Forty-years later…in an essay in The Boston Globe…Kim Costigan recently wrote of the days she spent with her friend Kathy and her family.
I felt lucky…part of something special.
There was a type of freedom and little worry about teenage mischief.
The daily presence of parents and dinner on the table.
It gave me a feeling that this was a safe place where no one would be judged.
Kathy’s parents let their kids be themselves and make mistakes.
They loved them unconditionally.
I was drawn to this family…which felt like the opposite of mine.
The friends of Kathy’s siblings would peel off as dinnertime approached.
But I would stay.
Kathy’s mom and dad and whichever kids were not away at their jobs would sit at the table.
And we would eat as a family.
I had not had that feeling of warmth around a dinner table before.
And it nourished me just as much as the food they served.
Kathy’s family had always taken in stray dogs and cats…
And my favorite was a yellow Labrador mix with a missing leg.
He ran right alongside his four-legged counterparts with no problem.
And was loved and cared for just like the rest of the dogs and cats that lived there.
It was not until many years later…as an adult…
That I realized I was another one of the strays who was lost…
And then was found…
Finding my way to this refuge.
The Lord be with you.
I thought of Kim and her friend Kathy…
When I read this passage in Luke’s Gospel about the lost sheep and the lost coin.
These two parables define Christ’s mission in the world.
Jesus came to save that which is lost.
That is the heart of the Gospel.
Earlier in Luke’s Gospel Jesus sees a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.
“Follow me” Jesus said to him and Levi got up…
Left everything and followed him.
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house…
And a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained to Jesus’ disciples about Jesus’ conduct.
They asked: “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered them:
It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.
I have not come to call the righteous…but sinners to repentance.
We are Jesus’ target audience…
Because we have all at one time or another gone astray.
St. Paul writes in his letter to Timothy:
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
This is good news because we are all sinners.
At heart we have a flaw…a weakness.
At heart we are all broken.
St. Paul described his own situation:
I do not understand my own actions… he wrote.
For I do not do what I want but I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:15).
He is describing us.
The Bible is very realistic about the nature of humanity:
Abraham was the father of the Hebrew nation but he was far from perfect.
Read the story and you will find him willing to give his wife to Pharaoh to save his own skin.
Jacob found favor with God and his name was changed to Israel.
That’s good because his earlier name meant conniver …
And he lived up to it or down to it.
David was a man after God’s own heart and yet David was an adulterous murderer…
Psalm 51: Create in me a clean heart.
Peter was Jesus’ closest disciple and most outspoken friend…
Yet Peter denied him with a curse.
Even St. Paul…as he writes words of encouragement to Timothy…
And gives God thanks for finding him worthy to serve God…
Confesses to Timothy that he himself is the chief of sinners.
You and I…like all the above…are flawed creatures.
We are so adept at justifying our basic nature that we may not be aware of it.
The devil is an insidious creature.
We are flawed…the Bible calls it sin.
I was once asked who gave me the most trouble in my congregation.
I answered: “I’ve had more trouble with Pastor Chip than any other person alive.”
Someone once said:
There is so much good in the worst of us…
And so much bad in the best of us…
That it hardly becomes any of us to talk about the rest of us.
Mildred…she was the self-appointed church gossip.
She spread the word that George…a new member…
Was an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the town’s only bar one afternoon.
George…a man of few words…didn’t explain…defend…or deny…
He said nothing.
Later that evening…George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred’s house . . . and left it there all night!
Kathy and her family make a place for Kim at an especially traumatic time in her life.
Their love as a family makes them a place of refuge for all who come to their table.
Today’s Gospel of the lost challenges us to make places of refuge for those going through difficult times.
To seek out the struggling and marginalized and help find their place in community.
There are many lost sheep…lost coins…lost brothers and sisters among us.
People who go unnoticed and unloved…who don’t seem to fit.
Whose talents and gifts have no outlet.
Christ asks us to seek out the lost.
To see that they have their rightful place at our tables.
In our churches.
In our communities.
Listen again to how Jesus ends each of these parables:
Rejoice with me…I have found my lost sheep…
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
And again: Rejoice with me…I have found my lost coin. In the same way…I tell you…there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
The Gospel of Luke portrays him as a magnetic presence.
Large groups of people were drawn to his teaching.
No doubt some scratched their heads when they heard one of his parables…and then laughed out loud when they got the point.
People with physical and emotional needs leaned forward to experience his healing touch.
When their lives were changed…they told others about it.
The word spread quickly.
He drew people from every station and strata of life.
No wonder…then…that Luke tells us that crowds traveled with Jesus.
They stuck to him…where he went…they went.
The mass of people was enormous.
Perhaps some clung to him because of the parables Jesus told…like the one we read last week.
He had been invited for dinner.
