The Rev. Scott Prouty enlists some help during Monday’s worship service
by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service
The Rev. Scott Prouty
STORM LAKE, Iowa — In the right hands — in this case, with the help of human props — the Rev. Scott Prouty, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, gave Synod School attendees some fresh material during worship on Monday on an oft-told biblical story, the Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother.
During his sermon, “God Loves You Immeasurably — Yes, You,” Prouty plucked out three worshipers to play the three central roles in the parable: the profligate son, his bitter brother and their loving father.
Prouty warned his hearers that since he’s on sabbatical this summer, “I’ve done a lot of reading — including Calvin’s Institutes — preparing for this sermon.”
“Jesus said over and over that heaven will celebrate when just one person repents,” Prouty said, inviting the three actors forward to help spur the celebration. He explained the text as the actors pantomimed it.
When the son asks for his portion of the father’s estate, “it was like you wished your father dead,” Prouty said. Still, the father handed over his wallet, and the son pretended to spend the money as he worked the crowd. Then a famine hit the land, and the fun screeched to a halt.
“This Jewish young man went to work feeding the pigs — an insult, but he does it,” Prouty said. “He wishes he could eat what the pigs are eating. He realizes his sin and knows he would rather be home working as a hired hand for his father.”
The father ran down the steps of Schaller Chapel to hug his son. “In the biblical age, it was a disgrace for a man that age to run,” Prouty noted. The son shows his father the empty wallet, and the father shrugs, then orders folks to prepare a big party for his long-lost son.
“Such a happy ending for these two,” Prouty noted. “However, the oldest son wasn’t told about the party. He heard the music and he found out secondhand what had happened. He was ticked. Even more ticked,” Prouty told the actor, who stomped his foot even harder. The father tells the stay-at-home son, “You will always have me, but this son returned for us.”
“When someone messes up, we become judgmental. We sometimes lack the forgiveness this parent was so willing to give,” Prouty said. “Let us show unconditional love and truly make the world a better place by showing God’s immeasurable love to everyone.”
“God loves you to pieces, and God is always there for you. Even when you stray, God is waiting like this loving parent for you to return,” he said. “Rejoice that we have a God who loves us immeasurably. Hallelujah!”
Deb DeMeester, Director of Leadership Development for the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, delivered a number of sight gags during her time with the children, eliciting giggles and corrections on the part of the youngest worshipers.
Deb DeMeester
DeMeester asked a child to read a recipe for making chocolate chip cookies. When she heard, “Add 1½ cups of flour,” DeMeester tossed both the flour and the measuring cup into the bowl. She did the same thing with a teaspoon of salt and two cubes of softened butter. When she dropped two intact eggs into the bowl from a height, the children tried to set her straight.
“I’m just following directions,” DeMeester said. “How did you know I was doing it wrong?”
“Because we’re smart,” one child said.
“You don’t put in the shells,” another advised DeMeester. “It’ll taste yucky.”
Growing serious for a moment, DeMeester said one of the reasons she wanted to try her hand at a time with children is that “it teaches us how important people are in our lives. They help us to understand the words. Someone had to teach me how to crack an egg, and then put the egg in the bowl. We learn from each other.”
DeMeester asked the children to repeat a prayer as she lined it out: “Dear God, we thank you for each other. Help us to learn from each other what it means to be a community, what it means to love kindness, what it means to pursue justice and what it means to be a person who loves God. Amen.”
Then DeMeester, with a little help from her friends, gave each child a wrapped chocolate chip cookie.
Synod School, put on each year by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, attracted about 540 participants this year to Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. Synod School runs through Friday.
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