Topics – Forgiveness, Repentance, Salvation
In the story of the Prodigal Son, the son leaves home and experiences intensely that something is missing. Eventually he comes to his senses and goes home to his father. Greg connected this desire that the son felt to the German word sehnsucht which is a powerful form of longing that we all feel at times in our lives.
Focus Scripture – Luke 15:14-18HIDESHOW
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.
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.
Extended SummaryHIDESHOW
In the story of the Prodigal Son, the son leaves his father, takes his inheritance, squanders it all and finds himself empty and in exile. He experiences intensely that something is missing. Eventually he comes to his senses and goes home to his father. Greg connected this desire/longing for something that the son felt to the German word sehnsucht which is a powerful form of longing that we all feel at times in our lives. In fact, we are all like the Prodigal Son in that we are separated from God. We get glimpses of something just beyond our reach that draws us—something transcendent and beyond our understanding. Each of us has this evoked in us in different ways. Greg presented some art and music that evokes sehnsucht for him. In moments when sehnsucht is experienced we long for something that nature itself does not supply. We long for God. Greg’s challenge to us was that we need to come to our senses—wake up—and make our back home. God’s call comes to each of us in different ways, but “home” is the same for us all. These sehnsucht moments point toward God’s grace in Jesus Christ. We sense intensely that something is missing… that missing thing is our need for God’s grace and presence in our lives. God comes to us through Jesus Christ. The separation we feel from God is bridged for us in the resurrection. The sehnsucht moments are God’s way of drawing us home. Death, frustration, emptiness, insignificance, sin, sickness, pain, etc. do not have the last word. God has the last word and that word is Life, Joy, Love, Peace, Salvation. Our part is to confess our sin and repent. God’s promise is that if we do this, God will forgive us our sin and cleanse us.
Practical Applications (homework)HIDESHOW
Sehnsucht is a German word that is difficult to translate into English, but has to do with an intense longing for something unidentifiable and just beyond our reach. In our most introspective moments, we all realize that our current existence is missing something meaningful and eternal. On Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the sacrifice he made for us on the cross. We also celebrate the fact that our sehnsucht can been fulfilled in Christ’s Kingdom. This week, spend some time talking with someone you trust about one of these assignments:
- Is your life oriented toward God’s Kingdom? If not, why not? Living for Christ is the only true way to relieve your sehnsucht! If you don’t normally do so, consider attending church or downloading sermons for a couple weeks after Easter. Then find a Christian and talk with them about your reservations to orienting your life toward Christ. (If you have a hard time finding someone to talk with, you may consider striking up a conversation on The Bridge, our community web site: bridge.whchurch.org.)
- How do you normally try to relieve your sehnsucht? Whether or not you have submitted your life to Christ, are there patterns that you find yourself following to try and get significance from things in this world? Your job? Money? Volunteering? Your family? None of these things are bad, but consider how much of your self-worth is based on them instead of on Christ. Talk with someone you trust about how you might re-orient your life more on Jesus and less on things of this world.
Reflection QuestionsHIDESHOW
- What stood out to you most from this message and the supporting text?
- Have you ever had a moment in your life that seemed like a sehnsucht moment? If you feel comfortable sharing about that, please do.
- How is our reality like that of the Prodigal Son?
- How would you use the story of the Prodigal Son and/or the idea of sehnsucht to share what you believe about God and Christ with someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus?