Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

For the Fourth Sunday in Lent (31 March 2019), Rev. Geoff McKee’s text is Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke’s gospel. It is an unsettling story with an apparently shifting focus: is it the younger or older son? – or their father? Geoff explains how it can be as dangerous for Christians to follow the path of the older son as that of the younger son, though it is the younger son who appears at first sight to have gone more astray. We need to be learning from both brothers in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

The sermon can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.

Luke 15:1-3; 11-32 (New International Version)

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable …

The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

The Property Laws of a Toddler are as follows:

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s broken, it’s yours.

Such is the power of me, me, me!

One of the amazing features of the Parable of the Prodigal Son is its perfect framing:

• It begins with the story of the youngest son who is only interested in himself, and
• It ends with the story of the eldest son who is only interested in himself, and
• In the middle, is the story of the abused Father who behaves scandalously!

What a story it is…

The story has a shifting focus which can throw us.

Who is the principal character? –

• Is it the younger son whom the parable is most commonly named after: the prodigal?
• Or is it the Father who dominated the middle part and who is the fixer of the problem?
• Or is it the older son who annoys us most because we’re most like him?

It’s distinctly unsettling, isn’t it? [Read more…]

This is Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon for 10 March 2019 – the first Sunday in Lent – considering Luke’s gospel and its story of Jesus being tested in the desert. Of course, Jesus withstands these temptations and Geoff explains how this teaches us – somewhat counter-intuitively – that succumbing to temptation enslaves whilst choosing God’s way brings freedom.

Luke 4:1-13 (New International Version)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

In the mid 1990’s the movie, Devil’s Advocate, was released, starring Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino.

Reeves plays Kevin Lomax, a happily married and very successful lawyer in America’s South. Down in the South, he’s a man of integrity who’s focused on what’s important in life.

Then he’s offered a job in the Big Apple, New York, with a worldwide law firm. Kevin and his wife move to New York, only to find Kevin being seduced by the atmosphere of greed, sex and power that surrounds the firm and – more particularly – its owner, John Milton, played by Al Pacino.

But we soon discover that there is more to this movie than the age-old theme of greed versus goodness. The plot is much more sinister. [Read more…]

For Transfiguration Sunday (03 March 2019), Rev. Geoff McKee explains why the Transfiguration story in Luke’s gospel must be read together with the immediately-following story of Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy. This allows us to see the underlying message of “transformed service”: why Christian service is not an optional activity. Do we have the vision to see how the Transfiguration takes us into the public square to see unimagined possibilities? Can we manage to serve others before our own egos?

You can download a PDF version of the sermon by clicking here.

Luke 9:28-43 (New International Version)
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

I remember very well the first public examination that I sat at school.

It was my ‘O’ level French aural comprehension exam.

The pupils listened to a recording of a story in French and then were asked to turn over a question paper that asked questions in English about the recorded material. So we all nervously listened to the recording and then set about answering the questions.

I was pleased because I knew the answers – or thought I did, because I was awoken from my wee bubble of concentration by a sharp smack over the head.

My French teacher who was also invigilating had noticed a silly error in my answer as he was walking past and had decided that a sharp wake up was needed.

It was naughty of him and no doubt wouldn’t happen these days but it did the job in jolting me from my confidence bubble.

When reading the Gospel story today, I always feel that Peter received the verbal equivalent of a clip around the ears.

He misread the situation so badly and there is no doubt that his future relationship with Jesus took some time to right itself after this.

Some have read the Transfiguration story as an account that has found itself in the wrong part of the Gospel record. Here is a story that fits perfectly with the resurrection stories and for some reason it has been shunted forwards for effect. We have Jesus shining as if he had been resurrected and we have sleepy disciples just as they would be in Gethsemane when Jesus prepared for his glory.

I think the view is somewhat forced however.

It is true that the story of the Transfiguration was written after the resurrection appearances of Jesus and so like all Gospel writing was profoundly influenced by the resurrection.

In fact, the account of the distressed man and his child that follows directly on is offered as a challenge to the church, through the failure of the disciples to act appropriately, to listen to Jesus. People who take the reality of the resurrection of Jesus seriously listen to Jesus.

The meeting with Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop may appear to be a random one.

There may have been a list of appropriate Old Testament greats who would have done just as well.

But no – Moses and Elijah were chosen because they represented the Law and Prophetic tradition in Israel equally.

Both characters were defined by their journeys to the land or through the land in God’s service. They were both involved in exodus journeys, Moses explicitly so and Elijah in the sense he was always on the way, ultimately to glory.

So Jesus met with the two great travellers and identified his mission closely with theirs. Peter seems to have picked up something of this when he offered to make three tabernacle dwellings for them. These were temporary abodes particularly suited to the sojourner. Once that idea was rejected Jesus and his followers journeys back down the mountain with God’s instruction ringing in their ears, ‘listen to him’. This, they immediately failed to do, as they were unable to cope with the afflicted child.

They had failed to understand that seeing Jesus differently must affect the way they see others too. They, themselves, must allow the transformed Jesus to transform them in turn. [Read more…]