The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 318: The Narrow Gate, the Lost Sheep, and the Prodigal Son (2022)

Episode Date: November 14, 2022

Fr. Mike confronts the hard truth Jesus preaches in today's readings: Many people will ultimately choose hell over heaven. While this can be deeply distressing, Fr. Mike reminds us to focus on Jesus's directive to each one of us: "[You] Strive to enter through the narrow gate." In the second part of today's commentary, Fr. Mike reflects on two of Jesus' most well-known parables: the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the Prodigal Son. Today's readings are Luke 13-16 and Proverbs 26:10-12. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 318. We are reading from Luke chapter 13, 14, 15, and 16, four chapters today. We're also reading Proverbs chapter 26, verses 10 through 12. As always, the Bible translation

I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and daily updates. Today is day 318. We're reading Luke 13 through 16, Proverbs 26, 10 through 12. The Gospel According to Luke, chapter 13. Repent or perish.

There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? The parable of the barren fig tree. And he told this parable. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the

vinedresser, Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good. But if not, you can cut it down. Jesus heals a crippled woman. Now, he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her,

Woman, you are freed from your infirmity. And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, There are six days on which work ought to be done.

Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. Then the Lord answered him, You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger Then the Lord answered him, As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him. The parable of the mustard seed. He said, therefore, What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?

It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. The parable of the leaven. And again he said, To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. The narrow door. He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them, strive to enter by the narrow door.

For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, Lord, open to us. He will answer you. I do not know where you are from. Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity. There you will weep and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west and from north and south and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold,

some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last. The Lament over Jerusalem. At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you. And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you, how often would I gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not. Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Chapter 14. Jesus heals the man with dropsy on the Sabbath. One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and the Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they were silent. Then he took him, and healed him, and let him go.

And he said to them, Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? And they could not reply to this. Humility and Hospitality Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give place to this man, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher. Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. He said also to the man who had invited him, when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. The parable of the great banquet.

When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. But he said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time of the banquet he sent his servants to say to those who had been invited, Come, for all is now ready. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.

And the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done and still there is room. And the master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled, for I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. The Cost of Discipleship Now great multitudes accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you

does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. About Salt Salt is good. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill. Men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Chapter 15, The Parable of the Lost Sheep Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. So he told them this parable. What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them,

Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The Parable of the Lost Coin Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost. Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

The parable of the prodigal and his brother. And he said, there was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that falls to me. And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country. And there he squandered his property in loose living.

And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say

to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard

music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has received him safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf. And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.

Chapter 16, The Parable of the Dishonest Steward He also said to the disciples, There was a rich man who had a steward, and chargers were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. And he called him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward. And the steward said to himself, What shall I do?

Since my master is taking the stewardship away from me, I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship. So summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, how much do you owe my master? He said a hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, take your bill and sit down quickly and write 50. Then he said to another, and how much do you owe? He said a hundred measures of wheat. He said to him,

take your bill and write 80. The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence, for the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal habitations. He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. And he who is dishon faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. The Law and the Kingdom of God The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. But he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John. Since then, the good news of the kingdom is preached, and everyone enters it violently. But it is easier for heaven

and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. The Rich Man and Lazarus There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy upon me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed,

in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. And he said, Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the dead, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

The Book of Proverbs chapter 26 verses 10 through 12 Like an archer who wounds everybody, is he who hires a passing fool or drunkard. Like a dog that returns to his vomit, is a fool who repeats his folly? Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. Thank you so much for your word, your word made flesh, but also your word spoken to us in these parables, your word spoken to us and teaching us that we're called to strive after you, that we're called to belong to you also, that you love us and rejoice over

us. Lord God, help us both to strive after you and to receive the joy, to enter into the joy that you have for us and that you cry out over us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I just want to highlight a couple quick things. You know, I, well, I did want to highlight the proverb, chapter 26, verse 11, like a dog returning to his vomit is a fool returning to his folly. A, because it's quoted, I think, I believe St. Peter quotes it later on in the New Testament, but also because it's so true that so many of us find ourselves going back to the same

