“Created to be Transformed”

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 30, 2025

Enough for the world

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Children’s Message:

Have you ever noticed the sign outside by the street? It often has some funny or wise sayings on it. Today, it says, “Don’t confuse bad luck with bad judgment.” Have you ever made a bad choice—like something that probably would get you in trouble at school or at home? We’ve all done it—we’ve all made bad choices. We’ve all gotten in trouble with someone.

I’ve gotten speeding tickets and parking tickets because I made bad choices about how to drive and where to park. (Don’t tell my husband. He’s a cop.) What happens when we get a traffic ticket? We have to pay a fine. There are really bad choices that have much worse consequences.

Today, we heard about a man who made a bad choice. He wanted everything he would get when his father died—except his father hadn’t died. But he took all that money and spent it on expensive things—things that didn’t make him happy or improve his life. What kinds of things would you buy if you had lots of money?

Some of those things are helpful, and some aren’t. But when all his money was spent, his friends left him, he didn’t have food, he didn’t have a place to live, and he was scared and alone. He begged. Maybe he stole. He worked a horrible job. And he finally decided that maybe he should go home.

Do you think he might be scared to go home after what he did? He might have been scared that he’d be in big trouble. And that he would be punished. Or even that his family wouldn’t help him and would just leave him all alone. But that didn’t happen, did it? His father welcomed him home and threw a party.

This is how God treats us no matter how bad our choices are. We make mistakes, but God doesn’t stop loving us or welcoming us back into God’s arms. Sometimes that might be hard to believe—especially when we did something really bad. But God celebrates every one of us and loves us more than we can imagine. God throws a party every time God sees us—no matter what.

Let’s pray. Dear God, we all make mistakes and bad choices. And we all want your love. Remind us that you love us no matter what. Amen.

Message:

Do you remember the pizza parties growing up? When one kid would take three slices instead of two because they were afraid there wouldn’t be enough to go around? And another kid took one slice instead of two—for the very same reason?

Today’s parable is a story all of us probably know well. The prodigal son. The prodigal father. The story of the two sons. Whatever you call it, it has enough facets to give a preacher fodder for several cycles of sermons—thank goodness.

Today, what speaks to me is the story of abundance and scarcity that is at play. The younger son, afraid there won’t be enough for him when his father actually dies, says his father is dead to him by demanding his portion of the inheritance. As the younger of the two, he would get 1/3 of what is available. In his own way, he takes the three slices of pizza just in case there isn’t enough. He takes what will be his before it is time and runs away to live his life.

The older son remains behind to do his duty. He works the land, shepherds the flocks, cares for his father, helps with the accounts, pays the hired hands, and devotes his life to the family. He takes the one slice of pizza assuming there won’t be enough to go around. He is the martyr. Every family has one. The one who does the right thing and then gets angry about not being acknowledged for their sacrifice. It’s typically—but not always—the older sibling.

All the while, the younger son squanders everything. They knew they were right in taking that third slice. As you can see, it still didn’t go far enough. Clearly, you can’t depend on anyone else to take care of you.

It is the story of scarcity, and both sons experience it in different ways. But neither understands the father’s abundance. Until the younger one comes home. He has been humbled by his experience. He needs help, and he still trusts his father to be a righteous man who won’t turn away a possible hired hand. But is the younger son really changed? Or is he just desperate?

And the older who wanders upon the unexpected party. When he finds out what it’s for, he finally loses it. He’s been the good son all along, but he can’t be expected to go along with this wasteful attitude. His brother had his chance, and he blew it.

Both sons still miss the beauty of extravagant grace—the idea of true abundance. There is enough of all that the father offers. Whether you’re the son who runs away and returns or the son who never left, everything the father has has always been yours.

In the class I’ve been leading on Sunday morning, we’ve been talking about fear. Last week, we ended on the topic about how when someone loves what they have—their possessions, their power—the more they have, the more they fear its loss. Accumulation isn’t the same thing as abundance. Accumulation is always seeking more in order to prevent tragedy in the future. Abundance is trust in what is already available. Accumulation feeds off of greed and leads to stinginess. Abundance feeds off of gratitude and leads to generosity.

Our theme for today is Created to be Transformed. Changed. And not just change for the sake of change. Transformation that brings us closer in line with God’s desire for us. That desire is always about abundance, welcome, love, gratitude, grace—those things that increase the more that they are shared with others. We are created to approach the world with open arms and open hands—not balled up fists.

What would it take for the two sons to truly be transformed? To see their world, themselves, and each other as their father saw them? To love the way their father loved? To understand the abundance rather than live in the scarcity? To approach the world as gift rather than commodity?

I’m not really sure. All I know is that this way of being is what God wants for us—for our sake as well as those around us. God shows us this way through Jesus—the Son who truly understood God’s love and who tried to show us this love through everything that he did. That everything is gift. That we don’t need to hold so tightly. That we have enough. Jesus shows us that there’s enough pizza for everyone to have their fill—and then he brings out the dessert.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE