Bible Text: Luke 15:25\u201331 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Wel\u00adco\u00adme Home | The older son in the para\u00adble is a stran\u00adger in his own home and lives a bit\u00adter \u00aborphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty\u00bb. All his father\u2019s wealth would be at his dis\u00adpo\u00adsal, but he does not use it. How can the chan\u00adge from such a life\u00adstyle to a son or daugh\u00adter men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty and thus to a libe\u00adra\u00adted Chris\u00adtia\u00adni\u00adty happen? <\/p>\n
Home is the place whe\u00adre I am uncon\u00addi\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly accept\u00aded and can give mys\u00adelf as I am. The\u00adre I can also some\u00adti\u00admes show off a \u00abscol\u00adding\u00bb and it gets a bit uncom\u00adfor\u00adta\u00adble. On the other hand, you also share the joys, you stand up for each other, empa\u00adthise with each other and do ever\u00ady\u00adthing when someone in the fami\u00adly suf\u00adfers or is attacked. \tWhy do orphans or even adopted child\u00adren some\u00adti\u00admes find it dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to build trust in a new family? Bible Text: Luke 15:25\u201331 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Wel\u00adco\u00adme Home | The older son in the para\u00adble is a stran\u00adger in his own home and lives a bit\u00adter \u00aborphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty\u00bb. All his father\u2019s wealth would be at his dis\u00adpo\u00adsal, but he does not use it. How can the chan\u00adge from such a life\u00adstyle to a son-\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[53],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-willkommen-daheim","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-2072","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\n\u00abBut you may say, \u00abWith the LORD<\/span> I am safe\u00bb. Yes, with God, the Most High, you have found a home\u00bb (Psalm 91:9). With God we are allo\u00adwed to feel just as at ease and free as in a healt\u00adhy fami\u00adly at home! Through faith in Jesus Christ we are God\u2019s daugh\u00adter or son and belong to His fami\u00adly. The\u00adre we are also allo\u00adwed to show our Mon\u00adday face and put our feet on the table.
\nSer\u00advant or son
\nFor me, the sto\u00adry of the father with the two lost sons is the stron\u00adgest image of home in the Bible. The image of the older son makes me very sad. For many years he must have felt left out and pushed into a cor\u00adner in his father\u2019s house. His frus\u00adtra\u00adti\u00adon is expres\u00adsed in the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing sen\u00adten\u00adces: \u00abBut he reproa\u00adched his father: \u00abI have ser\u00adved you for so many years and have never dis\u00ado\u00adbey\u00aded your orders. And yet you have never given me even one goat so that I could have cele\u00adbra\u00adted with my fri\u00adends! And now this man is coming back, your son, who has pas\u00adsed through your wealth with har\u00adlots, and you are having the fat\u00adted calf slaugh\u00adte\u00adred for him!\u00bb \u00bb (Luke 15:29,30; NG\u00dc<\/span>).
\nThe older son adapt\u00aded and out\u00adward\u00adly did what was expec\u00adted of a son. At the same time, he always had the fee\u00adling of coming up short. He sees the three gifts the youn\u00adger son recei\u00adved, the\u00adse signs of son\u00adship. But what he does\u00adn\u2019t see is that he has all that too. That is why he is envious and feels taken back. Out\u00adward\u00adly he was at home with his father, but his heart is far away.
\nHe felt more like a ser\u00advant than a son. He also says this: \u00abYou know, all the\u00adse years I have slaved for you like a slave, never have I dis\u00ado\u00adbey\u00aded you. [\u2026]\u00bb (Luke 15:29; GN<\/span>). The elder son repres\u00adents the reli\u00adgious of the time. Tho\u00adse who had just reproa\u00adched Jesus that His beha\u00adviour was inap\u00adpro\u00adpria\u00adte. He repres\u00adents all tho\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle who think they can impress God by beha\u00adving pro\u00adper\u00adly. This son has not even begun to under\u00adstand what grace means. It is as clear as day to him: the Father\u2019s plea\u00adsu\u00adre is ear\u00adned through deeds.
