18th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 21 Lectinary 26 Sermon

18th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 21

Lectionary 26

September 30th

Luke 16: 19-31

Sermon

"Eat, Drink ?"


19* “There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
20* And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores,
21* who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22* The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried;
23* and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
29* But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
30* And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31* He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.’”

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

"It's probably too late. The damage is done. Perhaps I should have handed out ear plugs earlier. The least we could and should have done is to have printed a warning in the bulletin or newsletter. Maybe I should have cautioned you ahead of time about the contents of the message today from Luke's gospel: this parable is problematic and quite possible hazardous to your peace of mind! The parable seems to gnaw and nags on people's hearts. It lingers and lasts- like those greasy foods you know that you shouldn't have eaten- but that you snuck anyway- and you know that you'll pay the price for hours and even days to come. So if you find yourself sitting in traffic this and you find yourself thinking about Lazarus, just remember that I told you so! If the parable pops up as your poking around the park, well what can I say? And as you go about your daily work, don't be surprised to find the parable working its way to the surface when you least expect it. You might even find yourself pushed or pulled you in a direction that you never dreamed of going. This parable is powerful and it has changed peoples lives in totally unexpected ways. .

And that's what happened to Albert. At the age of 29, Albert had it all- fame and fortune and a fantastic career as a concert organist and interpreter of Bach. He was well respected. He was happy- that is , until he heard this parable about Lazarus. And this parable gnawed at him and nagged at him. Albert couldn't get this story out of his heart and his mind. It wouldn't let him go until he gave in- and gave it up. And so he did. Albert gave up his brilliant musical career up to enter medical school. Now most of his friends thought he was crazy to give up his musical career. to train as a physician. But Albert knew that God was calling him and that he had to answer God's call to be a missionary doctor and to go Africa. And so Albert Schweitzer, one of the great humanitarians of our century, established a missionary hospital in Africa and ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of thousands of people. This story changed Albert's life. And who knows maybe, this parable will change your life too!" (1)

Does this parable gnaw at you? Do you feeling guilty when reading it? Should you feel guilty hearing it?

This is a most difficult parable. Does this parable condemn wealth?

What do you think about Dives? What do you think about Lazarus?

There are a lof of questions this parable asks of us. We are going to try and answer a few of them this morning.

The parable is straight forward. A rich man who lived a coomfortalbe life on this earth died. When he died he went to Hades. But the poor man who lived off the scraps of food given him by the rich man went to heaven. A simple straight forward parable, so why does it make us so uncomfortable.

But when his life on this earth ended, he was willing to give up all his riches for just one drop of cool water because in the afterlife he was living in anguish the flame of Hades. What was this man's sin? Why did he end in eternal hell, while the poor man Lazarus was in the comfortable bosom of Abraham? What was Dives sin? We can call this rich man Dives for it is the Latin word for rich.

By itself, wealth is not a sin. God's blessing often rains down in material as well as spiritual ways. You and I do not need to be embarrassed about all that we have. We do have the highest standard of living in the entire world. Instead, we ought to recognize the Giver and look for ways to express our thanks for his grace toward us by sharing a portion of it with others. The rich man's sin was not simply his great wealth. It was his belief that he had the right to do with it as he pleased. His sin lay in his choosing to ignore the poor man Lazarus who was laying right at his door.

Dives was os wrapped uo in imself that he did not see the poor man lazarus outside his door. Yes, he gave him scrapes of food, but as he did so he could handly bother to see the man himself, the man Lazarus laying there. He saw Lazarus as nothing. He was so wrapped up in himself, that he could not see beyond the end of his nose to the plight of this poor man with sores all over his body. Dives sin was not what he had done to Lazarus, his sin was what he had not done to Lazarus. Dives never saw Lazarus. He was so caught up in his own world he never took notice of the other person. Dives could not see the poor man who was outside of his door.

So the question can be asked of us. How is your eye sight? What do you see? How is your eyesight? Do your eyes see the pain and brokenness of this world, or are they only focused upon your own navel, upon your own wants, pleasures and comfort? Can you see the brokenness of someone in sorrow, can you see the pain of someone living in a broken relationship and wanting someone to listen to share the pain? Can you see someone dependent upon the crutch of drugs or alcohol and wanting someone to assure him/her that they are worthwhile people, special people in the eyes of God. Can you see the hungry people out in the world who are crying for the means of learning how to successfully grow and harvest their own food supply? How is your eyesight?

