Luke 15:25-32 - Party?

Luke 15:25-32 (NRSV)

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

It's nice when a celebration is the end of the story.

But a celebration isn't the end of this story. Instead, in our epilogue, another character comes forward on the stage to get his say.

What do we already know about this older son? 

We know that he was in some ways cheated out of his inheritance. 

We know he is a hard worker.

We know he has morals.

We know he has stayed put.

We know he doesn't think much of his younger brother.

And what else?

That all of those things combined make us know he is resentful.

And that resentment makes him disrespectful. In some ways, the disrespect he shows his father here is as stark as that his younger brother showed when he asked for his inheritance.

"That son of yours." He says. Not my brother. And not that I am your son.

He has sees himself as a hired hand, and the resentment is palpable.

And yet in the midst of the celebration, his father begs him to join in. The celebration might be because the younger son has been found.

But it is a celebration FOR them all.

So the question is...

What happens next?

Do you think the older son joined in the party?

Lord, at times resentment blinds me to the joy you set before me. Help me to reach out and join in the party. Amen.