\nHe did not break away from his father. He has always fit\u00adted in and done what was asked of him. He did not under\u00adstand that his father\u2019s love and accep\u00adtance depen\u00added neither on his good nor on his brother\u2019s bad beha\u00adviour. I agree with Hen\u00adri Nou\u00adwen when he says: \u00abI have no dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty in iden\u00adti\u00adfy\u00ading with the elder son who com\u00adplai\u00adned. When I look deep\u00adly into my own life and then look around at that of others, I ask mys\u00adelf what does grea\u00adter harm: greed or resent\u00adment. Among the upright and righ\u00adteous the\u00adre is so much resent\u00adment and cur\u00admud\u00adge\u00adon\u00adline\u00adss, among the saints the\u00adre is so much pre\u00adju\u00addi\u00adce, so much con\u00addem\u00adna\u00adti\u00adon. Among the peo\u00adp\u00adle who shun sins with so much zeal, the\u00adre is so much repul\u00adsi\u00adve coldness.\u00bb
\nIt is not uncom\u00admon in fami\u00adlies that child\u00adren are unable to form an emo\u00adtio\u00adnal bond with their father or mother. This hap\u00adpens, for exam\u00adp\u00adle, when one of the par\u00adents is emo\u00adtio\u00adnal\u00adly or spa\u00adti\u00adal\u00adly absent, when child\u00adren are negle\u00adc\u00adted or even abu\u00adsed. Such stran\u00adgen\u00adess at home is the stuff of many sad life sto\u00adries. If peo\u00adp\u00adle are then sup\u00adpo\u00adsed to build up a rela\u00adti\u00adonship with the hea\u00adven\u00adly Father with such expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces in their lug\u00adga\u00adge, it often also leads to attach\u00adment dis\u00ador\u00adders. The\u00adre is sim\u00adply no sen\u00adse of home.
\nThe elder son lived a slave exis\u00adtence by his own choice as a son; his father did not demand this. On the con\u00adtra\u00adry, \u00abHis father said to him, \u00abLook, my dear son, you and I are very clo\u00adse, and ever\u00ady\u00adthing I have is yours.\u00bb \u00bb (Luke 15:31, NL<\/span>).
\nOrphan or daugh\u00adter \/ son mentality
\nThe\u00adre are many sad sto\u00adries of orphans adopted by par\u00adents in Switz\u00ader\u00adland. The\u00adse child\u00adren come to their adop\u00adti\u00adve par\u00adents with gre\u00adat defi\u00adci\u00adts. Many par\u00adents almost des\u00adpair at this task of fil\u00adling the children\u2019s defi\u00adcit. And inde\u00aded, in some cases, with a lot of love and time, it is pos\u00adsi\u00adble to heal the men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty of the children.
\nThis ali\u00aden\u00adati\u00adon from home has gre\u00adat effects. This will now be shown in a com\u00adpa\u00adri\u00adson of an orphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty with a daugh\u00adter or son men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty. I have noti\u00adced how much orphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty is expres\u00adsed in my rela\u00adti\u00adonship with the hea\u00adven\u00adly Father.
\nOrphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty (WKM<\/span>): The\u00adre is never enough. The\u00adre is a fear of not having enough, of others get\u00adting a big\u00adger pie\u00adce of the cake and me fal\u00adling short. At our table, eight hun\u00adgry mouths had to be fed. To make this more suc\u00adcessful, we had a fil\u00adling soup before\u00adhand. Then it was time to start. Sub\u00adli\u00admi\u00adnal\u00adly deter\u00admi\u00adned by the fee\u00adling that we were coming up short, we set a hor\u00adren\u00addous eating pace so as not to sud\u00adden\u00adly find our\u00adsel\u00adves sit\u00adting in front of the emp\u00adty pan. Son-daugh\u00adter men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty (STM<\/span>): The\u00adre is more than enough, the\u00adre is enough for me, the\u00adre is enough for ever\u00adyo\u00adne in the Father\u2019s house. They know their hea\u00adven\u00adly Father, of whom it is said: \u00abBe mer\u00adciful, just as your Father is mer\u00adciful. [\u2026] Give, and it will be given to you. A full mea\u00adsu\u00adre, pres\u00adsed down, shaken, and run\u00adning over, will be given into your bosom\u00bb (Luke 6:36\u201338; Lut).
