REASON FOR REJOICING
Tell me: what kind the things bring you joy? What makes you happy? (Did I hear someone say “beer/wine/bourbon”?) Do any of you enjoy dinner parties? If so, I wonder if you would enjoy the dinner party described in today’s gospel.
Pastor Barbara Brown Taylor described what a modern-day version of that party might look like. She writes: “It might include an abortion doctor, a child molester, an arms dealer, a garbage collector, a young man with AIDS, a Laotian chicken plucker, a teenage meth addict, and an unmarried woman on welfare with five children by three different fathers.”
That’s the kind of guest list implied in today’s gospel story. Of course, says Taylor, “don’t forget to put Jesus at the head of the table, asking the young man to hand him a roll, please, and offering the doctor a second cup of coffee before she goes back to work.”
“If that offends you even a little — then you are almost ready for what happens next. Because what happens next is that the local ministerial association comes in and sits down at a large table across from the sinners. The religious authorities all have good teeth — no dirt under their fingernails. When their food comes, they hold hands to pray. They are all perfectly nice people — but they can hardly eat their hamburger steaks for staring at the strange crowd (on the other side of the room).”
Taylor goes on: “The chicken plucker is still wearing her white hair net, and the garbage collector smells like spoiled meat. The addict cannot seem to find his mouth with his spoon. But none of those is the heartbreaker. The heartbreaker is Jesus — sitting there as if everything were just fine. Doesn’t he know what kind of message he is sending? Who is going to believe he speaks for God if he does not keep better company than that?” (1)
St. Luke tells us the “sinners” came to hear Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes were also there — although they had not come to learn from Jesus — but rather to find fault with him. They grumbled, “This man welcomes sinners — and eats with them.”
And with this mixed audience in mind — Jesus tells his parables about the lost sheep and the lost coin. Note that the lost sheep could not have found its own way back into the sheepfold. It was lost — helpless. The shepherd had to carry it home. And obviously, the lost coin could not find its way back into the woman’s purse. It, too, was helpless.
We often get frustrated with people who have deep-seated problems. “Why can’t they just help themselves?” we ask. “Why don’t they pull themselves up by their own bootstraps?” But when it comes to salvation — there is something we all need to understand: We cannot save ourselves! We can’t think our way to heaven — work our way to heaven — be good enough to get to heaven — or even have faith enough to get to heaven! If we could — then we wouldn’t need Jesus, would we?
Salvation is not something we can do for ourselves. It is a gift — something that has been done on our behalf by God through Jesus Christ. This issue is essential for St. Paul, as you can tell by today’s reading from 1st Timothy — where Paul confesses his own unworthiness — and emphasizes God’s grace. Paul saw the dangers of people believing they were among the spiritual elite — and had achieved this status by their own doing. It’s an attitude that breeds pride — and Jesus doesn’t need more prideful, self-righteous followers looking down on others. There are already enough of those to go around.
Like Mildred, the church gossip, who kept sticking her nose in the other members’ private lives. But she made a big mistake when she spread the word that a new member, George, was an alcoholic — a rumor she spread after she saw his pickup truck one afternoon parked in front of the town’s only bar.
George — a man of few words — didn’t explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing. But later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred’s house — and left it there all night!
Jesus doesn’t need any more people like Mildred — or like the Pharisees and scribes in today’s story. They were leaders in their community — blameless to a fault — but they let their love for religion get in the way of their love for people. They felt they were superior to the tax collectors and other “sinners” who came to hear Jesus. But there is no such thing as spiritual superiority in God’s kingdom. We are all sinners — people who are lost and in need someone to find them — people in need of grace.
By the way — did you notice the eagerness of the shepherd and the woman to find what was lost? The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it. When he does, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”
And the woman, who lost one of her ten silver coins, lights a lamp, sweeps the house and searches until she finds it. Then what does she do? She calls her friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.”
The parables leave some questions up in the air. Like — will the friends and neighbors of the shepherd rejoice with him? We don’t know. Will the friends and neighbors of the woman rejoice with her? We don’t know. But here is the relevant question for today: Would we rejoice with the shepherd or the woman over finding what was lost?
After each parable — Jesus says there is much rejoicing in heaven whenever one sinner repents — which indicates these parables are not so much about calling sinners to repent — as they are about calling the “righteous” to join in the celebration! After all, can a sheep or a coin “repent”? No! The point is — there is no length to which God will not go to rescue his lost children — even to giving his own son. And when one lost child is found — there is reason for much rejoicing in heaven!