At the table…the Lord declared that next time the host should expand the guest list.
A meal should never be limited to those who might return the invitation.
Therefore…invite those who could never return the favor.
The host should invite everyone without bounds.
The crowds had been sticking to Jesus like Velcro.
All were welcome to follow him.
All were free to go wherever Jesus went.
But that did not mean everybody who was attracted to Jesus would finish the journey with him.
So…in today’s gospel reading Jesus says some things that would likely thin the crowd. The Lord be with you.
The first thing he said is drastic.
Want to follow me? Hate your parents…your spouse and children…your extended relations…even your own life.
That’s harsh. It is one of the fiercest sayings he ever uttered.
If we didn’t know better…we would think this was a reply to fuel family tension.
A teenager may explode when given a clear curfew.
A future bride may despise her father if he rejects her choice of a husband.
Pain begets pain…words screamed become scars.
Loved ones are despised.
Should not the followers of Jesus be concerned about peace in their own families?
Scholars tell us this is a particular form of speech commonly used in Semitic cultures.
It is either-or language…just like when Jesus said we cannot worship God and wealth.
No slave can serve two masters…for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other.
Here…the distinction was between God or family.
We cannot give both ultimate honor.
For followers of Jesus…to hate their families meant giving the family second place in their affections.
God’s Kingdom comes first.
If we surveyed a large auditorium of Christians today…some would be struggling with Kingdom-family choices.
Some may hear Christ calling them to stand up for a cause that their own brothers and sisters resist.
Others may feel a tug to make a life change that family members will not understand.
When a person senses God’s call to pursue a new direction or a deeper expression of faith…
Those most resistant to that call may be sitting around the same dinner table.
As the preacher Fred Craddock often quipped:
The Holy Spirit rarely calls someone in a voice loud enough for the whole family to hear.
The point is this: The call of Christ comes before everything else.
Whether we choose to follow him…or he chooses us…discipleship is a matter of increasing clarity.
When we follow Jesus first…his invitation precedes our own willful wishes.
His values come before our own. Everybody and everything else must line up after him.
Jesus reminded his hearers that this clarity comes with a cost.
At various points…the discipleship road is steep.
They might be blessed for a season to find the path level…even refreshing.
Yet discipleship always demands something from them…and from us.
By putting Christ first…we choose to put other matters aside.
These days…a few excited converts may make a show of this…declaring how much they have sacrificed for their faith and obedience.
The fervent student deletes the hardcore rock-and-roll from his Apple Music play list.
Announcing how sanctified he has become.
The modest office worker convinces herself that a lack of social life is a spiritual discipline.
There may be little transformation in these souls.
At most they might experience a slight recalibration of the spirit.
Far more stirring are the quiet sacrifices that some make in leading lives of faithfulness.
There is the divorced engineer who passes up lucrative opportunities for relocation because she values the stability she provides for her children by staying in their small town.
Or there is a dentist who takes two weeks of unpaid personal time to fix smiles in an underserved city.
A retired teacher tells her pastor that she will not be in worship most
Sundays because the nearby soup kitchen cannot find anybody else to prepare meals on that morning.
That’s where God wants me to be…she says…adding…I meet Jesus in the breadline every week.
This is where discipleship hits the road:
In acts of service that benefit other people.
Each act requires a calculation of energy and effort.
Helping others in the name of Christ is never a quick fix.
It takes discipline and perseverance.
Not only do we discern the work…we see it through.
If we volunteer to work with teenagers…they count on us to keep showing up.
If we dedicate our time each week to sit with a lonely friend…it does no good to allow interruptions in that schedule…there is a cost.
When clarity is gained and the cost calculated…we discover one of the secrets of the Christian life.
There is a surprising liberation that comes as we follow Christ by offering our lives to others.
We can travel lightly…not needing luxuries.
God sets us free from our more selfish desires.
Joy…that is the secret.
Not happiness…nor freedom from struggle…but the sense that our lives have aligned with the purposes of God.
In giving ourselves away for the sake of God’s kingdom…we gain a clearer sense of who we are.
We see what God is doing and how we can be a part of it.
This is the true significance of being Jesus’ disciple.
In the best and deepest sense…we lose ourselves and gain the Savior.
The crowds will not always understand the call of discipleship…nor will they follow through to the end.
Jesus knew this…and he invites all to live the life of God’s dominion…
Yet the crowd often thins out as its members perceive what that life requires.
But we know what it will take…for his voice is uniquely calling us.
With increasing clarity…a counting of the cost and a deepening commitment…
Each of us is invited to respond to Jesus’ self-giving love by offering ourselves to him and his purposes.
We come to Christ with nothing in our hands.
Why? Because it is easier to embrace him when we are no longer clinging to anything else.
Seating charts are the Rubik’s Cube of event planning.
