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“Hide-N-Seek: Finally Being Found”
Luke 15:11-32
Luke 15:11 Then Jesus* said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12
The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the
property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them.
13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a
distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout
that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself
out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to
feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with* the pods that
the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to
himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough
and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my
father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and
before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like
one of your hired hands.’ ” 20 So he set off and went to his father. But
while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the
son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I
am no longer worthy to be called your son.”* 22 But the father said to his
slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a
ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and
kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead
and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to
celebrate.
25 ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached
the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and
asked what was going on. 27 He replied, “Your brother has come, and your
father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and
sound.” 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out
and began to plead with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours came
back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the
fatted calf for him!” 31 Then the father* said to him, “Son, you are
always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 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.”
For the last several weeks we have been talking about this silly little game
we play called Hide-N-Seek. Now the version that we played (or still play)
as children is a harmless tradition, but the rendition of Hide-N-Seek we
play with God and others (and even ourselves) is a disaster waiting to
happen, and it leads to isolation, desperation, and dis-integration. We’ve
addressed some, but not all of what we hide from, as well as the things we
hide. We hide from God, our sin, the truth, our callings, family issues and
dysfunction, and our fears. We also tend to hide (or bury) our time, talent
and treasure. The question is never, IF any of us hide. A.W. Tozier
once said, (SLIDE) “There is hardly a man or woman who dares to be just
what he or she is without doctoring up the impression. The fear of being
found out gnaws like rodents within their hearts.” The real question
is: How much longer are we going to stay in our hiding places? Early on in
the sermon series I received a poem from someone in our church family. Can
you can relate to any of it? (SLIDE)
Questions From the Depths
How long can I hide myself? From God? From
others? From myself?
Can God find me if I keep my eyes and heart
closed?
Can others find me if I keep my mouth closed?
Can I find myself if I keep my mind closed? Why am
I hiding? What am I afraid of?
Am I scared God will condemn me forever?
That others won’t like me if they get to know me?
That I won’t like what I find deep inside myself?
How long will I grope in the darkness for answers?
How can I get the courage to open my eyes and heart
and seek help?
I pray that God has been helping each of us find the courage to respond to
His loving and friendly cry of Ollie-Ollie-oxen free! (All ye, all ye, all
come free!) God wants us to ‘Finally Be Found.’ As Jesus said after
visiting with Zacchaeus, (SLIDE) “The Son of Man came to seek out and to
save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
One of the most well-known biblical stories is the story of the Prodigal Son
at the end of Luke 15. In the three stories of Luke 15, Jesus gives us a
picture of this incredible Father who rejoices when that which has been
hidden comes to light, and those who have been running away come back home.
I’m not going to read the story from Luke’s gospel today. Instead I’m going
to invite you to listen and look. Now remember, the first part of the
Prodigal Son story is heartbreaking and disconcerting. If you feel like the
music in the first half of this video is driving you crazy, that’s the
effect Jesus wanted His hearers to have as they listened.
Show Video of Modern Day Prodigal
Son
A pastor was on a return flight from a conference when the first signs of
turbulence emerged. The ‘fasten your seat belt’ sign came on and an
announcement was made that the beverage service would need to stop. As the
pastor looked around the aircraft, he could see the anxiety on people’s
faces.
A few minutes later, the stewardess gave an update which included the fact
that the meal would not be served. “The center of the storm is still ahead
of us,” she said. And then it hit. The cracks of thunder could be heard
over the roar of the engines. Lightning flashed around them as they were
tossed to and fro. The pastor now shared everyone’s anxiety. He began to
worry.
But in the midst of the chaos he noticed a girl who looked to be about 10-11
years old. For the most part she didn’t look worried. She kept reading her
book with her legs curled up underneath her. Everything in her world seemed
calm and orderly. The pastor could hardly believe his eyes.
When the plane finally made it through the worst of it, and ultimately
landed (to the applause of everyone), the pastor made a point of approaching
the girl and commending her for her courage. He asked her why it was that
she didn’t seem the least bit afraid, to which she replied, “ ‘Cause my
daddy’s the pilot, and he promised he’d bring me home.”
Do you believe that God’s ultimate desire is to ‘bring you home’?
Or do you think that He enjoys making your life one, big, bumpy ride?
If you were the Prodigal Son/Daughter in the story, do you think
He’d embrace you and throw you a party, or chew you out and read
you the riot act before opening the door?
How we see God affects how we relate to Him, which – in turn – affects how
we relate to others.
If we feel like we have to hide from God, we’ll probably also feel like we
have to hide from others.
Jesus knew that His followers needed a clearer picture of His Heavenly
Father. The people had too much baggage from their own parents, the priests
and rabbis who represented God, and some of the stories from the Old
Testament that show YHWH’s sterner side. But what we get here in Luke 15 is
a wonderful and surprising story about a Father who is more excited about
celebrating his “found” son, than givin’ his boy a whoopin’ or lecturing him
about fiscal responsibility and parental respect. God is way more
interested in welcoming us home than sending us to our rooms, or to
‘timeout’ or to the woodshed. He may have a serious concern about the way
we live, but more than anything, God wants us to live with Him – at home in
His presence.