A movie entitled, "The Pawn Broker" illustrates this point about not feeling the pain of society very well.

"The movie is about a Polish-Jew named Nazerman who runs a pawnshop in East Harlem, New York.

Nazerman survived a Nazi concentration camp where he saw the worse of humanities inhumanity. The way he survived was by promising himself that he would never feel anything else again. He had lost his best friend in that camp and he saw his wife die a slow death. He become a numb wreck of a man and does survive the horrors of the camp. Twenty-five years later, he is running a pawn shop, taking pitiful objects from these poor wretched people enmeshed in poverty, drugs, prostitution, sex and alcohol. He just takes their personal possessions without any kind of feeling. With cold detachment, never batting an eye, he plies them behind him as he sits in the shadows behind that iron fence in the pawn shop. A young Puerto Rican man named Jesus Artez, formerly a gang member who had split and changed his life, comes to work for him. The young man admires Nazerman and wants to be just like him and one day opened his own pawn shop. One day, his old gang comes to rob the pawn shop. They start to shoot Nazerman, but Jesus Artez steps right in front of him and takes the bullet in his stomach. The gang runs, leaving Jesus Artez dying in Nazerman's arms! The play ends with Nazerman holding Jesus Artez and suddenly feeling begins to come back to him, but he denies that he can feel. To prove to himself that he can no longer feel, he takes the spindle that sits on his deck and spears it through his hand. It goes all the way through his hand, and he does feel real pain. He does bleed real blood and cries real tears. He does feel. The play comes to an end as you see him locking the door of the pawn shop on that dark street and walking away. His soul is now free, his life is out of hock, because he feels for his neighbor.''

The Pawn-Broker's life became real and authentic when he let himself feel the loss of his young friend, when he let him see, feel, the gratitude for the sacrifice this young man was willing to make on his behalf. When he began to feel the brokenness, the pain, the anguish, the heartache of the life that encompassed him, then and only then did he begin to life Then and only then did he feel the real freedom of life. Dives never felt the pain of the brokenness of life, he d never felt the anguish of this poor man outside of his door. Dives prison of non-feeling is symbolized by the great chasm that separated him from Abraham Dives was locked up in his own prison of detachment, hard-hardness and coldness for eternity.

How are your feelings? Can you empathize with the plight of those who are feeling the brokenness of this world? Can you in some small way walk in the footsteps of those who are crying out for someone to care? Can you feel the pain, the sorrow the hurt, the hunger, the loneliness, the guilt, the rejection, of those who are trying out for someone to care, for someone to touch them with a hug of compassion and an embrace of love? How are your feelings?

Here is a story that Tony Campolo tells from his own experience.

I was walking down the street in Philadelphia and a bum came towards me. I mean a dirty, filthy guy. He was covered
with soot from head to toe. You couldn’t believe howmessed up he was. He had this huge beard and there was
rotted food stuck in the beard.

As he approached me, he held out a cup of McDonald’s coffee and said, "Hey mister,
want some of my coffee?"

I looked at his dirty, filthy personhood and said, "Thanks, but that’s okay," and I walked by him. The minute I passed
him, I knew I was doing the wrong thing, so I turned around and said, "Excuse me. I would like some of your
coffee."

I took some of the coffee and sipped it and gave it back to him. I said, "You’re being generous. How come
you’re being so generous today?"

And this bum looked at me and he said, "Because the coffee was especially delicious today and I think that when God givesyou something good, you ought to share it with people."

I didn’t know how to handle that, so I said, "Can I give you anything?" I thought that he would hit me for five dollars.

He said, "No." Then he said, "Yeah, yeah. I’ve changed my mind there is something you can give me. You can give me a hug"

As I looked at him, I was hoping for the five dollars! He put his arms around me and I put my arms around him.
And as I in my establishment dress and he in his filthy garb hugged each other on the street, I had the strange
awareness that I wasn’t hugging a bum, I was hugging Jesus. I found Jesus in that suffering man.

