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Get your own, Free HomepageSeptember 16, 2001
Luke 15:1-10
How very ironic that our reading this morning from the Gospel of Luke...the reading assigned to this Sunday in the lectionary cycle...the reading that we scheduled for today many months ago, when the concept of a direct attack on the United States was still a laughable notion - how ironic that these parables, these stories, of Jesus could ALSO be captioned, "IN SEARCH OF THE MISSING."
Jesus was talking to a crowd of people...people interested in hearing the new and radically different message he was sharing. Some Pharisees and scribes - the religious "know-it-alls" of the day - were "grumbling and saying, 'This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" Jesus heard 'em...he knew where their heads were at. They were watching and listening carefully...in order to judge and reject and condemn.
So, the Scripture says, Jesus told some stories. These two "parables" - which means stories that have a bottom-line point to make - are pretty well known in churchy circles. The first has been called the "The Parable of the Lost Sheep" and the second is "The Parable of the Lost Coin." Both of these stories have been used, traditionally, to tell people how important it is to get out there and "save sinners." That heaven rejoices when a "sinner repents," so all you religious know-it-alls start beating the bushes...and try not to bruise the sinners too much while you're at it!
Funny thing is (like lots of Scripture), if you pay attention to the context of the reading, that's not what it's about at all! Jesus told these stories not to make a point about "sinners" - the people he was guilty of eating with and talking with and accepting and loving. He told these stories for the benefit of the scribes and Pharisees. He was trying to teach them about the character of God...because they surely did not seem to understand God.
We still have some poor, confused Pharisees among us today who could use some education about the character of God. Many of you forwarded e-mails to me about some remarks made this week by Jerry Falwell. In sharing his views on what prompted the unspeakable acts committed on Tuesday, he seems to have quite a little list of folks to blame. He reportedly said, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians...the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them.... I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
Lorri L. Jean, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, issued a statement in response. She reportedly said, "The terrible tragedy that has befallen our nation, and indeed the entire global community, is the sad byproduct of fanaticism. It has its roots in the same fanaticism that enables people like Jerry Falwell to preach hate against those who do not think, live, or love in the exact same way he does. The tragedies that have occurred this week did not occur because someone made God mad, as Mr. Falwell asserts. They occurred because of hate, pure and simple."
It seems to me that Ms. Jean has a better understanding of the character of God than Mr. Falwell does. Think of what Jesus was trying to explain in those stories he told in front of the "know-it-alls." * God is compassionate and concerned for every person. * God is tenacious and audacious in doing whatever it takes to bring hope to people. * And God does not celebrate death...but celebrates life!
In those two stories we are told that God is actively in search of those who are missing or "lost." God has great compassion for those who have become separated, confused, embittered, wounded. That's why Jesus spent so much time with so-called "sinners" - they were spiritually wandering, and He desperately wanted to see each one of them brought into the knowledge of God's love for them and into the kind of abundant life God wanted for them - each one of them. God has compassion and concern for every person.
I think of all those rescue workers in New York. They were determined to keep searching for people as long as there was any hope at all...even though they themselves were at risk in the process. They understand that these are not just "numbers" who have been lost. They are individuals...with faces, names, loved ones and lives. They have compassion and concern for every one of them.
I also think of the many, many people of Arab descent or of the Islamic faith who are as sad and sickened by this week's events as we are. Each of them is also an individual...with a face, a name, loved ones and a life. As Rev. Troy Perry, the founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, said this week, "We must be reminded that...[the persons who perpetrated these acts] represent a minority view within the Muslim communities. The majority of Muslims around the world also long for peace and are praying for us...."
We have no way of knowing what lies ahead. We may well find ourselves at war very soon. We must continue to pray that it doesn't come to that. But, whatever happens, we need to remind ourselves constantly that God is not an American...or a Christian, for that matter. We must not become like the scribes and Pharisees...full of judgement and rejection and condemnation of others who may not look or talk or think or live exactly like we do. God has compassion and concern for every individual. And so should we.
Jesus taught that God, also, is tenacious and audacious in doing whatever it takes to bring hope to people. In other words, God is stubborn and bold when it comes to looking for anyone who, by choice or circumstance, has wandered or fallen away into the wilderness of the world or the dusty, dark corners of despair.