Few tasks are more comically daunting…or more fraught with peril…
Then deciding who sits next to whom at a wedding reception…
It’s a delicate dance of diplomacy…requiring the wisdom of Solomon…the creativity of Picasso and…the conflict-resolution skills of a hostage negotiator.
A wedding seating chart is not just about logistics…
It’s a test of imagination…because if done right…
It is not just about keeping the peace but creating a magical mingling of personalities where everyone…
At least for one night…feels as though they are in the best seat in the house. The Lord be with you.
It’s a seating situation that gives Jesus an opportunity to direct our attention to two groups of actors in our drama this morning:
The guests and the hosts.
The text says that Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath.
So…let’s start with the guests.
Ordinarily…absent restraints like queue belt barriers at TSA security lines…
The average person is going to jockey for or pay for the best affordable seat on the Airbus 320…or in the opera house…or sports arena.
In fact…it is this very human tendency that has been the driving force behind most efforts to prevent damage when chaos may ensue.
Southwest Airlines had a longstanding policy of allowing passengers to pick their seats once they have boarded.
But not anymore.
In our passage…Jesus observes how guests choose places of honor for themselves.
He quickly sees that the host and guests have it all wrong.
Instead of clamoring for the best seats…Jesus advises choosing the lowliest…least desirable seating.
Like the one in which a large fern obscures your view of the speaker’s dais…
Leaving the hosts to move you to the front if they see fit.
He ends with the principle:
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled…and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Humility goes a long way…does it not?
There is something about humility that makes us look good.
I believe it is because…like disciples…humble people are coachable.
They seem intuitively to recognize that they do not have all the answers…and are open to learning from others.
Humility is kind of a hedge against catastrophic errors of judgment.
This is what the French philosopher Montaigne (Mann-tayn) was getting at when he said:
I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly.
Humility never claims to have all the answers.
And this is refreshing when we see it in others…especially in sports icons or those who are well known.
Why is humility so attractive when we see it in others?
Well…I think we all like humble people because they are often authentic and have an aura of wisdom and a commitment to others.
It is a virtue that balances confidence with kindness…ambition with service…and success with self-awareness.
Humility is about lifting up and valuing others more than ourselves.
And this is rare because we live in a world often dominated by self-promotion.
So… it is kind of awesome when we spot someone who is other-centric…
And therefore someone who inspires us to be a better version of ourselves.
On the other hand…the perks of pride are short-lived.
Pride overestimates its importance.
It whispers: You deserve the best seat.
S. Lewis called pride the complete anti-God state of mind…
Because it focuses entirely on self…ignoring God and others.
And so…here…Jesus points to the perils of pride or pride’s peril.
Do you really want to dash for the best seat in the house…plant your flag…
Only to have security arrive and not-so-gently suggest you take a seat in the balcony?
And so…for Jesus…there was no better example of this than the ego-stuffed…pompous and self-righteous Pharisees…
Who seemed to be just begging to have someone poke a pin in their pride.
Jesus had little patience for super-pious religious types who looked as good on the outside as they were awful on the inside.
This is what pride and arrogance do:
They camouflage how empty and superficial the subject actually is.
One more issue remains here…because Jesus surprises us by offering an incentive: a future reversal of fortunes.
If you humble yourselves now…do not worry.
Someday you will be exalted.
Why do we and should we defer to others?
Because it is in our best interests to do so?
If so…this is a problem.
Do you see where this is headed?
It just seems a little crass to do something good because we shall someday be repaid in kind…
Or because humbly offering the best seat to someone else makes us feel good.
But…here’s the thing…it is what goes unnoticed.
Jesus’ advice about seeking a humble seat at the table is not really about the reward…
But rather about the One doing the rewarding!
It is God who will lift up the humble.
It is God who will exalt the righteous.
It is God who will grant us our reward in this life and the next.
This makes a huge difference.
So…we should not get overly concerned about whether the gentle reminder to humble ourselves is really a back door…
Side door…or garage door way of suggesting that altruism is the best way to draw attention to ourselves.
It is not.
In this world…the chances that we are going to get upgraded to First Class just because we have a nice smile and a modest demeanor are slim to none.
We will still have the middle seat between a chatty Patty on our right…who can talk our ears off…
And on our left…a plus-sized…350-pound offensive linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Finally…a quick word about the host’s concern about the guest list.
Jesus reprimands his host about a banquet for family or friends…
Jesus says…instead invite the poor…the crippled…the lame…and the blind.
Here…Jesus reminds us about the restorative and radical nature of our mission…
But also calls for a hopeful image when the people of all nations…tribes and languages will sit down at the feast prepared for them before the foundation of the world…
A feast at which we…too…will be present.
The late Pope Francis said:
The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need…those who have nothing apart from their poverty.