Whenever you meet a suffering person, you will find that Jesus is there waiting to be loved in that individual. ThatÂ’s why Jesus said, "In as much as ye do it unto the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do it unto me."

You cannot reach out to a person in need, you cannot embrace somebody who’s hurting, you cannot minister to somebody who is in desperate straits without having that eerie and wonderful awareness that Jesus is coming back at you right through that person. If there is anything that Mother Teresa would have taught us, thatÂ’s what she would have taught us.” So wrote Tony Campolo. (2)

When we reach out ot those around us with a compassionate feeling we are doing what Paul wrote about in Timothy.

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
-- 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV

Store up a foundation in doing good is what this text is all about.

Martin Luther once observed, "Riches are the least worthy gifts which God can give a man. What are they to God's Word, to bodily gifts, such as beauty and health; or to the gifts of the mind, such as understanding, skill, and wisdom? Yet men toil for wealth day and night and take no rest. Therefore, God commonly gives riches to foolish people, to whom He gives nothing else!"

To be rich is no sin but what we do with it and our other talents is what this parable is asking us.

I would like to close with a story about a congregation who was able to see feel and hear.

A congregation in one of the many suburbs of a large city was having a special congregational meeting to approve borrowing money from the bank to buy some things for the church. The building committee recommended that a new carpet, a stained glass window, and a new kitchen be added to the church. It would cost around $10,000.000 This was explained to the members gathered and then all of a sudden, a voice from the rear of the church spoke up: "Do we really need these things to be the church?? I believe we should borrow the money to help feed the hungry of the world!!" Never before had anyone questioned the wisdom of those who were in charge. Another voice' spoke up saying:" Let's borrow the money and help purchase an electric generator which would supply power for bringing water from a well in Africa." Another voice said, "Let's borrow the money and give it to a mission school that our denomination runs on the American Indian reservation."

The vote was taken. And there was not to be new carpeting, nor a new kitchen, nor a beautiful stained glass window, but the group decided to borrow the $10,000.00 and use it for the mission projected mentioned.

Amen

(1)A Sermon Opener in What Will Convince You? by Rev. Cynthia Huling Hummel


(2)To give you a sense of how this must have felt, I would like to share a story by Tony Campolo, a Baptist Minister and
Sociologist from Philadelphia in the US.

from GOSPEL_NOTES_FOR_NEXT_SUNDAY.topic@ecunet.org

by Brian Stoffregen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale Sept 24, 2007 You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

17 Sunday after Pentecost Proper 20 Lectionary 25 September 23 Sermon

17 Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 20

Lectionary 25

September 23

Luke 16:1-13

"How is your Effort?"


"He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. And he called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' And the steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' He said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations. "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."" Luke 16:1-13, RSV.

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

Among the many parables of Soren Kiekegaard is the story of a wild pigeon. The pigeon lived contently from season to season enjoying its freedom to come and go as it pleased. One day, it perched itself on the roof of a farmhouse,observing some of the domestic pigeons sheltered within a cage the farmer had constructed for them. The wild pigeon watched the farmer returning home at the end of the day, stopping on his way to feed the pigeons.

As the pigeon flew away, it occurred to him for the first time that he did not know where this next meal would come from, or that he was no completely satisfied with the freedom he had. "How much better," he thought, "to have meals served to me in my own very house."

When no one was looking, he flew down from the roof of the farmhouse and squeezed his way into the pigeon pen. That evening as the farmer returned fro the fields, he reached into the pend and took the wild pigeon. Inside his house , he prepared his supper of pigeon stew."

The parable of our gospel lesson today speaks to this theme of easiness, lack of effort, discipleship, commitment or following through. As we look closely a the parable of the dishonest steward, we can see that Jesus is saying that people who do dishonest deed put a lot of effort into their deeds.

A steward was fired for not doing his job well. Then he thought ," what shall I do? I cannot dig ditches and an ashamed to beg."

So he calls in all the people who owe his master money and tells them to change their bill. He figures in this way, those people will be beholding to him and they will take care of him now that the has lost his job.

Pretty smart thinking, right?

The master then finds out about his shrewdness as the text says and commends the steward for his fast thinking.

Even today a lot of people put a lot of effort into doing wrong thing for their selfish ends.

