WHO WE ARE
My children have been analysing classic Australian films, books and poetry, in order to write school essays on ‘Australian Identity’. They argue about what is the foundational ‘Aussie story’ — the bush ballads of Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson? Ned Kelly’s escapades? the mateship and courage in the film Gallipoli? the tales of pioneer life from Marcus Clarke and Miles Franklin? They’ve written many drafts on how these stories help define what it means to be Australian.
This week, the lectionary takes us to the story of the prodigal son, one of the great classic Bible stories that encapsulates well what it means to be a Christian. It tells us that Christians are children of a compassionate father who experience his forgiving love over and over again. And the story tells us that part of our Christian identity is to grow up in the family likeness and become as forgiving as the Father.
Christians define themselves as children of a gracious Father, like the one in the story. This father’s love is freely given to both of his sons — the younger one who does not deserve it and the older one who does not deserve it either but thinks he does! Just as the younger son had to repent and hope that the father would forgive him for taking advantage of his love and going his own way, so do we. Just as the older brother had to be reminded that his faithfulness was appreciated and that he was always deeply valued by the father, so we too need reminding.
This story expresses a foundational truth about Christian identity — that we are loved by a God who is compassionate to the rebel and to the righteous not on the basis of what is deserved, but simply because he loves. Know this truth and you know what it means to be a Christian.
But this story does not stop there. It tells us that Christians need to learn to be more like their Father. The younger son experienced the love of the father in a dramatic way, now he must go out and show that same love to others. The older son hesitates to show love to others because he resents the father’s welcome for the wayward son. He feels that the younger one has failed to live up to his high standards and shouldn’t be welcomed back. You can’t help noticing that he is not behaving like his father’s son.
I hope that eventually the older brother matured to be more like the father. I hope that he learned from his father’s actions and forgave his brother. That would be a genuine portrayal of the Christian identity!
Keep this post communion prayer in mind as you go about this week as a child of God:
Father of all,
We give you thanks and praise,
That when we were still far off
You met us in your Son and brought us home.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
Gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life;
We who drink his cup bring life to others
We whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Amen
Rev’d Beth Spence