Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
A sense of entitlement is a dangerous thing.
It makes us believe that we should be able to do whatever we want with what has been given or promised. It makes us believe that we can use all that we have or has been promised to us to please only ourselves and indulge every whim, desire, fancy and appetite we may have.
It was no different for the sinners and tax collectors. They were held in disdain by society because they seemed to feel entitled to act contrary to social norms and to gouge the people of God by overcharging them in their taxes.
It was no different for the Pharisees and Scribes, themselves like sinners and tax collectors, who believed that their positions meant they were above reproach, above scrutiny, above God's Law and above everyone else.
These were all the prodigal, as are we all. They felt entitled, as do we all.
It comes out in the language of inheritance. For them, of heritage and position. For us, of our status as children of God and inheritors of the Kingdom. We are (more) "blessed and highly favored" by God because we are "children of the most High God". We are "God's elect" and therefore entitled to a life void of pain or struggle. We are tithers and therefore entitled to the "overflow." We are Worshipers, Praisers and Prayer Warriors so we are entitled to the Kingdom.
And what do we do with this Love of God and God's Grace? Often, we try to take it and run. Often we flaunt it over others we believe are not so entitled. Often we use it as justification in judging others or hating others. In so doing, we squander the inheritance of Grace and Love given to us by God. Being inheritors of Grace and Love requires being gracious and loving, even humble in the reception of those gifts and in their sharing with others around us.
Some of us come to realize that it is the living with God HERE AND NOW that is the real gift, and a gift always available to us with the inheritance of Grace and Love. And some of us never realize it, but instead double down on our sense of entitlement that drives us from the one who gives us all things. And others among us, when prodigals do realize it and repent, begrudge their coming to understand it because of the behaviors they exhibited in flaunting their entitlement earlier in their lives.
Paul at times had a very developed sense of entitlement, based on his writings. Full of hubris at times, even when talking about his very powerful faith, Paul believed that "all things are lawful for (him)." But Paul also knew that "all things are not beneficial." (I Corinthians 6:12; 10:23) AND Paul knew, "'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up." (I Corinthians 10:23) Aha! There it is. Just because I can be arrogant in the living or wasting of my inheritance of Grace and Love does not mean that I should. It is not only about me that I should be concerned. Is it beneficial to others? Does it build others up? If it does not, I should have no part in it.
The prodigals are celebrated when they come back to the reality of restored RELATIONSHIP with God and with community and the truth that THAT is the life in which the inheritance is meant to be lived.
It would seem that the sins of entitlement have no bounds. The only hope we have for justice and well-being is in the discovery of the context in which that inheritence is meant to be lived... life with God in love for God and life in community with love for neighbor. THEN we will be home, HERE AND NOW, in this part of the Kingdom.
Pastor Jamie
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