For example " Two partner had a clothing store. One would stay in the back room while the other waited on the people. The one waiting on the people would pretend he was hard of hearing. When a customer would choose a suit he liked, he would ask the price. The clerk would call to his partner in the back room, "How much is the suit Harry/"

Harry would reply in a loud and clear voice so the customer would be sure to hear $149.00. The clerk wold then say it was $129.00. Many people would hurry and buy that suit for $129.00 thinking they were making a good deal because they thought the clerk heard the wrong price. Little did they know that the partners were pulling a fast one on them and in their own greed they jumped as the chance of making a killing.

Now the point Jesus is making with this parable is --- if the wicked people of his world go to so much trouble and effort to be wicked, to be dishonest, to cheat, and to be so selfish -- why can't my disciple put as much or even more effort into being sons and daughter of the light..

Jesus is letting his disciples know with a great force, with a dry sense of humor, that the men of the world are outsmarting the men of light. This conniving rogue faced the facts, sized up a situation and acted in quick, cold logic. Jesus wished that his followers would do as much from nobler motives.

Jesus is saying in a humorous way, if only the Christian was as eager and ingenious in his attempt to attain goodness as the men of the world are in their attempts to attain money and comfort. Jesus wants us to act with the same intensity in our discipleship toward him as the rascals, cheats, and crooks act in their attempt to gain comfort and wealth.

In the context of this text, Jesus is heading for Jerusalem and He is sensing that those following, the disciple and the others who were always around him, do not realize what kind of life he is calling them to follow. He is sensing they are along for a joy ride. The are along to see the thrills of his miracles, to get a little free and bread and fish. They are coming along to a good argument between Jesus and the religious rulers.

They do not comprehend, or understand the seriousness, the dedication, the discipleship, he is calling to to live. So Jesus says from our text: "for the sons of the world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light"

This parable is not about money, it is not about dishonest stewardship, but this parable is about commitment, discipleship, of following Jesus with one's whole life. Jesus want our lifestyle committed to Him. He want the way we act, the way we think, the way we make decisions, the way we work, the way we interact with others all to be influenced by our commitment to Him as Lord and master of our lives.

Jesus is saying if crooks and those who are only looking out for their own welfare are so ingenious and can act so decisively about things that really don't matter, why does a Christian seem so casual about the care of his/her soul?

Do you see the point Jesus is making in this parable? He is saying that since the people of the world are so intense in their way of life, why aren't my follower? If the crooks of the world will stop at nothing to make money, why aren't we who are followers of Jesus as committed to him with such zeal, ambition, and dedication?

Jesus closes this parable with a statement which strikes to the heart of the matter as he says: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

He concludes with a sharp statement as a way to sum up what he had been trying to say all along. And if you are going to be for me, then give me all the effort you can . Give me your entire effort. He is saying he doesn't want any half-hearted discipleship. He wants total effort on our part. If the dishonest people an put so much effort in their work, why, why can't you try even harder to serve me, love me and love your neighbor?

The gentlemen in the following story is an example of the kind of person Jesus is talking about.

"This man was a retired farmer who was devoutly religious. Each day of his life, he would offer in prayer the names of his offspring, extending to those who were even in the 5th generation. Every day he would pray for these children, and many generations of great grandchildren. He would offer in prayer the needs, the joys, the heartache, the events of celebration that came into their lives and also into his life. He felt that if he prayed for them, if he communicated to God how indeed important all their souls and lives were to him, God would indeed be faithful and play an active part in their lives. But as these generations grew, some would feel awkward and ashamed at his open faith and his reminder that daily he was praying for them, because many of them did not have a relationship to this God that was so important in this man's life.

When the old gentleman died, one member who was of the third generation finally realized what had been happening in his life.

Since the moment of his birth, this man had been daily saying his name in prayer. In his mind's eye, he could now picture this man with his arms and hands uplifted in prayer, heavy with the weight of the entire family. Heavy with the weight of his life that needed that kind of prayer that he had not said on his own.

He approached the casket the reached out and touched his grandfather's hands. a belated, but heartfelt act of gratitude and thanksgiving for all the prayers that had been offered."

This man knew of the effort it would take to live the lifestyle Jesus wants us to live and he was willing to put in that kind of effort.