Whether we join the celebration when the guests are like those offensive sinners who came to hear Jesus that night — reveals whether we think our relationship with God is based on merit — or mercy. Those who find God’s mercy offensive — who see God’s mercy as being delivered to a worthless group of offensive dinner guests — cannot celebrate with the angels when a sinner repents. And in their pride — they walk away from God’s grace.
In Bible times, the numbers “100” and “10” represented fullness — completeness. By contrast — 99 and 9 are incomplete. So, the shepherd’s flock with only 99 sheep was not complete — and the woman’s purse with only 9 coins was not full — until those that were lost were returned. The implication is that our church is incomplete without all those others out there for whom Christ has also died.
Whether or not we realize it — or want it — our churches are changing — because the world is changing. Over time, your church and mine will become more and more diverse — more economically varied — more brown than white — meaning we are more likely to be sitting in pews next to people who are not exactly like us. That is simply a fact of life being brought about by our changing world. It is neither good nor bad. It just “is.”
But there are church people who don’t like the presence of new folks if they are “too different” from themselves — if they talk differently, look differently, dress differently, self-identify differently. So rather than be joyful that new people have come to the church, those church people — like the Pharisees and scribes in today’s story — grumble about the riff-raff who show up at the dinner party hosted by Jesus — you know — that party we call Holy Communion.
Your congregation’s purpose is: “Created, saved and gifted by God, we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ.” I think it’s your way of saying you want to be more complete — more eager to reach out to and welcome saints and sinners alike — so they can meet Jesus. That’s why you do things like provide food for the hungry and adopt families at Christmas.
I know other congregations that try sharing the love of God through random acts of kindness — like providing oil changes for single moms — randomly raking leaves or shoveling snow where needed in their neighborhood — handing out free coffee and hot chocolate at a busy intersection — going door to door handing out free smoke detectors. Like you, they do such things to make inroads into the community — establish relationships with the riff raff — to seek the lost rather than wait for them to walk in the door.
You and I try sharing God’s love in these ways because we realize we are the sheep — we are the coin — we are the lost who have been found by Jesus! And we know that when we have a relationship with him — we have a new relationship with every other person on earth.
Jesus told today’s parables to a crowd that included righteous scribes and Pharisees — as well as sinners and tax collectors. He wanted all of them to see that we are all sinners — saved by grace. We dare not look down on anyone else — for each of us is precious to God — which makes us all brothers and sisters — whoever we may be.
Jacob was attending his first day in Junior High. All the homeroom teachers were introduced at the opening assembly. Ms. Wagner was introduced first. She was an “easy” teacher — so the kids cheered as she was introduced. Mr. Kelly was next and was also met with thundering approval. But Mr. Hall was known to be very strict. Kids jeered when his name was called — and the pain was evident on his face.
Jacob was a sensitive kid and he could not believe how the other students were treating Mr. Hall. So, all of a sudden, he jumped up and shouted, “Stop! That’s my father!” Instantly, the jeering stopped.
After school, Jacob went home and when he saw his real father, he began to cry. “Dad, I told a lie at school today.” Then Jacob told his dad about how he had said that Mr. Hall was his father — and how he had yelled at all the other kids to stop booing.
His dad said: “It’s all right, son. You just got the family members mixed up. Mr. Hall’s not your father. He’s your brother.” (3)
The Scribes and Pharisees refused to see sinners and tax collectors as their brothers or sisters. They were offended by the kind of people Jesus accepted — those they considered unworthy to welcome into the dinner party.
You might think we look like riffraff to God — but not so. When God looks at us — God sees something worthwhile — something worth giving his only Son for. And that is how we are to look at everyone for whom Christ died.
So, one more time — what gives you joy? How about a sinner repenting — or new members whoever they may be?
Whenever one who has been lost is found — whether it is you — me — or someone totally unlike us — that is reason for rejoicing! May God strengthen you — especially as you prepare to call a new pastor — in your efforts to welcome sinners as well as saints — that there would be much rejoicing here in this place — and in heaven!
1. Barbara Brown Taylor, “Table Manners,” article appearing in The Christian Century, March 11, 1998, page 257
2. Daily Grace: Devotional Reflections to Nourish Your Soul (Colorado Springs, Co: Cook Communications Ministries, 2005), p. 153.