Party Pooper

'Every party has a pooper! That's why we invited you!" A 'party pooper"? A person who is unable to enter into the joy of an occasion and someone who wants everyone around them to be miserable too. Now, you would think that everyone would be excited about the extravagant grace the father showered on his returning, penitent prodigal son. And it would be great if Jesus' story ended on the happy note of everyone celebrating the return of the prodigal and his reconciliation with the father. But Jesus introduces a third main character to his story: the elder son. He is not a symbol of a true believer, but rather, like the Pharisees and scribes, he depicts a religious hypocrite. On the surface he appears to be the good, dutiful son, but lurking beneath the surface, in a passive aggressive way, was deep-seated anger and even hatred towards his father. When he arrived at the party, he refused to go in and enter into the joy of the occasion! Now, this parable is a 'parable of reversal', for the son who had been lost and outside is now inside, reconciled to His father, whereas the 'inside' elder son complains outside. The prodigal is "in"; the 'good' son is 'out'. How did this happen? Jesus tells another story to explain why certain people who you would think are outsiders are actually inside the kingdom, and those you who consider themselves 'insiders' are actually outside of the kingdom. The key: response to the gospel of Christ. Those who repent and trust Jesus are "in"; those who think they are "in" with God because of all the "good" they've done, are actually "out". The father pleads with the elder son to change, accept grace, and come in. Are you "out" or "in"?