But sadly many in the church are not willing to put forth even the tiniest effort at living the live Jesus wants us to live.

But too many of us are like the people in the following,

"A young pastor was called to a small town in Iowa. He had tried for several months to move the people to a more dedicated Christian life. He visited the membership faithfully. Worked diligently on his sermons. But to no available.

He felt his flock, his church was dead. So the pastor placed a notice in the local paper stating that since the church was dead, it was his duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday morning.

Morbidly curious, the whole town turned out for the funeral. In front of the church the people could see a large casket covered with flowers, he read an eulogy, delivered a sermon on how the church had suffered a slow and painful death.

Then he invited the congregation to step forward and pay their last respects to the departed. As they filed by, each one peeked into the casket and quickly turned away with a guilty sheepish look. For in the casket, titled at the correct angle, contained a large mirror. Everyone saw his/her own reflection as perhaps never before!!

The following Sunday, the congregation was in their pews and waiting for the pastor as they realized what indeed the church, the body of Christ was all about. It is about souls, and discipleship, commitment and surrendering one's whole life over to Christ."

Jesus says "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Can you put forth the effort to serve Jesus? That is what he is asking in the parable, where is your effort? Jesus is asking where do your priorities lie?

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale on September 17, 2007

You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

16th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 19 Lectionary 24 September 16th Luke 15:1-10 "Found and Forgiven" Sermon

16th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 19

Lectionary 24

September 16th

Luke 15:1-10

"Found and Forgiven"


"Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."" Luke 15:1-10, RSV.

"I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Timothy 1:12-17, RSV.

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

I would like to share with you this morning a modern day parable. Listen:

"A minister, touring in West Germany was invited to spend the night with one of the families of the host congregation. The family consisted of the father. the mother, and a twelve-year-old boy. The father began to tell the minister something about the family, and especially about the circumstances surrounding the adoption of this youngster whom they had rescued during the war years.

The father said: "The boy was just a poor orphan when we first saw him. He was in rags and very dirty, but his shoes were the worst of all. The upper parts were in tatters and the soles had huge holes in them. When we took him in, we gave him new clothes and threw his old ones away.

"We decided, however, to keep those battered shoes as a reminder of how badly off he had been when he first came here. I keep them on a shelf, and when the boy complains or becomes unruly, I merely walk slowly to the shelf, haul the shoes down, and remind him of how much we have done for him."

The boy looked hurt, ashamed, and even a bit unwanted. The guest, afraid to say anything, lest he should offend his host, thought to himself: what a blessing it is that God doesn't continually drag out our old shoes."

When God's forgives, He also forgets.

God has the magnificent quality about him that he can forgive the past, and accept a person as he or she is in the present. God is so filled with love, that He doesn't need to remind us of our old sins, to keep us as his children. It is the power of His love that brings us into his arms. It is the power of his love for us that leads us to eternal salvation. God does not need threats to win us over to his side. It is the power of his love as shown through the death and resurrection of Jesus that changes our lives from ones that are filled with worn out, holey clothes, and shoes which are filled with holes because of sin, to lives that are new, refreshed washed clean because of the power of God and his love.

After God has changed us, he doesn't constantly remind us how we were, he doesn't point back to the rags of sin we used to wear. He doesn't point back to the shoes of self pride, we used to wea. No we live with his love guiding us, caring for us, comforting us, upholding us and trusting us as his children.

Our gospel lesson this morning is about the forgiveness of God which changes our lives. It is about living a new life because of the power of God's love to make changes in our lives.

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.

2 The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them."

3 He told them this parable.

4 "Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?

5 When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

7 I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

8 Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma, wouldn't light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?

9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.'

10 Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting."

God is joyful when one sinner returns to the flock, or one sinner who is lost is found. And notice, if this is a parable about God, who is he in this parable? He is the shepherd and he is the woman. God finds the lost!!

God loves us out or the shear power of His love. Not because of something we have done to earn God's love or to seek God's love. God can and does love and forgive with no conditions attached. The shepherd and the woman looked for the lost coin and sheep. The lost sheep, the lost coin does not come looking for the shepherd or the woman.