A Church which goes forth is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down…to put aside our eagerness to see and listen to others…to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way.
At times we must be like the father of the prodigal son…who always keeps his door open so that when the son returns…he can readily pass through it.
In God’s kingdom…the best seat on the seating chart is not earned by self-promotion…
But by a heart of humility and a meek-shall-inherit-the-earth (Jimmy Carter like) desire for peace.
Jesus himself is our template.
He not only taught us about humility…he lived it.
Philippians reminds us that although Jesus was equal with God…
He took the form of a servant…humbling himself to the point of death on a cross.
So…before we scramble to get the best seat…to get to the head of the line…to grab the pole position…
We might remember his promise:
You will be blessed because they cannot repay you…for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Remember the Blue Laws? Some fifty or more years ago in the United States?
No matter where you went on Sundays…most everything was closed.
The doors of sanctuaries were open and it was expected everyone who was anyone had their entire family with them in a pew.
Laws throughout the United States banned such things on Sundays as open restaurants…
Open department stores…open car lots…and open liquor stores.
You did not even hear the whistle of freight trains…on Sundays…because it was illegal to haul goods on the Sabbath. The Lord be with you.
To this day…a county in New Jersey still bans the sale of clothing…shoes…furniture…home supplies…and appliances on Sundays.
And if you want to enjoy some wine over Sunday dinner or a beer for the afternoon ballgame…you better be sure to stock up before Sunday.
Ironically…the fourth of the infamous Ten Commandments begins not with shall not but with:
Remember the Sabbath day…and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)
Remember the Sabbath day?
Way back in Genesis 1 and 2…the Great Creator went about all the work of making this amazing world.
Separating light and darkness…crafting an environment in which creation could thrive…
Waters above…waters below…with dry land in there too.
Fruit trees and pine trees and…there were figs and pomegranates and grapes galore.
The stars twinkled in the brilliant night sky and the moon waxed and waned to keep track of all the seasons.
Fish and cattle and creeping things of every kind came into being until earth was mixed with the divine breath to concoct such a creature as had never been before:
Humankind came into this world!
And then…at last…not because we wore God out in our making…
Though the news each day might cause us to wonder…then…the Great Creator Stopped…It Was Finished.
The Great Creator Paused In Delight Declaring: Ah! Very Good! Very…Very Good Indeed!
Remember The Sabbath Day And Keep It Holy…Because God Wants Everyone Of Us To Stop Too.
To Pause…If Just From One Sundown To Sundown…To Declare In Delight:
Ah! Very Good! It All Is Very…Very Good Indeed!
Set Apart In This Way…We Too Make The Rest
That was the purpose of Sabbath…until the Exodus when Sabbath took on another meaning as well.
Observant Jewish brothers and sisters welcome Sabbath in their homes each week with the lighting of two candles when at least three stars can be seen in the sky.
One is the candle of creation…the pause for creatures to delight. To rest.
The other is the candle of freedom…once we were enslaved by the ways of the Pharaoh.
Here’s the thing: once a week for a whole 24 hours…we are free!
We are invited to put down heavy burdens to take a walk in the park with someone we love who loves us back just as well.
We can take a nap no matter what the piles of dirty dishes or chores are calling out to us to do.
Lay in a hammock or rock out on the front porch if only for 20 minutes just to listen and observe.
Rest from the pecking order of this world at least for one whole night and one whole day.
Do it on a Saturday…as was first the plan…
So…that the next day we can gather with others in the faith.
This is what has Jesus all incensed in the story before us in the gospel of Luke.
At a glance it might appear all is well…but the Sabbath command is violated.
Not by the one accused of doing the healing.
Rather…this synagogue leader failed to see the burden on the shoulders of a woman bound by her body for eighteen long years.
They would untie their ox or donkey every Sabbath that the animals might get what they needed…even on the day of rest and freedom.
But the synagogue leader would not have it that a child of the covenant might get a bit better treatment than beasts of burden on the day to live God’s freedom and rest!
This woman did not seek out Jesus.
The text says nothing of her coming to the synagogue expecting any sort of healing that day.
The author says that the woman was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
So that even if she wanted to seek out Jesus…she would only be able to see feet.
This woman goes to the synagogue with no indication she is expecting any sort of release…
Though the leader hisses in his criticism that she was in the wrong for seeking healing on the Sabbath.
The story never questions her motives or throws any sort of blame her way.
Jesus has stopped to rest and remember…to delight in the goodness of it all that day.
And while Jesus is observing this day of Sabbath in the synagogue…he saw someone who needed to be set free.
Jesus saw a whole synagogue full of faithful Sabbath-keepers who needed to be free.
Set free from law over grace.
Set free from rules trumping compassion.
Set free from mental…emotional…and spiritual ailments that weighed heavily upon them.
None of it is ok with this faithful Sabbath-keeper.
And so…with one word…like the Great Creator at the beginning of it all…
Jesus releases the chains upon this woman’s back.
He lays his hand upon her and in an instant…she is set free.
With a full body alleluia…she stands upright…for the first time in eighteen years…to praise God!
True Sabbath…true freedom…true joy-filled rest as a beloved child of God!
Sabbath is about entering the beautiful palace in time each week to sit a spell.
Not to do anything holy…but just to be.
Just to rest and remember that we are free.
Free from it all because the Great Creator hears us and loves us and commands us just to stop….
As parents of four children who in one breath dearly loved each other and…in the next…dearly loved to pester and rack on each other…
Susan and I cannot say we were thrilled when we read the Gospel text for today…much less that I was to preach on it.
This text mocked me all week long.
Like remembering way back in time…when…one morning…all before breakfast…we found ourselves refereeing spats between the kids.
Or when Susan and I bickered about something one evening so important that now…I cannot remember what it was about…the Lord be with you.
I kept thinking…Really…Jesus?
You’ve come to bring division to families? That’s your good news for our fractured and divided world?
Well…if that’s the message of Christ…why bother?
We have managed to come up with enough division on our own…thank you very much.
In fact…we are quite good at it.
For example…this week…many students returned to school…
Where they will be subjected to division upon division upon division.
They will be judged on what clothes they wear to school…how their hair looks…what they say…how they walk…whether they are too smart…or not smart enough…attractive enough or not…athletic enough or not.
Even as adults…we are constantly dividing ourselves into groups…the insiders and the outsiders…the good guys and the bad guys…Republicans and Democrats…Lutherans and everybody else.
So…we are supposed to wring good news…somehow…out of Jesus’ proclamation that he comes to bring division to families?
Even Jesus didn’t seem to have a stellar relationship with his family.
If you pay close attention to the synoptic Gospels (Matthew…Mark and Luke) …Jesus’ relationship to his mother and brothers borders on the dysfunctional!
They think he’s gone crazy and they are worried for his safety…
To say nothing of the shame he’s likely bringing on their family.
At one point…his mother and brothers show up at one his jam-packed teachings…Jesus disowns them in public.
He says: That’s not my mom…and those aren’t my brothers. My family are those here gathered with me and those who are journeying with me on this path toward Jerusalem and the cross!
He rejects his own family in front of a multitude and then goes on to accept into his new family…
Prostitutes…tax collectors and outcasts…that cause division within polite society.
He tells would-be followers not to bother burying their parents…
An outrageous and insulting suggestion to the people of the time.
He proclaims that anyone who leaves a family for him is blessed by God.
Jesus seems to have an unusual perspective on family values.
This is good news?
Well…in a way…yes.
Because Jesus is not teaching about family values as we understand them as modern Americans.
Rather…Jesus is saying something about identity and who we understand ourselves to be.
It can be confusing for us who pride ourselves on individualism and uniqueness.
But for people in Jesus’ time…identity was not something they spent a lot of time thinking about.
Instead…identity was formed by one’s family and relatives.
The son of a carpenter grew up to become a carpenter.
The son of a field laborer grew up and became a field laborer.
And if you were a daughter…well…you fared even worse.
As a woman…you were a second-class citizen…part of the family’s property.
You married who your family told you to marry.
So…your primary identity revolved around whose child you were.
That is why…when people heard Jesus’ teaching and witnessed his miracles…
They were shocked and said: Wait…isn’t that Joseph’s boy from Nazareth?
In their eyes…carpenter’s sons were not saviors…they were carpenters.
Family identity was so important that even sin could be inherited.
And that is why we sometimes hear the crowds in the gospels asking Jesus who in a family had sinned…
To cause a man to be blind…lame…deaf…or mute.
The assumption was that God was so vengeful…
God would punish a person for the sins of an ancestor just to prove a point.
But Jesus pushes back against all this.
For Jesus…our identity begins not with our earthly family but our divine family.
That is…our biological families…are often riddled with sibling rivalries…unworthiness…abuse…neglect…
And sometimes just not being loved for who we are.
But here’s the thing…in the household of God…we are beloved…above all and without exception.
That is our identity: We are fully loved by God…even as we are fully known by God.
It is what we proclaim at baptism…that God sees us as children of God…and that we are marked as Christ’s own forever.
And nothing can ever break that bond…we are Christ’s forever…loved eternally.
God no longer calls us strangers…no longer calls us slaves…but calls us sons and daughters.
The love of God dares to believe that love transforms more profoundly than punishment…
It dares to believe that love never ends…and that the greatest of these…is love.
Now…our temptation…though…is to think of love in terms of holding hands around a campfire…and feeling warm fuzzy feelings.
But this love…our gospel tells us today…is more likely to bring us stress and division rather than peace and harmony.
