Due to unforeseen technical problems, yesterday's service was not recorded. As a result, today's Monday Musing is a little longer than usual, it's a reprint of yesterday's sermon on the story from Luke, The Prodigal Son(s).

Sermon from March 27, 2022, Fourth Sunday of Lent

It’s been said that the only thing better than owning a boat is having a best friend who owns a boat.

The technical legal term is usufruct, from the Latin term usus et fructus—use and enjoyment. Your friend may own the boat, but if that’s your best friend, you may have all the use and enjoyment of sailing without all the hassle and expense.

Over and over again through the decades, I have read and reread the story of the prodigal son, that rogue who squandered his inheritance on loose living. Unique to the Gospel of Luke, the story begins with a common trope: There once was a man with two sons.

Immediately we know this will be a story of compare and contrast