\nWKM<\/span>: Com\u00adpa\u00adring with others. This can be accom\u00adpa\u00adnied by pri\u00adde when you look down on others, or by envy and jea\u00adlou\u00adsy when you look up at others. It is very dif\u00adfi\u00adcult when you always have to compa\u00adre. The\u00adre are always points whe\u00adre you lose. You look at other people\u2019s pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adons, at their holi\u00adday desti\u00adna\u00adti\u00adons, at their talents, at their child\u00adren. And depen\u00adding on that, you feel supe\u00adri\u00ador or just bad. Rela\u00adti\u00adonships in which one com\u00adpa\u00adres are dif\u00adfi\u00adcult. STM<\/span> is hap\u00adpy about what others have more of or can do bet\u00adter. This men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty makes care\u00adfree rela\u00adti\u00adonships possible.
\nWKM<\/span>: Good beha\u00adviour out of fear of being rejec\u00adted or given away. Out of fear of no lon\u00adger belon\u00adging, one ing\u00adra\u00adtia\u00adtes ones\u00adelf and draws atten\u00adti\u00adon to ones\u00adelf. STM<\/span>: Does not need to put ones\u00adelf in the lime\u00adlight or push forward.
\nWKM<\/span>: Fear of being pas\u00adsed over, of miss\u00ading out. You fight for love and accep\u00adtance (\u00abI\u2019ll show them what I can do\u00bb), you defend your posi\u00adti\u00adon in the com\u00adpa\u00adny or in the church. The\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle often live bey\u00adond their limits becau\u00adse they think they have to pro\u00adve it to ever\u00adyo\u00adne. STM<\/span>: Secu\u00adri\u00adty not to be over\u00adloo\u00adked or to miss some\u00adthing. Such peo\u00adp\u00adle can give away posi\u00adti\u00adons and are hap\u00adpy when others come to the fore.
\nWKM<\/span>: Things have to stay the way they\u2019\u00adve always been. Chan\u00adge can call into ques\u00adti\u00adon what one has work\u00aded for. That\u2019s why chan\u00adge pro\u00adces\u00adses often get out of hand and end up in can\u00adtan\u00adke\u00adrous\u00adness. In churches the\u00adre are argu\u00adments about tri\u00advia\u00adli\u00adties. Becau\u00adse I want to feel secu\u00adre, things have to stay the way they have always been. Peo\u00adp\u00adle with a son or daugh\u00adter ancho\u00adra\u00adge in the father\u2019s house live father\u00adhood, even if things don\u2019t go exact\u00adly as they think. They only want one thing: for new daugh\u00adters and sons to matu\u00adre out of their father\u00adhood. That is why they accom\u00adpa\u00adny chan\u00adge benevolently.
\nWKM<\/span> mani\u00adpu\u00adla\u00adtes and must con\u00adtrol. When you can no lon\u00adger con\u00adtrol, you throw in the towel and tell someone else to do it. STM<\/span> mul\u00adti\u00adpli\u00ades. She gui\u00addes others and noti\u00adces that her own task is changing.
\nERM<\/span> pro\u00addu\u00adces orphans. STM<\/span> pro\u00addu\u00adces sons and daughters.
\nWKM<\/span> puts peo\u00adp\u00adle in depen\u00adden\u00adcy rela\u00adti\u00adonships. STM<\/span> makes others successful.
\nWKM<\/span> holds on to peo\u00adp\u00adle. It can\u00adnot lose con\u00adtrol and can\u00adnot give up entit\u00adle\u00adments. She can also for\u00adgi\u00adve bad\u00adly becau\u00adse then she no lon\u00adger has the right to keep others in pri\u00adson. STM<\/span> can let go, even if it hurts. Becau\u00adse she can give up entit\u00adle\u00adments, she can forgive.
\nIt is dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to work with peo\u00adp\u00adle who live an orphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty (mar\u00adria\u00adge, work, church, neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood). In such situa\u00adtions I always try to rea\u00adli\u00adse that someone is not reac\u00adting against me, but from an expe\u00adri\u00adence that is not yet whole.
\nBit\u00adter or holy
\nIn Rembrandt\u2019s pain\u00adting of the Pro\u00addi\u00adgal Sons, the\u00adse facts stand out. The elder son has taken the cloak around him. He is not cove\u00adring or pro\u00adtec\u00adting anyo\u00adne else. His gaze is direc\u00adted down\u00adwards in a con\u00addem\u00adning man\u00adner towards the father and the other son and their emo\u00adtio\u00adnal gree\u00adting. He assu\u00admes a con\u00addem\u00adna\u00adto\u00adry or even judgmen\u00adtal atti\u00adtu\u00adde. In con\u00adtrast, the father puts his cloak over his son. With the mate\u00adr\u00adnal, deli\u00adca\u00adte hand he strokes the son\u2019s back and with the mas\u00adcu\u00adli\u00adne, stron\u00adger hand he grasps him by the should\u00aders and gives him security.