And this is Good News…because God’s love is inclusive enough and wide enough…
To upset those who want to limit love to a chosen few.
That is…God’s love tests our own safety and security.
It forces us to confront who we are…that we are by nature sinful and unclean.
God’s love shows us a way forward into a right relationship with all of God’s beloved children.
It asks us to see our worth…not in what we have…but in what we give away.
Neither death…nor life…nor angels…nor rulers…nor things present…nor things to come…nor powers…nor height…nor depth…nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Proclaim to the world that there is a nonnegotiable consequence for our sin.
But…in God’s eternal love…that consequence is not death…is not damnation…is not unquenchable fires.
The consequence of our sins is forgiveness.
It seems so irresponsible…so dangerous.
But then love always is dangerous.
And if we…like Jesus…proclaim this message…
Then we should not be surprised when our friends and our families show up…
Divided and embarrassed by it all…wondering whether maybe we have gone a little crazy.
Will it cause division to stand with those our dominant society deems unworthy:
The marginalized…the poor…the oppressed?
Will it cause division to stand against injustice…racism…and classism?
Will it cause division to go out into the world and proclaim this unconditional and unbounded love of God for all?
Most certainly.
So…thanks be to God that the love of God causes division.
Thanks be to God that the love of God is so great it will make us uncomfortable.
Thanks be to God that the love of God is big enough not just to handle division but to spark it.
One thing is certain: Farming is hard work…and you never seem to get ahead.
Even the most successful farmers are only land rich and equipment rich.
Cash flow is always a problem.
There is always work to do year-round…
But during planting and harvest time you miss out on your kids’ games over at the boys and girls club.
You become a stranger to your family during that time of the year.
And so many things are out of your control…the weather…crop diseases… prices.
When you have a great harvest…the price you are paid may drop.
The years your crops are worth more it’s because the yields are down.
Maybe way down.
And if the harvester chews up a raccoon after you’ve broken your personal rule against working on the Sabbath…
Because you were already so far behind…recovery may require weeks of repairs and cleanup.
The Lord be with you…
Consider all that as background for today’s parable.
A farmer finally gets an abundant crop…and Jesus calls him a fool.
What’s more…the parable does not seem to fit with something the apostle Paul said:
The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly…and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Despite all the risks…hurdles…and hard work…what a great problem it is that this farmer faces!
What should I do…for I have no place to store my crops? He wonders.
And then he decides: I will do this…I will pull down my barns and build larger ones…and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
The farmer is finally ahead of the game: And I will say to my soul…soul…you have ample goods laid up for many years…relax…eat…drink…be merry.
Now…isn’t this exactly what scripture says we should do?
The author of Ecclesiastes states: So I commend enjoyment…for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat and drink and enjoy themselves…for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun.
And we know the fable…The ant works hard all summer long…
While the grasshopper plays on his fiddle.
And then winter comes…and the ant enjoys the fruit of his hard labor while the grasshopper starves.
Instead of praising the farmer…God says: You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you.
What are we missing here?
OK then…to truly understand this parable…we must look at the incident that frames it.
After Jesus warns the people about hypocrisy…the coming persecution and the need to put our trust in God…this guy walks up and says:
Teacher…tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.
Bob Dylan once said: Money doesn’t talk. It swears.
Somebody had just died…probably the father.
Is inheritance all the death means to this man who approached Jesus…a payday?
What Jesus says in response to this request is: Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
And the real lesson might be rephrased as: It’s not always about me!
So…let’s look at this parable again.
The rich man in this parable is not the superstar of the story.
We have all heard rags to riches stories…people whose hard work is rewarded by safety and security.
And should not someone reap the rewards of their hard work?
The rich in Jesus’ day…however…were part of a monied class that was often built on the backbreaking work of others…including slaves and day laborers.
The supposed superstar of this parable was not a farmer as we first envisioned him.
He would have been living on the work of others.
So…when there was a magnificent harvest…
He did not reward his slaves or the day laborers who were brought in during planting and harvest.
He did not share with them justly earned rewards.
He stored it up for himself.
And then there is this: After picturing himself building larger barns he says:
And I will say to my soul…Soul…you have ample goods laid up for many years.
The word translated soul is psyche…
The Greek word for who you truly are at the core of your being.
It is who you truly are…your character.
The Hebrew word Jesus may have been thinking of is nefesh…
Literally breath…but also thought of as
How we define ourselves.
This rich man did not see himself as part of an economic family.
He was not thinking about the well-being of everyone who has participated in his livelihood.
It sounds like he was thinking only of himself…
Just like the guy in the parable was thinking not of the well-being of his family…
Or of the grief they share on the death of a loved one…
But…Where is my share? Now!
So…how does this parable hit home for us?
It’s like the guy who demanded Jesus help him collect his share of the inheritance.
We ignore all that Jesus said about caring about the welfare of others.
We ignore the Sermon on the Mount.
We ignore how the parables may be sending us a warning.
We ignore everything that Jesus says that makes us uncomfortable.
The Cross and the Resurrection are okay…because they are my guarantee that I will gain eternal life.
And on other occasions when it seems to benefit me…
I will recite a verse or two that benefits me or puts others down.
But then when we hear a parable like this one today…
We are reminded that we are all in this together…
For the spiritual and physical benefit of all.
I hope the words of Jesus hit home…
And that the guy went back to his family and shared in their grief…
And that the family began to bless each other as they walked through their sorrow together.
I hope getting a share of the inheritance mattered less and less…
And that a stronger future was built for the children and grandchildren.
This is a good time to think of what we ought to have done…
And still might do…to benefit our shared well-being…in this life…
Not only for our immediate circle…
But throughout our nation…and throughout our world.
but we neglect our neighbors and follow our own way.
You lead us by the Spirit of joy and peace,but we turn away from the abundant life you offer.
You surround us with patience, kindness,and generosity,but we grow weary in doing what is right.
In your mercy, forgive us.
Do not give up on us.
Heal us, break our bonds,and show us the path of life.
Amen.
You belong to Christ Jesus
and you are God’s children through faith.
In the cross of ☩ Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, your sins are forgiven.
Clothed with Christ, you are a new creation.
Amen.
Gathering Hymn: You Are Holy – ELW 525
Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and you gladly give more than we either desire or deserve. Pour upon us your abundant mercy. Forgive us those things that weigh on our conscience, and give us those good things that come only through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
First Reading: Genesis 18:20-32
20 Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me, and if not, I will know.” 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm: 138
1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise. 2I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast love and faithfulness; for you have glorified your name and your word above all things. 3 When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me. 4All the rulers of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they have heard the words of your mouth. 5 They will sing of the ways of the Lord,
that great is the glory of the Lord. 6The Lord is high, yet cares for the lowly, perceiving the haughty from afar. 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me. 8You will make good your purpose for me; O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works of your hands.
Second Reading: Colossians 2:6-15
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 Watch out that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by the removal of the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Alleluia. (Luke 11:9)
The Holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you O Lord
Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
1 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”2 So he said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, may your name be revered as holy.
May your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? 13 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ
One of Jesus’ disciples said to him:
Lord, teach us to pray…Jesus said to them…When you pray…say:
Let us pray…
The Lord be with you.
Our Father…Our Mother…Our Holy Parent…Source of All Being from whom we came and to whom we return.
God whose goodness and love transcends the complexity and even the pain of our relationship with our own parents.
God who transcends and even heals the failings we ourselves have as parents.
You…who knit us together in our own mother’s wombs.
God who knows us better than we know ourselves.
Jesus called you Abba and so shall we.
Be to us our Holy Parent…the one who loves without condition.
Our Father who art in heaven…
Our Father who brings a small measure of your heaven to every place your people are.
Our Father who art in everything.
Every place we say we can feel your awesomeness…
And every place we claim that you have forsaken.
Our Father who art in children’s homes and neonatal units.
Who art in jail cells and luxury high-rises.
Who art in law offices and under bridges where homeless sleep.
Who art in rooms with those thinking of taking their own lives.
And who art amid wedding reception dance floors.
Our Father who art in Heaven…Hallowed be thy name.
Holy is your name.
Ever since Adam blamed…not his own sin…
Blamed you…for giving him the woman who made him sin…
Ever since the beginning we have attributed our own sin and ego and wishful thinking…
And malice and racism and manipulations of others…
And ambition to you and your name…
And yet your name remains holy.
When others or ourselves have claimed that you laid it on our heart to shame someone…
Even then when we have used your name in vain…
Your name remains holy.
Your holiness has withstood generations of humans using your name as a get out of responsibility free card…
When we say you are blessing it…
Or you are willing it…
Or you are co-signing on it…
And our sin is anything other than sin.
And yet your name remains holy.
Our Father…who art in heaven…Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…
May thy undoing of our ways and the in-breaking of your ways…
The way things really are…appear before our eyes.
Brother Martin Luther reminds us that your kingdom comes with or without our asking for it…
But in this prayer…we ask that your dominion…your kingdom come among us.
But right now…God…right now we think we might just skip over the asking for it…
And move right to the begging for it if that’s OK with you.
We beg you to bring more than just a small measure of heaven to earth…because this place is a mess.
Lord…your people are killing each other…
And the vulnerable are even more vulnerable…
And the wealthy are even more wealthy…
And we have developed weapons that do unspeakable things…
And we have developed economic systems that rely on those weapons…
And it’s hard to see a way out…Lord.
So…we need your Kingdom to speed things up.