things over and over again, even though we know this is not where happiness is found. And so just as a word of encouragement, I think sometimes in our folly, right, in our foolishness and our going back to the same sin over and over again, we can sometimes feel alone. We can sometimes feel that, yep, I'm the only stupid one. You're not the only stupid one. We're all stupid. Or as the book of Proverbs would say, foolish one. We'll say it like that. But, you know, yes, what's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and

expecting a different result. So what we do is we say, okay, Lord, help me not to return to this folly. I want to highlight three things from today's gospels. When I say gospels is because there's four chapters and there's so much. It is incredible. But the very beginning of chapter 13, Jesus highlights something. He asks this question. He says, do you think that all these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered like this? They were killed by Pontius Pilate and then Pontius Pilate put their blood mingled with the pagan sacrifices. Or he goes on to say, those 18 upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.

Do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? Must have been a very popular kind of noteworthy event of the moment that Jesus is referring to. And he basically goes back to, remember Job? Remember our friend Job from the very first days of this Bible in a Year podcast. And Job's friends, they had the illusion of saying that, no, if you're good, then good things happen to you. If you're bad, bad things happen to you. So if bad things are happening to you, you must be bad, right? That kind of, you must have done something wrong. And Jesus is cutting through that, even though the people who are around Jesus at this point,

they have the book of Job. They know exactly that, yes, while God blesses those who are righteous, and yes, there's curses upon those who are not. At the same time, the math is not one-to-one, right? The ratio is not one-to-one. It's not, if I've done well, I'll be blessed in every way I want to be. And if I've done poorly or done evil, I'll be cursed in all the ways that you think I should be. But it's not that. And yet here is the common temptation to human beings is to think, well, did they do something wrong? Do bad things happen to good people or do only bad things happen to bad people? And the reality is bad things happen to all of us.

And we all find ourselves in this place. We all find ourselves in the place of life. We live in a broken world where towers fall and where evil people do evil things, and we can get caught up in those things as well. And yet, Jesus is pointing out in this example, not only, yes, do bad things happen to everybody, but also just keep in mind, repent, repent, or you're likewise perished. And that goes on to the second thing. And still in chapter 13, Jesus has asked this question about the narrow door. And someone asks him,

Lord, will those who are saved be few? And that's a big question because, gosh, I want everyone to be saved. But Jesus makes a point of saying, strive to enter by the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. We have to realize this hard truth.

And I don't like the idea that anyone, whether I know them or not, would be lost to God forever. And yet Jesus makes it very, very clear that that is a real possibility, not even a distant possibility. Because Jesus says this is the narrow gate. And later on, another gospel, he says the road is wide that leads to destruction and many are on it. But the road to eternity, the road the eternal life with God is narrow. Um, and it goes on to say, you know, there are people who will say, Lord, open the door to us. And I think Matthew's gospel, he says, many will say, Lord, Lord. Um, and he said, I will not know you. I will only know those who do the will of my father. So that's why we always keep going back to this truth that a saint or someone

in heaven is the kind of person who says yes to God and then just never stops saying yes to God. That's so critical. It's so key. It's so important for every one of us. But what do we do? You know, because this reality of hell can be something that deters people from striving for heaven. What I mean by that is, it's not even the fact that I could choose hell, not even the fact that I could lose heaven, but it's the idea that other people might not choose heaven, that other people might choose hell, that distracts us and gets us off our track. So what does Jesus say? His very first word spoken to the person who asks, Lord, will those who are saved be few? His first word is strive. In fact, it's not just strive.

The Greek word isn't, the Greek imperative, is strive. In fact, it's not just strive. The Greek word is in the Greek imperative, you strive. So the big question, will many be saved or will few be saved? He says, listen, you strive, you strive to enter through the narrow gate. This is so absolutely critical because yes, while we love everyone and we're interested, we want everyone to come to know the love of God in Jesus Christ and be saved through the church, that sacrament of salvation, right? The church that God has given to us. Yet we can't allow, and I can't allow, none of us can allow the reality that others will not choose to be saved to deter us. So Jesus says, you strive, you strive. At the same time, he races after us. I mean, this is the crazy thing

is not only are we called to strive, but we are relentlessly pursued by God. And so in chapter 15, this is what I want to kind of end with, even though it might be a little bit longer explanation. In chapter 15, tax collectors and sinners are drawing near to Jesus and the Pharisees are complaining. And it says this, it says, so he told them this parable. So the people are complaining that Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners. He tells them three parables, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the prodigal and his brother, which I like in the Great Adventure Bible has that title, the parable of the prodigal and his brother, because it's not just simply the parable of the prodigal son.

