"
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
| "The congregation of Jesus was an amalgamation of
those who wanted to lift him up and those who wanted to tear him
down. His listeners included the most excluded and those who
excluded them. His audience included those broken by compassion and
those hardened by self-righteous judgment. Upon which side of that
gate would I be seated?" |
|
|
"Lost
and Found: Stories for Sheep, Coins, and Father's Sons,"
exegetical notes by Peter L. Haynes.
| "At [the story's] end, we are
left wondering what will happen now. That's precisely where we enter
the picture - how will we, prodigal or faithful, respond to God's
love and mercy?" |
|
| "A
Grumbling Scribe,"
Sarah M. Foulger,
Stirred by the Light
- Voices of Lent. |
|
Jesus Now,
Lent 4C. Lectionary, study and worship resources from Faith
Futures Jesus Then & Now. |
|
"Wherever You Are,"
Mary Hinkle, Pilgrim Preaching:
Keeping Company with Biblical Texts and the People Who Hear and Preach Them.
| "The past
is not the only factor shaping the future of the two brothers. That could
be a definition of forgiveness: the past does not have all the power in
this relationship." |
|
| Excerpt from Henri Nouwen's Return
of the Prodigal Son.
| "Often I have asked friends to
give me their first impression of Rembrandt's Prodigal Son.
Inevitably, they point to the wise old man who forgives his son: the
benevolent patriarch." |
|
|
Kairos CoMotion Lectionary Discussion,
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, Wesley White. "A place of
conversation regarding Progressive Christianity." |
|
"The Prodigal Daughter," Ed Loring, The Human Quest, 2002.
| "There was once a mamma who had a son and a daughter.
The younger child, the daughter, said to her, `Mamma, give me my share
of the income tax return now. I know we don't pay taxes for war, but we
got a windfall return this year.'" |
|
|
"'Prodigal Son' Illustrates the Way out of Wastefulness," Paul Graves,
The Spokesman Review, 2005.
| "In those days, inheritance definitely wasn't
distributed until after a person dies. By not wanting to wait that long,
the younger son effectively said: 'Father, I wish you were dead. But
even if you aren't, I want what I want when I want it.'" |
|
|
"A Love That Is Too Much to Take!"
Lent 4,
Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from Sundays Into
Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian
Meditation. Claretian Publications.
| "The Lord is much more partial towards the bad bads
than he is towards the good bads. The people who get the worst press in
the Gospels are the Pharisees who looked down on, and set themselves apart
from sinners." |
|
|
"'Go
After the One that Is Lost,"
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
| "What
will similarly make me powerful in the Lord’s harvest is if my
friendships reflect Christ’s values. Do I just preach about the lost or
am I found among them?" |
|
|
"From Death to Life,"
"The Lost Sheep," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
| "The natural consequence of finding
grace in Christ, is that we become gracious." |
|
|
"All That I Have
Is Yours,"
Expository Essay, Luke 13:1-9, Dr. William R. Long.
Part 2.
| "The
last word is that the prodigal son is really "your brother."
That is the last word to the hearers. They are really our brothers." |
|
|
Lectionary
Commentary and Preaching Paths (Lent C4), by Jirair Tashjian, at The
Christian Resource Institute.
| "Since the parable ends
without a conclusion, it seems that the thrust of the message is
directed toward those who fall under the category of the older son.
The difficulty with that is that most people in the church who
listen to this parable readily identify themselves with the prodigal
son: I was lost in sin, but I came back to God and He took me in." |
|
|
"The
Real Prodigal," A. Katherine Grieb, The Christian Century,
2004.
| "What happens if we focus on the man who had two sons
and read this parable as an answer to the question the Corinthians might
have asked Paul: What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ?" |
|
|
"Fourth Sunday in Lent: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32," For the Renewal of
Repentance: The Lukan Texts for Lent, Gary M. Simpson,
Texts in Context, Word & World,
Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1992.
| "The elder brother in this 'parable
of the elder brother' angrily refused to participate in the rejoicing. For
this reason the parable is also know as 'the lost sons'. Both (!) are
lost." |
|
|
"The Parable of the Prodigal Son," poetry by Kilian McDonnell, in the
National Catholic Reporter, 2003. |
|
"Not the Results That Count, but the Becoming," Joan Chittister,
National Catholic Reporter, 2001.
| "The Sufis tell a story that may go to the very core of
the gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32). It exposes
the Lenten question we may well be missing -- if not deliberately avoiding
-- as we go through the season. It asks the question, 'Who am I becoming?'
in a world that prefers to shape appearances and create images rather than
trade in the real thing." |
|
| "A
Bent Tale about a Dog," William Loader, Murdoch University,
Uniting Church in Australia. A canine reworking of the Prodigal Son
parable. |
|
"Surprise Party,"
Thomas G. Long, The Christian Century, 2001. Religion Online.
| "If we prodigals see the father running
in our direction with open arms, we should know in our souls that this as
an event so unexpected, so undeserved, so out of joint with all that life
should bring us, that we fall down in awe before this joyful mystery." |
|
|
"The
Image of Home," Laura Smit, Theology Today, 1988.
| "How appropriate or effective
is it to rely on the image of a Waiting Father to communicate the
reality of God's grace? To many of my generation, such a metaphor
calls up horrible images.... There are too many connotations of
regression, of going back to a time when we had no responsibility
and could make no decisions, even if we wanted to. Adults who long
to return to the irresponsibility of childhood are adults with
problems, and that's not what our presentation of Christian faith
and life should cater to." |
|
|
"Table
Manners," Barbara Brown Taylor, The Christian Century,
1998. At Religion Online.
| "So if I were putting together
a sinners table at the Huddle House, it might include an abortion
doctor, a child molester, an arms dealer, a garbage collector, a
young man with AIDS, a Laotian chicken plucker, a teenage crack
addict, and an unmarried woman on welfare with five children by
three different fathers. Did I miss anyone? Don’t forget to put
Jesus at the head of the table, asking the young man to hand him a
roll, please, and offering the doctor a second cup of coffee before
she goes back to work." |
|
|
"Crossing the
Prodigals," analysis and reflections by Michael Hoy, in Sabbatheology by The Crossings Community of St Louis, Missouri.
| "The younger son dared to trust
that the Father could be so gracious. That trust, which comes in the form of confessing
the truth of how much he has really squandered, might have given him enough courage to do
something different with his life. But the real confession, apart from the dry run, comes
only after he has seen the fuller truth of what kind of loving and gracious Father he
really has." |
|
| The Prodigal Son, from And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible, by
Ronald L. Ecker. |
|
| Articles & Background:
|
"Search for Jesus: The 'Subversive' Parables," Marcus Borg, Catholic
New Times, 2004.
| "A parable is a comparison story:
something is like something else. The word itself means 'cast alongside
of.' Parables 'cast' a story alongside some life situation." |
|
|
"The Old Testament in the New: A Jewish Perspective," David Daube, in
Appeasement or Resistance and Other Essays on New Testament Judaism.
University of California Press, 1987. (Scroll down to "V - Glutton and
Winebibber.) |
|
"The Family in the Bible," James A. Sanders, Biblical Theology
Bulletin, 2002.
| "The whole of the Bible and of Jewish and Christian
tradition can be viewed within the tension between the Bible's focus on
family, or community worth and responsibility, and its struggle toward
affirmation of individual worth and responsibility within the larger
family...The current cultural tensions between Islam and the West, and
even in the so-called culture wars in this country, are illumined by a
socio-cultural reading of the Bible as a whole." |
|
|
"Our Problem with Jesus' Parables," Craig A. Satterlee, The Lutheran,
2004.
| "We think we know what they mean-so we miss the
surprise..." |
|
|
"'Our Mother who art in Heaven' -- challenging dominant masculinity,"
Wanjiru Kariuki, Online Journal, 2006. African perspective.
|
"Thanks, in particular, to the critical effort of the
pamphlet, The War against Women, which has managed to bring
to the surface the dominance of male language used in reference to
God, that would have largely gone unnoticed, gender consciousness in
the church has begun." |
|
|
"The Feminist Critique of God-Language," Neil Gillman,
MyJewishLearning.com. Reprinted from Jewish Lights. |
|
Female Images
of God in the Bible, compiled by the Women's Ordination Conference. |
|
"Repentance and Conflict in the Parable of the Lost Son," Greg Forbes,
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 1999. |
|
"Hand In Hand: Autobiographical Reflections on Luke 15," Mikeal C.
Parsons, Semeia 72: Taking It Personally, 1995. |
|
"The Parable of the
Prodigal: Priorities," Tim Geddert, Direction, 1995.
|
|
"Aesthetic
Experience as a Means of Grace," by Ginger Grab at The
Living Pulpit.
| "Intertwining the account of
his personal journey and details from Rembrandt's life with an
analysis of Luke 15:11-32 and Rembrandt's painting of the prodigal
son, his father and brother, Nouwen illustrated what literary critic
Ernest Tuveson describes in The Imagination as a Means of Grace:
"Aesthetic experience is ... a means of grace, in the sense
that one area of sensuous experience is designed to produce
directly, a spiritual effect."" |
|
|
"The
Evils of Pride and Self-Righteousness,"
by Barbara Brown Taylor at The Living Pulpit.
| "...when I turn my good into
your duty and judge you for your failure to perform it according to
my standards, then my wish for your well-being becomes something
darker and more dangerous. My altruism becomes self-righteousness,
which is no longer an annoying habit but a pernicious pride that
works evil in the human soul." |
|
|
| Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
| Luke 15:1-10
| Burghardt, William, S.J., "Gospel Joy, Christian Joy,"
The Living Pulpit, 1996. (see
Joy issue focus of
The Living Pulpit 5.4, 1996.)
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Chance, J. Bradley,
"Luke 15: Seeking the Outsiders," Review & Expositor, 1997.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Copeland, Jennifer E.,
"Clean Sweep," The Christian Century, 2004.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Curkpatrick, Stephen, "Parable Metonymy and Luke's Kerygmatic Framing,"
Journal for the
Study of the New Testament, 2003.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Durber, Susan, "The Female Reader of the Parables of the Lost,"
Journal for the
Study of the New Testament, 1992.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| James, Ann,
"Prodigiously Lost and Found," The Christian Century, 1989.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Langer, Heidemarie, "Letting Ourselves Be Found: Stories of a Feminist Spirituality,"
Ecumenical Review, 1986.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Ramsey, George W.,
"Plots, Gaps, Repetitions, and Ambiguity in Luke 15," Perspectives
in Religious Studies, 1990.
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