And if that’s not possible…then open our eyes to where your kingdom already is taking root and growing among us.
Turn our eyes from our despair to any amount of light your kingdom is spreading…however small.
Our Father…who art in heaven…Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Show us that your thoughts are not our thoughts and that our thoughts are not your thoughts.
God…I am so guilty of trying to align your will with mine rather than praying to align my will with yours.
But you are God…and I am not.
Yet have mercy on us Lord when it feels like you are not paying attention.
Forgive us when we use prayer as a way of getting all the things we want…because we know better.
You are our Father whose name is holy and whose love is boundless…
And who wants as our holy Parent to hear our prayers…
To hear what troubles us…
You want to know the longing in our hearts and the hurt in our lives and the thankfulness in our being.
Our Father…who art in heaven…Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
Give us this day our daily senses…our daily laughter…our daily kindness…our daily humility…our daily freedom.
Give your children their daily bread…their daily flatbread…their daily tortillas…their daily rice.
Lord…give us real bread…even when we keep reaching for those Twinkies…and cannoli and Krispy Kremes.
As you did with your people who you freed from slavery…
Grant us that which we need for just this day.
Help us to be in this day Lord…and to know that all we have comes from you.
Give us the gift of enough-ness.
When we long for more than what is enough…soften our hearts and teach us to give more.
May our response to perceived scarcity always be increased generosity…
For we are your children and from you we receive everything.
It all belongs to you…and you let us have so much.
Our Father…who art in heaven…Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who sin against us.
Forgive us when we hate what you love.
Forgive us when we would rather self-medicate ourselves than feel anything.
Forgive us when we squander the grace and freedom you have given us.
Forgive us for our self-centered lives.
Forgive us for how much we resent in others the same things we hate in ourselves.
God…we praise you that your grace and mercy and forgiveness toward us is our one true source of our forgiveness toward others.
Forgiven people forgive people…
And God…we thank you for guiding the way toward this kind of freedom.
May we more and more become what we receive.
Our Father…who art in heaven…Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Deliver us from the inclination that we too do not have evil in our hearts.
Deliver us from religious and national exceptionalism.
Deliver us from addiction and depression.
Deliver us from self-loathing.
Deliver us from high fructose corn syrup.
Deliver us from fear.
Deliver us from complacency.
Deliver us from Complicity.
As Jesus taught us…we are throwing this bag of prayers at your door.
We are not asking nicely…Lord.
We are your children…and we are claiming your promises as our own.
Use this prayer to hammer us all into vessels that can accept the answer when it comes.
For Thine is the kingdom…and the power…and the glory…forever…and ever…And the children of God say…AMEN.
Hymn of the Day: What a Friend We Have in Jesus – ELW 742
Prayers of Intercession
In solidarity with all creation, we join our voice to the voice of the whole church and pray for the needs of the world.
A brief silence.
Loving God, create in your church a desire for union with you in prayer. Raise up leaders to teach Christ’s devotion to prayer and model Christ’s way of prayer, until all people experience prayerful intimacy with you. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Reveal to humanity the sacredness of all creation. With the breath of your Spirit, realign the balances of nature. Grant persistence in prayer and action for the sake of the earth, our common home. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Teach rulers of the earth to sing of your ways, caring for the lowly and having no preference for the powerful. Direct the heart of every person to seek your will on earth as in heaven. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
To all whose prayers are cries for help, give your good gifts, and satisfy their deepest needs. We pray especially for: John & Lisa Mountain, Terry Vernon, Shirley Schulz, David & Carol Beazley, Margaret Miller, Carol, Angie, Dick Trompke, Estoria Brimm, Bill Treichler, Julia Busby-Morgan, Nancy Hare, Sean Kelly, Ariel Lopez, Chad Rudzik, Pete Hanshaw and others. Gather them to your constant, loving presence, that they may rest in the confidence of life with you. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Awaken new life in this place. Open our hearts to ways you are calling us to be at work in the world and our community. We pray for neighboring congregations and ministry sites especially: Church of God – SDA – Bay Point Christian – St. Barts – Blessed Trinity…St. Matthew…DayStar Life Center…Canguros Day School. Give us courage to boldly share your love for all people beyond our walls. God of grace, hear our prayer.
Center the ministries of this assembly on prayer and service. Guide our relationships in the wider community, being ready to assist those who seek help. Strengthen feeding, clothing, and housing ministries and community partnerships. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We give thanks for all who have gone before us. May we trust your steadfast love and continue in hope until we are united with all your saints. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Trusting in your lovingkindness, we place our prayer and hope in you, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Pray with me
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Blessing
The love of God abound in you;
the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ fill your hearts; and the life of the Spirit
☩ bless you and give you peace.
Amen.
Sending Hymn: Go, My Children, with My Blessing – ELW 543
