Observing father& son plus brother relationships in Luke 15; Psalm 73?

 Luke 15 highlights father& son plus brother relationships; Psalm 73?

Walter Brueggemann (walterbrueggemann.com) in Devotions for Lent, noted conjunctions that “changed” the perspective: “when” then “till”, respectively, in Luke 15 then Psalm 73. [The conjunction-attraction has special significance to me. I returned to UBC when I realized 2 possibilities: first, I don’t have to constrain Jesus with my opinion or other human-opinion to pursue Jesus’ views of the-good and, second, the USA might benefit from transparent discussion of the-good, including the practical Jesus. I studied independently until I perceived a good message to fellow citizens. My interest in the 1787 U.S. intentions were freed when I perceived that Jesus advocates Genesis 1:28’s message: humankind has the duty to provide peace on earth.]

Note 1: Luke 15 can be deeply mined for father& sons and brother relationships. For example, in despair, the younger son relied on his father’s excellence. And without objection, he happily joined the celebration of his own civic salvation. On the other hand, the older son relied on second-hand information about his father’s actions and intentions. He showed no appreciation for neither his father’s early distribution of his estate nor rebuilding afterwards. The father treated both sons as persons to develop at their own pace. The older son did not return appreciation. The father seems a metaphor for God: an entity that depends on human-beings to choose civic-integrity on earth. These perspectives come to me in 2022 after a comment by our son Stephen, perhaps in 1988.

Note 2: I study the Bible to also consider whether a specific passage comports to the perhaps 5,000-year-old Sumerian philosophy probably expressed by Hebrew scholars 3,000 years ago in Genesis 1:28, in my paraphrase:  Female& male-human-being can& may, independent of other entities, constrain political chaos on earth. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer. In other words, an Ancient Testament, the Old Testament, and the New Testament comprise the message human-being can& may consider.

I perceive that the 10,000-year-old Sumer civilization ought to be considered, in order to increase civic-integrity while appreciating private spiritual pursuits for 2022 and beyond.

 

Luke 15 

Now the tax collectors and sinners [who judges “sinners”? Sinners?] were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered [do sinners choose to be Pharisees and teach the law?], “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” [Do sinners assert “But he was not a man?”]

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. [Since human being involves the choice in a lifetime to pursue the-good or not, is 99% choosing the-good a utopia? Would 2 of 3 be sufficient to practice, facilitate, and encourage the 1 of 3 to reform: would 67% pursuing the-good encourage some of the 33% to reform? Is sheep the right metaphor for the human being who can& may choose the-good in so brief a time, maybe 85 years?]

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” [I don’t like 90%, either, when 2/3 would be a wonderful start for reform in the year 2022.]

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. [I would not have the courage to divide my property, even today. Apparently, “my share” was not the father’s entire estate.]

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 [I doubt the famine was meaningful to the ruin, so it seems a benefit to the ruined.] 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. [“Came to his senses” may refer to realizing he was near death. He never lost trust in his father.]

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion [is appreciation a possible translation from the original language?] 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 [could have called his father] 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.’ [Here’s the real appreciation: safety& security.]

²⁸ “The older brother became angry [passionate] 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. [Stephen, d. 1991 at age 19, commented that the older son had no thought of including the father in the celebration he imagined.]³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes [Not “your property”; the property had been distributed -- at the younger son’s request.] 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.’” [Appreciation for the younger son’s life.]

[Opposite slants on passion in this story: “compassionate” and “angry”.]

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ Surely God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart. [After drought, all Israel enjoys rain.]

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
    I had nearly lost my foothold.
³ For I envied the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. [In self-interest, prosperity can& may mean civic-integrity more than wealth. Seems wrong-minded to associate arrogance with prosperity.]

⁴ They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.
⁵ They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
    they clothe themselves with violence.
⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity^];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
    with arrogance they threaten oppression.
⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance. [Do people really turn to tyrants? Is the writer expressing factual reality or prejudice? Should he reform his intent from wealth to civic-integrity?]
¹¹ They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. [There he goes again. I am not wealthy. However, I oppose associating wealth with wickedness.]

¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure [really? I don’t think so. That is, I don’t think your judgment about your heart is valid. Let another entity judge your heart.]
    and have washed my hands in innocence [really? Like Pontius Pilot washed his hands? Are you a sinner judging your sins?].
¹⁴ All day long I have been afflicted,
    and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children. [Is that the children of the wicked?]
¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
    it troubled me deeply
¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God [The Nomads leader, Kenneth asks if this means psychological comfort or equal, a personal process. I think so.];
    then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
    you cast them down to ruin. [The children?]
¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors!
²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakes;
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered,
²² I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. [Is the sinner qualified to judge integrity as weighed by the-God?]
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
    I will tell of all your deeds.

[I oppose this picture of futile-living while expecting relief in death. I especially oppose it, because Jesus seems to approve Genesis 1, and V 28 states that human-being can& may constrain chaos in their way of living. To pray to the Lord to constrain chaos in personal living seems blasphemy. And to castigate the wealthy as wicked is a bad choice a person can& may make.]