Share the Word
Ways to present the readings
2 Corinthians 5.16-21
When the Covid-19 vaccination campaign got under way, a call went out for people to encourage others to get the jab. Words and actions together, designed to break down the walls of fear and suspicion. Paul uses similar language to encourage similar action: Christians who have experienced the breaking down of the barriers that divided them from God should embody that reconciling message to others. Before you hear Paul’s words, listen to ‘There is a place of commanded blessing’ by Robin Mark. The final verse repeats the words: ‘We will break dividing walls and we will be one’. The song can be found in various volumes of The Source; and its lyrics and a link to a YouTube video can be found on the internet.
Luke 15.1-3,11b-32
Frame the Gospel reading with this imagined monologue by the father in the story.
Father: (enters and speaks to all present) I have two sons and I love them. Both of them have caused me heartache, but I still love them. Listen to my story (sits and listens along with everyone else).
Narrator: Reads Luke 15.11b-33.
Father: (stands up) So there you have it. I know what many of you are thinking: I was too soft and indulgent with my younger son. It is true that he acted disgracefully. He shamed our family – not only by going off in the way he did, but also by how he acted while he was away. So why did I run to meet him? Why did I not only allow him back, but also celebrate his return with a party – and restore his status as a son? Couldn’t I understand my other son’s resentment and anger? From his perspective, his brother had ruined our family, and didn’t deserve to be forgiven – let alone be reinstated. He had never gone astray.
So why should his brother’s outrageous behaviour be rewarded? (pause)
But if you have ever caused hurt to parents or family, then you understand that this story is not about deserving anything; it is about costly love. If, like my elder son, you have never gone astray, and imagine love is earned by good behaviour and forfeited by bad, you probably have yet to understand what costly love is. That is why I am begging my elder son to come in. I have two sons. I love them both. And I don’t want to lose either of them.
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