It’s Friday, the end of the working week for many, and we also come to the end of our podcasts on Luke Chapters 14 and 15. Our student church leader, James Brown, will be continuing to journey through this Gospel next week, but before that we conclude with a Bible reading from Luke Chapter 15 v11-32. It is the Parable of the Prodigal, or Lost, Son.

REFLECTION:

This story is so well known, and is full of such depth and powerful analogies, that it is difficult to know what to focus on for a short podcast. Should I write about the repentant son, the disgruntled older brother, or the ever loving and forgiving father?

However, I felt God prompting me not to write about any of the characters, but instead to think about the party. Throughout Chapters 14 and 15 Jesus told 6 stories, and whilst the characters in each one were different, having a party, feast or celebration is the common theme or event in each of them.

The party that the father throws for the prodigal son is not a half hearted affair. It is a full blown, no expenses spared banquet, with the lost son dressed head to toe in the finest clothes and his hand adorned with an expensive ring. Bearing this in mind, let’s focus on verse 32:

“But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Parties are important to God, and they should be important to us too. Here’s why:

We should note the fact that verse 32 begins with the words “we had to celebrate.” In this Bible passage the loving father obviously represents God. So God is saying we have to celebrate. It is not optional. He doesn’t say, “It would be quite nice to have a party” or “Maybe we should have a little celebration.” No – he says “we had to celebrate.”

As Christians, we are called to do the will of God the Father, and the Father says that we are to be party people, a people of celebration.

Secondly, if we look back to the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin in yesterday’s Bible reading, we see that there is “rejoicing in heaven” and “rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God” when sinful people repent and are found.

Heaven is having a party. Every day, all over the world, Christians pray the Lord’s Prayer. In it we say “Let your kingdom come, let your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.” If we want to know what God wants the earth to be like, we should find out what is going on in heaven, and then seek to do the same. Otherwise we are just praying empty words. If we want to help create the kingdom of heaven here on earth, then we will be having a party!

Thirdly, it is through the party and the celebration that the Gospel is spread. The farmer, the woman, the father; all invite others to join them – to hear the good news of being found, saved, and rescued. In the same way the man hosting the party in Chapter 14 says to his servant to “compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.” He literally wants people to be dragged in off the streets so that they can experience the banquet; so that they can meet with Jesus.

Do we have the same urgency or compulsion to invite others to party with us?

Do we understand the ways in which celebration and evangelism are linked?

Do we explain to others why we are celebrating, the reason why we are party people?

I was reminded of this on Sunday evening, whilst watching the BAFTAs. Letitia Wright is a young British actress who won the Rising Star Award. If you don’t know her, she is in the film Black Panther, which smashed box offices records left, right and centre last year. Letitia Wright is experiencing the party of her life right now. And right in the middle of it, in the midst of the celebration, she stood up in front of all the guests, and said this:

“I identify myself as a child of God and I can’t get up here without thanking God.