It's also about the older brother. In fact, it's also about the father. But here's the three parables, right? He asked the question, which one of you having a hundred sheep and losing one would not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one? Now, of course, the answer we all know, because we've heard this story before, is, well, yeah, you'd all do that. And the actual answer to those hearing Jesus would be, nobody would do that. None of us would do that. No shepherd would do that. Why? Because that is ridiculous to leave 99 potentially in the wilderness, potentially killed, lost, threatened, whatever, to seek after one stupid sheep who couldn't stick with the rest of the flock.

And yet Jesus says, no, but I will do that. I will go after him. I will go after that sheep. And when I find it, when he doesn't beat it up, he doesn't drag it home. He says, when he finds it, he rejoices, lays it on his shoulders and brings it home, carrying it, which is crazy. I mean, you think this dumb sheep, that foolish sheep that wanders away, like, no, you're walking home. I'm not carrying you home. And yet here is Jesus who is saying, no, I'll put it on my shoulders, carry it home, not angrily, rejoicing. And he goes on to say, when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors saying to them, rejoice with me for I found my sheep, which was lost.

That is ridiculous. In fact, that's the point that Jesus is saying is that you are relentlessly pursued and you're ridiculously celebrated because not only does he celebrate a lost sheep that was found, but the next parable of the woman having 10 coins, losing one. When she finds the one, as he says, she calls together her friends and neighbors saying, rejoice with me for I found the coin which I had lost. How many times have you ever found something and said, you guys rejoice with me? And I was like, oh, stupid.

I was dumb. I can't believe I lost this thing. Or finally, I found my keys. Whatever the thing is, we don't call together people to rejoice over something that was lost and then found. We just don't do that. But what Jesus is revealing is that he does. What he's revealing is that the Father does.

That you are relentlessly pursued. You are ridiculously celebrated. Not only that, but in heaven, just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God for one sinner repents. Listen, when you go to confession, it sometimes can feel like a place of embarrassment. Maybe you might experience it as a place of shame, but it's not. It's a place of victory.

It's a place of joy. It's a place where every time, listen, this is crazy. Every time a person goes to confession, every angel God has ever made, every saint who's ever lived has your name on their lips praising God. Every tongue in heaven is praising the Lord by crying out your name. That here, Sophia has come home. Here, Rachel has come home.

Here, Jack has come home. Here, Mark has come home. This is this incredible thing to the glory of the father, which is incredible and amazing. And the third story, the parable of the prodigal and his brother. And this is the one that just completely wrecks me. We have this son who wants not only the inheritance, but also he leaves. Now, the one thing he wants the inheritance, right? He wants the stuff that belongs to the father, but then he leaves. And this is even more telling because when the younger son leaves, what he's saying is,

I don't want to be affiliated with you, dad. Father, I don't want to be affiliated with you. I don't want to be associated with your family. I want out. I don't want to have anything to do with you. It's one thing to ask for the inheritance. It's another thing to take that inheritance and leave. And he goes off, he squanders it, loses everything. He comes home. Why? Not because he feels badly, not because he realizes, loses everything. He comes home, why? Not because he feels badly, not because he realizes he was wrong. He comes home because he's starving. And this is just this humility of God

that we can go back to confession, why? Because I don't want to go to hell. We can come back to the Lord, why? Because I need help. And he does the same to us, what he does to the younger son. Seeing him at a distance, he ran to him, embraced him. In fact, another translation said,

he fell upon his neck and kissed him. This son is disgusting. And yet the father gives him these four things. He says, quick, get the best robe. Then put a ring on his finger, then put shoes on his feet and then kill the fatted calf and let's rejoice. Remember, he's relentlessly pursued.