In those stories, the sheep herder risks the safety of the whole flock in order to find the one sheep who has gotten separated. The woman who lost a coin of great value - perhaps part of her dowry and possibly her only security in the event of widowhood - searches relentlessly in the dim light and dirt floors of her Palestinian home. There is no "giving up" or "holding back" on the part of God. This aspect of God's character is also something we should possess. We should be tenacious and audacious in our determination to bring hope to others.
Tenacity - that spiritual stubbornness - is something we are going to need more now than ever before. We all know that this week there has been a sadness, an ache, a weariness to the collective consciousness of this nation and much of the world. But I think of the words of St. Paul in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 4: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
We must have a tenacious faith...a stubborn faith...that does not give up even when things are in chaos, even when nothing makes sense, even when we feel helpless, even when evil seems to have the upper hand. It is the unique legacy of followers of Jesus Christ that we will have hope when hope seems lost, we will press on when others say quit, we will expect to find life even in the midst of death. That's what a tenacious faith is all about.
And...that's what an audacious faith is all about. Being bold in our efforts to bring hope and not holding back. I am so excited to share with you this morning that we, as a church, are going to do something that, a week ago, would have seemed like a very audacious thing to do; now it just seems like the right thing to do.
We all know that there are some things that money just can't buy. But, in this world, there are some things that only money can buy. And in the aftermath of the devastation in New York, particularly, money is one of the things that is going to be sorely needed to help those who have been injured and affected there. After a pretty short conversation this week, our Board of Directors has decided that when we receive our regular offering this morning, we are going to send that offering - in its entirety - to help bring hope to victims of this disaster.
Giving away the "regular" offering is, of course, just not something churches usually do. We haven't ever done that for any other cause...and we might never feel compelled to do that again. But this is no ordinary time in our country or in our lives. This nightmare calls for an audacious act of faith. And, frankly, I am absolutely unafraid to give away this week's entire income. In fact, I can't wait to see the blessings we will experience because of our faithfulness.
We also spent a lot of time this week trying to determine who should receive these funds. We looked at many worthwhile possibilities. We could support the Red Cross, the United Way or some other organization doing general relief work. They are all wonderful. Fortunately, right now there are many major corporations pledging funds to assist their work.
We also considered the fund for the families of the fallen firefighters and other emergency workers. Those people are genuine heroes, and I don't think anyone could argue with that choice. Of course, we know that firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel around the nation are going to band together to give them as much support as humanly possible. I have already seen firefighters collecting donations on the streets in St. Louis.
We also thought a lot about our vision in this church: "changed lives." How might we use our gift to change a life and to show God's compassion and concern for the individual? We found out that there is a longtime member and leader in the Metropolitan Community Church in New York City named Renee Barrett. Renee worked in the World Trade Center. She was at work on Tuesday when those planes crashed into the towers. Amazingly, she was rescued from the fallen building...but she is severely burned. Right now she is in critical condition at the Cornell Burn Unit. Renee is a single parent; she has a teenaged son. Their home, obviously, is in the extremely expensive city of New York. If Renee dies, her son will be left alone. If she lives, she faces a period of rehabilitation and recovery that we can't begin to imagine.
Our Board decided, unanimously, that our offering today will go to M.C.C. New York's special Renee Barrett fund - to bring hope, compassion, concern...and genuine, tangible assistance to one of Christ's sheep, to a coin of great value in God's eyes.
God perpetually goes in search of the missing. God does not send bad guys to wipe out several thousand people because we have somehow hacked God off! God does not celebrate death but celebrates life! We must understand that desiring, seeking, nurturing and cherishing life is an integral facet of the character of God.
The life of one person effects, in essence, the life of all people. Through a chain of connections that unites us as families and friends and acquaintances across this country, every one of us has been affected by the devastation of this past Tuesday. Consider the words of Martin Luther King: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
That's why we must absolutely commit ourselves to celebrating life! To seeking the good, to offering forgiveness, to lending a hand, to generosity and hopefulness, to acceptance and to peace. Attitudes that foster hate and vengefulness and despair are repugnant to the character of God. Let us be unceasingly in search of the missing joy and hope and life in our world.
From the 4th chapter of 1st Thessalonians: "Live in peace with each other. ...encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Amen.
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