"If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" In these words, and in the whole chapter from which they are taken, St. Paul is struggling to explain to the Corinthian Christians, how their lives are different as a result of their baptism. The person who is baptized is from that moment "in Christ" that is, attached to Christ like a branch to the vine, and also nourished by Christ, just as the vine supplies water and nutrients to the branch. St. Paul insists that this is such a big change, that it can properly be called a new creation, that same new creation prophesied by Isaiah. What he means, I think, is that we are given a different way of seeing the world, and a different way of being in the world. We see the world as God's creation, which is to be cherished and protected. We see that the people, ALL the people, are made in God's image, even though that image may be hard to discern. These affirmations of St. Paul, in 2nd Corinthians and elsewhere, are the basis for this week's baptismal promise: I will seek and serve Christ in all persons.

I wonder how much any of us have thought about what this promise actually means? My first impulse is to seek Christ in people who are prayerful, or spiritual, or humble or faithful. But probably we should seek Christ just as surely in people like those with whom Jesus associated: the ordinary people, the outcasts, and the sinners. When Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son, it as in response to the grumbling of the scribes and Pharisees, who objected that Jesus "welcomes sinners and eats with them". Actually, Jesus told three parables: first the parable of the lost sheep, second the parable of the lost coin, and third the parable of the lost son (the prodigal son). So Jesus was giving his answer to that question, "why do you associate with sinners?" In each of these parables, Jesus was saying, God is like a shepherd, God is like a woman, and God is like a father, each searching for the one that is lost. I am sorry that we don't have all three parables today, because the shepherd and the woman make active efforts to find the lost sheep and the lost coin, while the father only waits. But we will come back to those two parables in September!

I have two questions about this parable: how does it fit with Jesus' actions? and does it help "us" to seek Christ in all persons? When I look back over the Gospel of Luke, I read that Jesus did welcome sinners, and he also welcomed those who were impure. Remember that impurity was a status which prevented a person from entering the Temple. It was not a matter of sin; it was a separate category having to do with the separate realm of holiness. Jesus did not hesitate to touch people who were sick, such as the leper and the woman with a flow of blood. It was the same with sinners: he did not hesitate to welcome the woman of the city who anointed his feet with oil, and to welcome the tax collector, and even the Gentile. The real issue for the scribes and the Pharisees, is that Jesus did not discriminate. The scandal of Jesus' behavior was (and is) that he did welcome everyone . . . probably people known to be cheats and robbers, as well as the scribes, the synagogue leader Jairus as well as the Roman centurion, women as well as men. He just didn't observe the boundaries that his religion and society prescribed.

In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus invites us to consider these two sons from the point of view of the father. The younger son would have known from childhood that he would not inherit the property, and even worse, that his older brother would receive a double share of the inheritance. Why wait around for this unequal distribution? The younger son needed to find a place in the world, and establish a life separate from this family. It would have been unusual for a father to grant this son's request (both then, and now), and the fact that the father did so, tells us that he is both generous and understanding. So the younger son departed with his share, and went to a distant country, and did not bother to write to his father. Apparently he was unable to manage his money or govern his behavior, and so eventually he became destitute. In the eyes of the Jewish community, he was a sinner because of the dissolute living, and he was impure because he fed the pigs.

In his misery, the son remembered the abundance of food and shelter in his father's house, and decided to return, not as a son, but as a servant. Jesus intended that some of his listeners would identify with this prodigal son. Leaving aside the details of first century Judaism, we might ask ourselves if we have ever been a prodigal son or daughter? What inheritance have I received, and how have I used it? Think not only of an inheritance of money or property, but also of opportunities, of education, of talents . . . Whenever those who hear this parable identify with the prodigal, they also recognize immediately the generosity of the father.

The scribes and the Pharisees, however, would have identified with the elder son, as Jesus intended them to. The elder son has conformed to the expectations of his father and his community, by learning the farmwork and preparing to take over the management of the farm. He has worked hard, he has been the obedient son, and he has not had any adventure in his life. But he has the rewards of upholding the family name, and will surely inherit when his father dies. So the elder son feels resentful when he hears the celebration that is being made over the prodigal son's return. It sound to him as though the younger son is being rewarded for his neglect of the family, and his apparent loss of his share. The elder son is bitterly resentful, and the Pharisees are likewise resentful of Jesus. Who is Jesus after all, to tell sinners that they are welcome and worthy?

Think now about the answer Jesus gave in this parable. Although the father has not searched for the younger son, he was certainly waiting for him. He was actively watching the road, and when he finally saw his lost son coming, he ran out to meet him. The father called for a robe, a ring, and sandals. He ordered a feast to be prepared. This is God's attitude toward the sinner who repents. It is still true that God condemns sin, and grieves over the hurt it causes. But God's attitude toward sinners is, "come back, come home, return to your Creator who loves you". There is indeed, a wideness in God's mercy. And it is also true that God loves all of us who are the elder sons and daughters, the ones who have stayed at home, and were obedient. After all, the father rushed out to plead with the elder son, as soon as he heard of his son/s distress. God does not prefer the prodigal son, and God does not prefer the elder son. God loves them both, and that may be the most disconcerting aspect of this parable.

Eight days ago at our Faith Formation event, I attended the workshop on intergenerational ministry, and I learned something that helps me understand this parable of Jesus. Our workshop leader, Stacy Williams Duncan, introduced the idea that our generations, have different cultures. Maybe you already know this, but I didn't. The generation who were adults when World War II began, are called the Builders, and their life experience was shaped by the Depression, the War, and then "the building of modern America"; as Tom Brokaw puts it. We have a good representation from this generation at St. Thomas. Then comes my generation, the Baby Boomers, which is actually much smaller in numbers than the Builders. We were shaped by the civil rights movement, the peace movement and the development of birth control. The Boomers who were young adults when they had children, produced Generation X, who are now in their 30's. They are also quite small in numbers. The next generation are the Millennials, who have come to adulthood around the turn of the Millennium, and this is apparently a very large generation, comparable to the Builders. One of the reasons it is large, is that some of the parents of the Millennials are Gen-Xers, and other parents are Boomers who waited until their 40's to have children. All of this gives me some insight into the challenges we face when we plan intergenerational activities, because we are dealing with different cultures in each generation. The church may be the only institution in our society that regularly brings together 4 or 5 generations in one event. I think this may actually be part of our vocation as a Christian community in the 21st century.

You may be wondering what all this has to do with the parable of the prodigal son. Well I am thinking about how the sons in the parable belong to a different generation than their father, and I am also guessing that the elder son may be of a different generation than the younger son. I am reminded of families in which one child was born before World War II, and another child was born after the war. Both the ages, and the life experience of those children, are quite different. And I am thinking of Baby Boomers, some of whom had children in their 20's, and others had children in their 40's. Each generation is deeply influenced by the political and cultural situation of their youth; so they grow up with different values, different goals, and different behavior.

Is it possible that through this parable, Jesus is calling us who are Builders and Baby Boomers, to welcome those of us who are Generation Xers and Millennials, and in effect, to look past our cultural differences? Is it possible that Jesus is calling the Gen Xers and Millennials to seek Christ in the Builders and Boomers? Is it possible that Jesus is saying in this parable, and in his actions, that we are called to look beyond every difference ~~ not only the difference between the righteous and the sinners, not only the difference between rich and poor, but also the differences between Builders and Gen Xers, and the differences between liberals and conservatives, and the differences between citizens and immigrants? Is it possible that this is what we have really promised, to seek Christ in ALL persons, and like Christ, to welcome everyone?