He is ridiculously celebrated. My friend, Stephanie Parks, who works for Focus, she and I created this retreat called the Prodigal Son Retreat. And it is just a gift. And in that retreat, we highlight these four things. What does it mean that the father gives him the best robe? In the ancient world, there's not a closet full of clothes. You have a couple robes in your life. You have one best robe. You don't have a bunch of best robes. But the father says to this son, he's a disappointment. He have a couple robes in your life. You have one best robe. You don't have a bunch of best robes. But the father says to this son who has been, he's a disappointment. He's a failure. He is not a good son. And he says, give him the best robe, not just one of the robes. Give him

the best robe, which is he's giving him the glory of the father. Then secondly, he says, put a ring on his finger. On that ring would be like a signet, right? The sign of the father's authority. So not only is he clothing him in the father's glory, he's putting on his hand the father's authority. He's fully restoring him to sonship. Thirdly, he says, put shoes on his feet. Why? Because he's free. He can leave if he wants to again. And then kill the fatted calf. There's not a lot of fatted calves lying around. You got one. And that's one thing true. Not only is the best robe, he's clothed in the father's glory, the ring, he has a father's authority. He's restored. Not only he had shoes, he's free to leave if he wants to again, but also

killed the fatted calf because he is relentlessly pursued. He is ridiculously celebrated. And that brings us to the last point, which is the older son. The older son hears this rejoicing and he is angry. He's resentful. Why? Because the younger son didn't want to be associated with the father and he left. The older son, it turns out, didn't want to be associated with the father, but he stayed. What I mean by that is he says, look, all these years I've slaved for you. All these years I have served you.

All these years I have done exactly what you asked me to do. And you've never even given me a kid to feast on with my friends. Now, realize what that means. That means that here is the older son who's not run away, but he's living separated from his father. This is the way that a lot of us live right now. Now, we can associate it. We can see ourselves, our story, in the story of the younger son, but this is definitely our story, the story of the older son. That we say, okay, gosh, man, God wants me to do all these checklists. He has all these task lists for me.

God has all these things I need to do. I need to get done. I need to jump through all these hoops just to please the father. And he doesn't actually care about me. No, the younger, the older son, he is doing what the father asked him, but he's not living in relationship with the father. Basically, you can imagine him coming downstairs

every morning and he just sees on the table a to-do list. But the problem is this. The problem was he waited until the father went out into the field. I'm filling in the blanks here. He waited until the father went out into the field and came down. So the dad had to leave a checklist because here's the older son who doesn't want to be in relationship with his father. We know that because he says, you didn't even give me a kid to feast on with my friends. He's not grieved because his father didn't feast with him. He didn't want to feast with his father. He wanted to feast apart from his father. He wanted to feast away from his father. He wanted to feast with his friends, not with his dad. Like you imagine, imagine the grief in his father's eyes where he's like, yes,

you're finally telling me the truth you're finally telling me what's it meant in your heart he says listen you're my son everything i have is yours and this is the the truth that you need to know too that i need to be reminded of too is that those of us who are striving after the lord and you find yourself sometimes just broken down, you find yourself burdened by the fact that it's just one thing after another. The Father says, listen,

it's not meant to be just one thing after another. I want to live in a relationship with you. Yes, there's stuff to get done. Yes, you're working in the kingdom of God. So there's work that has to get done. We got to go out into the field. We got to get stuff done today. But imagine differently,

rather than waiting for the father to leave so he just leaves you a task list, what would it look like if you came down in the morning and there's the father who made breakfast and you pour some coffee, give him a coffee cup, and you sit down at the table and you just talk. What do we need to do today? What needs to get done today, Dad?

And he says, well, about this, you know, gotta go to South 40. We gotta, you know, that kind of thing. We gotta go over and do this thing. The fence broke down, whatever. And you plan your day with him. And then it's not, you're not a servant anymore. You're not a slave. You're his son. You're his daughter. And you're planning the day with your dad. And yeah, it's hard work because the kingdom of God needs to be built up. The kingdom of God, there are people who don't know Jesus and they

need to know him. There are people who do know him and they need to be helped up. The kingdom of God, there are people who don't know Jesus and they need to know him. There are people who do know him and they need to be helped. So there's work to be done. But to do it with the Father, not apart from the Father, that's the key. My brothers and sisters,

as again, my friend Stephanie Parks and I have written down in this retreat, the truth of the matter is you are relentlessly pursued and you are ridiculously celebrated by the Father. What a gift to be able to read this with you and to be able to go through scripture with you today. I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless. you