Stating that parables are simple stories used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson told by Jesus in the gospels, the Rev. Roger Jackson, pastor of Fenimore Street United Methodist Church (FSUMC) in Brooklyn, says that the story of the lost son is an example where \u201cJesus is drawing our attention to the moral and spiritual failures of both sons, while the father exemplifies the way Godly fathers respond to children who have lost their way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preaching on the topic, \u201cWhat Love Looks Like,\u201d based on Luke 15:11-32, during Father\u2019s Day Worship Service on Sunday, June 21, Pastor Jackson noted that the the son, who left, was \u201cout of order in asking for that which he was not entitled to, while his father was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the son that remained harbored bitterness toward his brother because the bother left him holding the proverbial bag of having to have to handle their father\u2019s business alone,\u201d he said. \u201cWe see in one son\u2019s actions that moral failures manifest themselves through foolish decisions. And, in the other son, hurtful words are the result of one\u2019s spirit being out of sync with the will and plan of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, while Jesus is showing us in this parable that the boys had failed morally and spiritually, not so when it comes to their father,\u201d he added. \u201cThis father is acting and interacting with his boys, as God does with us during our moral or spiritual failures in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rev. Jackson said the father is displaying that which in theological parlance is called \u201cthe permissive will of God.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFathers know that children must be given room to fail when they are young, so that they will learn from those failures and make better choices as they mature,\u201d he said. \u201cNo matter what our biological age is, or our level of spiritual maturity, sometimes God\u2019s permissive will allow us to make decisions that will not turn out good for us either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut thank God that bad decisions are not the end of the story for us just as it was not for the family in the parable,\u201d he added, stating that, \u201cafter hitting rock bottom, that\u2019s when this son come to his senses and he remembers who his father is, what his father has, and that, at the very least, he knew that his father would give him a job, so that he will not die from hunger. \u201c<\/p>\n
He said the active will of God replaced the permissive will of God, \u201cin that the son repented for the sin of asking for that which was not rightly his and then wasting it on ungodly living.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, Rev. Jackson said the father embraced him and kissed him \u201cjust like our heavenly Father does when we repent.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cFathers, what love looks like is in the acceptance of apologies of their child or children because they recognize that admitting wrong is the first step toward returning to one\u2019s rightful place in the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the bible says that the father re-establishes this son\u2019s rightful place in the eyes of his servants,\u201d he said. \u201cFathers what love looks like is making sure that a child or children who have turned their life around are re-established, fully re-connected and celebrated just as it is in the case with us who, after backsliding God our heavenly Father, does this for us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFather\u2019s acts that serve as stabilizing forces between competing tensions in the home is what love looks like,\u201d Pastor Jackson added. \u201cFathers who seek to celebrate those who have turned their life around and those who never strayed from the plan and purpose for their lives is what love looks likes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe father who acts justly, loves mercy and walks humbly with our God is what love looks likes to his child or children,\u201d Rev. Jackson affirmed.\n<\/p>\n
The Father\u2019s Day service was also punctuated by, among other things, prayers; Scripture readings; and lofty singing by the congregation, Men\u2019s Praise Team, a selection by Bro. Edward Hyde, a member of the Men\u2019s Chorale, and the Gospel Chorus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Sunday School children gave a special presentation to the fathers.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stating that parables are simple stories used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson told by Jesus in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-281654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}