What did he say?

I'm Simon Merchant of Galilee, uncle to two of the most disreputable and disgusting boys this village has ever seen, and also brother to one of the craziest people I have ever met, Sam Merchant.

I'm not sure with which of the three I am most annoyed, so let's back up and start at the beginning, when weird things began to happen in the Merchant family.

I thought things were OK, but now that I reflect on it, I guess Tom (that's the younger son) had been moping around for a long time, not really thinking of himself as a loyal son.

One day he blurts it out: “Dad, give me my share of the inheritance.”

Now Sam is hale and hearty, not the least bit sick.

But it is a wonder that the shock of hearing his son say that didn't kill him on the spot.

In our country, we never, ever speak of one's inheritance before the death of the father.

So what Tom was saying was in effect “Dad, I wish you were dead!”

What a terrible, outrageous thing for him to say!

If old Sam didn't fall over from the shock, I know what he should have done – taken a stick and beaten him severely.

That's what I would have done, and anyone else in the village would have supported him in doing it.

The nerve of that kid!

But then, I never have been able to figure out how and why old Sam does what he does.

He didn't die, he didn't knock some sense into the impertinent kid.

He did what was asked!

Unbelievable!

Even though his heart was undoubtedly breaking, he partitioned off part of the vineyard and said “Here you are, it';s yours.”

As I think about it, there was something else weird here: Tim, the older son, didn't say anything!

He should have put Tom in his place, or he should have tried to get Tom and Sam to reconcile.

If he could not manage that, then he should have refused to take his share of the property....but Tim doesn't say or do anything!

Does that mean that he was secretly wishing the same thing as Tom, that Dad would shortly be out of the way?

Oh, that makes me even more angry!

If I could get my hands on either of those boys I would give them a thrashing they wouldn't forget...but then, that's Sam's business and not mine.

This is just the beginning of the mess.

Young Tim doesn't even work his part of the vineyard for the benefit of the family – he sells it!

We are talking about land from which Sam makes his living, on which the whole family depends, and which is Sam's security in his older years.

Gone! Sold! Lost!...and son Tom along with it.

You don't think that Tom could stay around here after doing such a thing, do you?

He was smart enough to get out of town, fast!

If he hadn't, we would have run him out.

He has completely broken the bond of family with his actions.

It is Sam that I wonder about most.

Why did he allow it?

Why did he go along with it?

Is it love to do such a thing, or is it just foolishness?

This much we know, that Sam's relationship with Tom the older and Tim the younger are both broken.

Tom leaves, Tim stays, but the family is not the same.

Much later, we heard what Tom did when he left.

He went somewhere there were no relatives at all, no one to help or assist him.

He soon used up his money in poor decisions; he just plain wasted it.

Then there came a time of famine, and so without money, he had to try to hook up with some resident of that land, who of course did not want to be bothered with this foreigner.

He gave him a job which he felt that Tom would be sure to refuse...pig herding.

NO good Jew would have anything to do with such a job, but Tom takes it, only to discover that he won't be able to keep himself alive.

So Tom makes a plan.

It was not because he was sorry for having done such stupid things; h

he was only sorry that he ran out of money.

He wasn't interested in the family community with Sam – just in survival.

So Tom plans to come back and be a hired servant, that is, a free man with no obligations to the family, so that he will be able to walk away whenever he wants and whenever a better offer comes along.

Maybe if he is very careful, he could actually pay back Sam for some of the property he wasted.

When I heard about the plan, I wasn't sure what to think.

The rest of the village is sure to continue int heir anger, and may have refused to give him a place to live, or any other help.

And yet, this idea of working off the debt sounded like a good one.

It wold keep Tom humble and busy for a very long time.

But Tom never even had a chance to fully present his plan.

Sam and I were up on the roof, sun-drying some fruit, and both at the same time we caught sight of Tom trudging along the road.

Sam dropped his tools and took off on the run to meet Tom.

Men of mature years don't run!

It is undignified, it implies hastiness rather than care in making decisions.

I think it is just humiliating!

Our village one time refused to accept a new rabbi, simply because he walked too fast!

But Sam ran and embraced Tom.

He should have made Tom kneel and kiss his feet,

but Sam didn't allow it.

By this time folks were beginning to gather to see what was going on.

I don't doubt that Tom would have had some rotten fruit or maybe even stones thrown at him,

except that Sam was walking with him.

I had a handful of rotten figs myself, but I never had a chance to throw them.

Sam embraced that wretched Tom...and made him a son again!

Nobody could have expected it.

Tom accepted the words of the Father.

He had gone there with his plan for independence and earning his way back into the respect of Dad and the community.

He received it as a gift, with the robe, the signet ring, and the feast to show it.

And that feast!

Sam really floored me with that.

I might have given Tom a few leftovers or scraps, but Sam has a calf killed and made ready for a fun-blown feast.

And we know what that means:

Sam wasn't going to just feed Tom, or a few other family members.

He was inviting the whole village so nothing would be wasted in that day without refrigeration.

We all came, of course.

Sam didn't just remake a son, he also put this community back together also.

It was amazing!

What about Tim?

I still don't know about him.

The party was just beginning to get underway: the meat was roasting, the folks were gathering, the musicians start to sing and play.

When Tim came back from the far field, and we expected that he would come right in and take his place as the master of ceremonies at the feast.

That would have been normal protocol.

But he didn't – he stayed outside.

What an insult to old Sam!.

When Tim hears that Tom is back and that Sam has made him a son again, he is angry.

Oh, now I see...all that time that Tim stayed home, he wasn't acting like a son, but like a hired hand!

He had no love for his brother Tom, or his father Sam.

He never intended to be in a community with them, but rather to use them.

Old Sam amazed us again

Just as he had run down the road to Tom, now he leaves the feast and goes outside to urge Tim to join in.

Old Sam has been insulted by his son, but he goes out to him anyway.

It is midnight now and the feast is still going on, but Tim is still sitting out there on the village wall, sulking and complaining about his rights.

I wonder whether he will ever come in.

What else could Sam do?

He has offered him everything: the inheritance, son-ship, a restored brother, the great feast... and he sits there grouching.

What a shame!

That wandering teacher Jesus came through here the other day, and what is happening with the Merchant family sounds like what Jesus meant when he talked about the love of God,

which reaches out in spite of pride, sin, anger, or estrangement, and is determined to put the community back together again.

Can God do that in each one of our lives?...or like Tim are we going to sulk and say NO?

While I think about all of this, I have a feast to attend; hey, come on in – you're all invited!

Let everyone say AMEN.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.