Is this the picture you have of God?
For the last several Wednesdays, Paul Lessard and I and about 25 others from
the church have been talking about God and a book called The Shack.
And it’s been a wonderful experience. If you haven’t read the book, I
encourage you to do so – regardless of what the critics say.
In a very unique way The Shack reminds us what God is like. He’s not
like the “Big Brother” that George Orwell (in 1984) tells us is
always watching us to see if we mess up. He’s very different. He is Love
through and through!
Speaking of big brother – there is another form of hiding that happens at
the end of this story in Luke 15. The older brother stays away from the
party, and hides in his spiritual smugness. The sin of pride and the façade
of “having it all together” and doing everything right has disconnected him
from both his father and brother. He doesn’t see his brother for who he is
(in speaking with his dad he only refers to him as “your son”). But the
father reminds him “ ‘your brother’ has been found.” He is reminded that
they are part of the same family. In this Father’s family, a beloved son or
daughter is always a beloved son or daughter – even if they’ve runaway and
hid.
In Philip Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace?, he tells the
story about a teenage girl who grew up on a cherry orchard in Traverse City,
Michigan. In her mind, her parents are way too old-fashioned. When they
come down on her for her nose ring and rebellious attitude, she decides to
run off to Detroit and see the big city for herself. She’s only been there
once – with her church youth group – to see a Tigers baseball game. Now
she’s all alone.
But she quickly meets a man much older who takes her in, gives her pills
that make her feel better than she’s ever felt, and shows her what men
like. For almost a year, she enjoys the good life in the penthouse he puts
her up in. Other than seeing her picture on the back of a milk carton once,
she almost forgets her former life. But then she gets sick and the man who
took such good care of her throws her out on the street. Left to fend for
herself, she continues to turn tricks to support her drug habit and learns
to survive.
But one night, while she’s sleeping over the grate of a department store, it
dawns on her that she doesn’t like being a woman of the world – she’s still
a little girl. In the cold of the night, with the pang of hunger in her
stomach, she has a single memory of her golden retriever chasing a tennis
ball through the rows and rows of blossomy cherry trees in their orchard.
“God,”
she prays,
“why did I leave? My dog back home eats better than I do.” And in that
moment, she knows it’s time to go home. She makes three straight phone
calls to her parents, but there’s no answer. After hanging up the first two
times, she decides to leave a message: “Dad, mom, it’s me. I was
wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, and
it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, well, I guess
I’ll just stay on the bus until it hits Canada.”
On the seven hour ride back to Traverse City she realizes the flaws in her
plan. What if they aren’t home and don’t get the message? She should’ve
waited another day or so until she could talk to them. They probably have
given her up for dead by now. She should have given them more time to get
over the shock.
Her thoughts bounce back and forth between these worries and the speech
she’s preparing for her father. “Dad, I’m sorry. I know I was wrong.
It’s not your fault; it’s all mine. Dad, can you forgive me.” As tiny
snowflakes pass by out the window she sees a sign that tells her she’s only
miles away. When the bus finally rolls into the station, the driver
announces in a crackly voice, “Fifteen minutes, folks. That’s all we
have.” Fifteen minutes to decide her life. She walks into the terminal
not knowing what to expect.
“Not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepare her
for what she sees. There in the concrete-walls-and-plastic-chairs bus
terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of forty brothers and
sisters and great-aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandmother and
great-grandmother to boot. They’re all wearing goofy party hats and blowing
noise-makers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a banner
that reads “Welcome Home!” Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her
dad. She stares out through tears quivering in her eyes like hot mercury
and begins her memorized speech, “Dad, I’m sorry. I know . . . .” He
interrupts her. “Hush, child. We’ve got no time for that. No time for
apologies. You’ll be late for the party. A banquet’s waiting for you at
home.”
(For a complete version of the story, see pages 49-51 in What’s So
Amazing About Grace?)
She’s finally found! And that’s what Jesus tells us His Father is like.
With a Father like that, there’s never a need to hide. Shame, sin, the hard
truths about ourselves, our past, our family, and our fears; none of these
are good reasons to hide. Nothing that’s been given to us by this Father is
worth holding back, and nothing we’ve earned ‘on our own’ is worth holding
on to if He needs it for His Kingdom work. The Father that Jesus introduces
us to is different than all the rest of our fathers.
And, no matter where we hide or why we hide, it turns out this Father’s
there too. As we’ve learned from Psalm 139 over these last several weeks,
this Father “knows everything about us.” (v.1) “We can never escape His
Spirit.” (v.7) “Even the darkness cannot hide us.” (v.12) And, whether
you believe it or not, this Father’s crazy in love with you.
If you already know this Father, I want to call you to a deeper intimacy
with Him. There’s still so much of His love for us to discover. If you
feel like you’ve been hiding from this Father for a long time, please know
that He’s calling you home. And if you’re here this morning and you would
say that you are maybe on your way home – that you’re seeking after God –
you need to know that this Father’s already on His way out to greet you.
Blaise Pascal once said, (SLIDE) “When we begin to seek after God it is
because God has already found us.”
We don’t have to hide. Ollie-Ollie-oxen-free! (Have everyone repeat it.)
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