\nWith Hen\u00adri Nou\u00adwen I ask mys\u00adelf: \u00abCan the elder son in me come home? Can I be found as the youn\u00adger son was found? How can I turn back when I am lost in bit\u00adter\u00adness, ent\u00adan\u00adgled in envy, when obe\u00addience and duty, lived like an ens\u00adlavement, keep me impri\u00adso\u00adned? It is clear that alo\u00adne, out of mys\u00adelf, I can\u00adnot find mys\u00adelf. Still less, as the youn\u00adger son, can I heal myself.\u00bb
\nCan orphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty be cured? Of cour\u00adse, but not out of our\u00adsel\u00adves. The para\u00adble says: \u00abThe elder brot\u00adher was angry and would not go into the house. Then his father came out and spo\u00adke well to him\u00bb (Luke 15:28; NG\u00dc<\/span>). The father takes care of the older son just as proac\u00adtively as he did with the youn\u00adger. To each one as he needs. Then he says to him, \u00abChild, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours\u00bb (Luke 15:31; NG\u00dc<\/span>). The Greek word for child \u00abteknon\u00bb con\u00adta\u00adins a very loving form of address. The Father puts all his love and accep\u00adtance into this word.
\nThe\u00adre is powerful heal\u00ading in this address. God wants to lay his father and mother hand on you. You have robe, ring, san\u00addals! And then it is important to admit to yours\u00adelf whe\u00adre the inner anger, the bad mood, the self-doubt come from. You must not always bla\u00adme others and then just chan\u00adge jobs or churches.
\nThe orphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty can be hea\u00adled through trust and gra\u00adti\u00adtu\u00adde. On the heal\u00ading path, it is important to prac\u00adti\u00adse gre\u00adat gra\u00adti\u00adtu\u00adde for what is in life. We do not have to live out of lack, but out of gra\u00adti\u00adtu\u00adde. \u00abChild, you are always with me, and ever\u00ady\u00adthing that is mine is also yours.\u00bb We need to anchor this sen\u00adtence deep in our hearts. Our Father in hea\u00adven shares ever\u00ady\u00adthing with us. He gives us gifts. In order to brea\u00adthe this in deep\u00adly, we have to walk the path from the ser\u00advants in the field to the ban\u00adquet hall again and again. For some, it helps to do this sym\u00adbo\u00adli\u00adcal\u00adly, by ope\u00adning a door and wal\u00adking through it and let\u00adting the Father speak to you.
\nThe most cen\u00adtral thing is the work of the Holy Spi\u00adrit. It is the Holy Spi\u00adrit who leads us into all truth. We can only prac\u00adti\u00adse a life of trust and gra\u00adti\u00adtu\u00adde if we have the Spi\u00adrit of God. And then per\u00adhaps we also need pas\u00adto\u00adral care, a per\u00adson who repea\u00adted\u00adly speaks the\u00adse truths to us and helps us to remo\u00adve obs\u00adta\u00adcles. The\u00adre are too many Chris\u00adti\u00adans who do not (yet) live in a daugh\u00adter or son mentality.
\nIn Romans 11 Paul wri\u00adtes that the Jews are to be made jea\u00adlous by the faith of the Gen\u00adti\u00adles. Is your envi\u00adron\u00adment made jea\u00adlous by your life in the Father\u2019s house. Could the gos\u00adpel real\u00adly land with you? An orphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty repels. A son or daugh\u00adter men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty makes you jea\u00adlous. We want peo\u00adp\u00adle around us to be jea\u00adlous and say, \u00abI want that too!\u00bb
\n
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead the Bible text: Luke 15:25\u201331<\/p>\n
\n\tTry to empa\u00adthise with the older son. Whe\u00adre do you find ways of thin\u00adking or beha\u00adving that sound familiar?
\n\tDo you know such attach\u00adment dis\u00ador\u00adders to the hea\u00adven\u00adly Father? What could be the cau\u00adse of it?
\n\tIn which points of the descri\u00adbed \u00aborphan men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty\u00bb do you also need healing?
\n\tHow could we grow more into the son or daugh\u00adter men\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty and thus live a con\u00adta\u00adgious faith?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"