We usual!y think of' repentance as the condition of forgiveness. We say that God will forgive only when we repent. This lesson turns this around. We are forgiven before we repent, and we repent because we have been forgiven. We are forgiven not because we pay God the price of repentance, but God loves us whether or not we repent. Those who know and accept God's love, respond with repentance. It is the kindness of God that causes us to repent.

In our modern parable, if the father could have truly accepted this adopted child out of love, he would not have had to use the shoes as a reminder of his love for the child. The child could sense his love by the way he was treated and accepted as the man's son. Then the father could love him in spite of the wrongs he had done, in spite of the misbehavior.

The second lessen tells us that God does have patience with us. Paul speaks that he was the foremost of sinners. But God didn't give up on him, he waited and eventually Paul repented of his ways and turned to the lord.

12 And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service;

13 although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 The saying is faithful, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

16 However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief, Jesus Christ might display all his patience, for an example of those who were going to believe in him to eternal life.

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul says he believes that Jesus came to him on that Damascus road to show the whole world, to display his perfect patience for all those who believe in him so they might have eternal life. Paul is telling us that Jesus is constantly trying to give us eternal life. He doesn't write us off, if at first we reject his gifts. He doesn't say what is the use, but Jesus keeps trying. He keeps waiting until the person finally decides to accept what he has to offer.

Like the shepherd and the woman in our gospel lesson, God has patience and keeps after us, keeps looking for us. And when he finds us, he forgives us and then we repent and turn from our ways with the help and power of Christ in our lives. Notice, we aren't changed first, we are found, accepted, then changed. God is the one who does the changing, not us.

God acts, we respond!!

"-Oh how the world longs to hear those three precious words: "ALL IS FORGIVEN."

God has tried to tell us just that in so many ways. He sent his only Son into the world, not to condemn the world but to save it . . . to announce that his Father forgives all his people unconditionally . . . But it's hard to believe, isn't it?

There is always that little nagging voice back there somewhere that questions whether it could really be true . . . There's that little nagging feeling of unworthiness that causes us to ask, "Why would God forgive me? --- I haven't done enough . . . I haven't prayed enough . . . I haven't made a perfect confession or act of contrition... heck, I haven't even really asked for forgiveness with any real measure of sincerity . . . My dear friends in Christ, each of us is a sinner, who needs to hear those words: "ALL IS FORGIVEN." --- who desperately wants to know that their Father in heaven forgives them . . .

Jesus knew exactly what the world needed, and that's why his whole life is one striking demonstration that God's forgiveness abounds.... forgiveness without any stipulations.... forgiveness without any conditions.... forgiveness without any fine print exclusions..... forgiveness without any limited warranties and forgiveness with no expiration of term. . " (1)

God finds the lost, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost person, the lost me!!

And notice one other curious thing in the first parable about the shepherd and sheep. It says: "wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness," , we are all in the wilderness. That means we have a chance of wandering, of leaving the fold. In a sense, we have the potential to become a lost sinner. God has given us the freedom to wander if we want to. We live most of our lives in the wilderness of this world. And in the wilderness, we just might become the lost sheep. So God's forgiveness is for all of us, the lost and the found. And if we are honest with ourselves, we know that from time to time we so wander, we do become the lost, because we are not perfect.

We are forgiven each time we wander. Each time we sin and God seeks us out, we are forgiven and returned to the fold. We try not to wander, to sin, but we do. But through Christ, our sins are forgiven and covered with the forgiveness of Christ,

We are forgiven people. We are people who are lost and then found. We are lost sheep and lost coins, but at the same time, we are found people, found sheep and found coins because we are forgiven by Christ.

"Not far from New York there is a cemetery which has inscribed upon a headstone just one word - "Forgiven." There is no name, no date of birth, or death. The stone is unblemished by the sculptor's art. There is no epitaph, no fulsome eulogy - just that one word, "Forgiven", but that is the greatest thing that can be said of any person, or written upon one's grave, "Forgiven." (2)

Forgiven, that is what we are, we are forgiven in Christ.

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale September 10, 2007

You may freely use this as is or in parts. Please somehow give credit if possible, thanks! Not for commercial use.

(1) Bill Adams, Trinity Episcopal, Sutter Creek, CA

(2) "When Christians Quarrel" by Jerry Schmalenberger p23