Worship for Sunday 30th March 2025 by Rev. Catharine Hughes

Here, there are no strangers,

for all are welcome in this house.

Here, there is only acceptance,

for all are welcome in this house.

Here, there are no divisions,

for all are welcome in this house.

So let us worship in unity and love.

Hymn: STF 409 – Let us build a house where love can dwell

Prayers of praise and confession

Gracious God, we praise you.

We owe our very lives to you.

You have watched over us from our birth,

tenderly nurturing us, showering us with love.

When we have needed you, you have been there.

You have given us strength in times of need,

comfort in times of distress,

encouragement in times of despair,

guidance in times of uncertainty.

Whatever we have faced, you have been with us.

When we have turned away, you have welcomed us home.

For this, and all your abundant gifts to us, we praise you.

We come seeking your forgiveness, Father God:
for our bad attitude toward you and others;
for the times we feel hard done by and wronged;
for wanting to go our own way, in the opposite direction to you;
for shunning those who don’t conform to our expectations;
for judging people on their appearance, speech or wealth.
We come seeking your forgiveness, Father God.
Help us to change as individuals and as a church.
Help us to be more welcoming,
making no distinction between the homeless and the high-flyers.
Help us to care for others as you care for us.
Help us to listen and trust in you.
We come seeking your forgiveness and renewal, Father God.

God gifted us his Son Jesus Christ.
Through his blood, we are cleansed.
Like the prodigal son, we are forgiven and restored to God.
Amen.

Reading: 2 Corinthians 5.16-21 [NIVUK]

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Hymn: 553 – I am a new creation

Reading: Luke 15.1-3, 11-32 [NIVUK]

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’

Then Jesus told them this parable:

‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between them.

‘Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

‘When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” So he got up and went to his father.

‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms round him and kissed him.

‘The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

‘But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.

‘Meanwhile, the elder son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. “Your brother has come,” he replied, “and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.”

‘The elder brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

‘“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 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.”’

Reflection:

It is hard to believe that five years ago we were just beginning the first lockdown of the Coronavirus pandemic. For me it came just as we were to have my father’s funeral: it was over a year before I was able to meet and hug my sister. I still remember the joy of us flinging our arms open wide and rushing to greet each other.

That was a meeting of equals. The prodigal son came as the humble penitent, seeking his father’s forgiveness. He had thought he could go it alone, using all the wealth his father had given him, but in reality he frittered away all the good stuff and was left longing to eat the pigs’ food. Of course, for Luke’s Jewish listeners, simply the concept of working with pigs showed how low the son had fallen.

Whenever I read this parable I am struck by the father rushing to greet his wayward son. The welcome home was not a hug of surprise when the doorbell rang! No, the father was actively looking for his son. He was keeping an eye out, and any movement on the horizon was assessed to see if it was the lost son. Our Father God knows we have strayed away from him, but he is seeking us at all times.

And the father rushed to greet him. There was no hanging around, waiting for the speck of dust on the horizon to become the man he wanted to see. The father ran to him, abandoning whatever work he was doing in order to welcome his son home. Our Father God knows us even from far off, and when we turn back to him he will come to where we are to bring us home.

And what a welcome! Hugs and kisses, and an apology that is almost entirely brushed aside as the father orders the servants to bring clothes and prepare a feast. Our Father God will prepare a banquet for all, for we are invited to the feast where cups will overflow for all eternity.

Yet spare a thought for the brother. He is portrayed as being so grumpy and unwelcoming, yet I suspect many of us find him the most identifiable. I’ve done all the work and he gets the party? Do we harbour resentments ourselves, particularly within the family of the church? Are we taken for granted, never recognised for the work we do? I don’t believe anyone is called to be a ‘doormats’ – ridden over roughshod or ignored for all our work – but we are all called to welcome the sinner home to God.

Which leads us to reflect on how we welcome others in our lives. Can we endeavour to show the father’s overwhelming love? Are we able to forgive and forget the sins of others? Do we welcome without reserve?

For the grace and love of God is never ending. It is constantly seeking us, rejoicing when it finds us, ready to celebrate our presence with him. It is this story of forgiveness, whatever we may have done, that is the heart of our gospel. Jesus embodied it by dying on the cross for our sins: through him we have received forgiveness. As Paul wrote, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” We are a new creation through this one saving act: a people set free to live for Christ.

A reflective exercise:

Why not think about (or try writing a short story, or a poem) that takes the story from the point of view of one of the characters. The son, who takes and squanders everything? The elder brother, who remains at home fulfilling his familial duty? The father, who welcomes with joy?

Or, indeed, what if the son had taken his inheritance but just lived a dull and boring life away from the family? Or the elder brother exploited his power to run the family business knowing he was the only heir? Or the father didn’t recognise his son?

Or maybe you’d like to be another character, missed from the original… The mother, aching for her lost son? The pigs, begrudging the incompetent pig-man in their sty? The servants, rushing around preparing a banquet when there had been nothing in the household but sadness for years?

How does this exercise help you see the grace and love of our Father God afresh?

Hymn: STF 443 – Come, let us sing of a wonderful love

Prayers of intercession:

Father, we rejoice that we are welcomed into your presence today and every day. Thank you so much for taking the first steps, making the first move, rushing towards us with open arms of forgiveness, love and joy. Help us never to take your love for granted. Instead, give us the grace and the courage to be as welcoming to others as you are to us.