1 Timothy 1:12-17
12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ 3 So he told them this parable: 4 ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” 7 Just so, I tell you, 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 having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’
I love this text, because it's so hopeful. Because sometimes, if we're honest, we think that there's parts of us that we don't even want to reveal to God, because we're afraid. We're afraid to name those things directly to God even though God knows it. Sometimes we don't have that courage. It's easier just to look at things like lost and found.
Sometime in the last few weeks, one of you came to me and said that you had lost something. I don't remember who it was, but you said you were going to call one of your Catholic friends, so they could pray to Saint Anthony to find it. And I said, “You don't have to call your Catholic friends. You can do it yourself. I've done it. It works. It actually works!”
We all know the experience of losing something, whether it's something that's important in terms of logistics like you can't find your license or your passport when you're heading on a trip or something that you need in order to go to the office, like your keys. How many of us have tried to run out of the house and put our keys in a safe place and then we can't find them?
I had this experience once when I had come home from college. I was coming home to exchange cars, because mine had been in for repairs so I had my father's car which was a Datsun 280ZX, (which back in 1984 was a pretty sassy car). The next morning, my parents had already left for the airport on a trip. I took my time getting up, packing up my stuff and go home back to college but I couldn't find my keys. And I always keep my keys in the very same place, which is in the middle of the kitchen table, right next to that hideous napkin holder that I made in 7th grade. You know the one? we all have one of these, right?
And I looked around the entire house. Then I went to my parents’ dressers. I couldn't find them on either of their dressers. And now I realize that my parents are literally at the airport. The only key was a spare key on my father’s dresser to the 280Z. I jumped in the 280Z and sped down to Newark Airport. I parked the car in the “No Parking” lane with flashers on. (Which, again, back in the day, we used to be able to do for about 10 minutes.) I ran down to the terminal to the gate (before, of course, the days of security) just as… their plane is taxiing out.
Now, not only do I not have the keys to my car--my junky little Subaru--I don't have the keys to my dorm or my dorm room. I was also was working at the Presbyterian church in Ithaca, so I needed keys to the church and keys to my office and keys to the… You know where I'm going with this, right? I also didn’t have keys to get back in their house. I was locked out there too! So I went into the garage, found an old wooden construction ladder (that belonged to my grandfather and must have weighed about 50 lbs.) and dragged it up the patio stairs and slapped it against the house so that I could climb up the ladder to the second floor and wedge open the storm window to my bedroom!
So, I couldn't wait to talk to my parents when they arrived in Scottsdale. But now I have only 1 key to ONE car and that’s the Datsun 280ZX which I was ‘forced’, to take back to school. Now, it was not terrible that I had to take the 280ZX back to college--that was good. The problem was I ‘may’ have been going a little faster than I should have in Pennsylvania. The state trooper was more than pleased to see a college student in a sassy sports car—there was no way I was getting out of this one. And, guess what? I don't have my license! Where's my license??? It's in a pocket in a pair of jeans that's back in my dorm room!!
When my parents arrived in Scottsdale, they called to let me know they were safe and sound. I was glad but immediately said, “Where are my keys!!!???” My dad said, “Well, as we were taking off, I turned to June (my mother) and said, ‘Honey, I took your keys and I put them in a coffee can in the cellar, so that in case we're robbed, no one can steal your keys.” At which point my mother opened up her purse and pulled out her keys. And she said, “Those aren't my keys. My keys are right here”. They couldn’t figure out WHOSE keys they were. Lordy! So, I said to my dad, “Guess who's paying my speeding ticket? It's not me!”
So we love the idea of lost and especially found. But that's the surface level of this text. But the deeper piece is that Jesus, in one fell swoop, outsmarts the scribes and Pharisees, who think they're so special. They think they're so special, that they're above the law. All the while pointing to Jesus claiming Jesus is breaking the law by eating with sinners. But in fact, they too are breaking the law, because what's the shema in Deuteronomy? “Love the Lord your God with all your soul and might and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” So, Jesus has got these Pharisees in a double bind and they don't even know it. But instead of calling them out, he just gives them a metaphor that they would understand in their language in their life. And at the same time is gently reminding them that maybe they aren't as perfect as they think. But deeper than that, my friends, is the fact that Jesus is trying to help us understand no sin is too great to prevent us from the love of God.
Now in case it's not obvious I know some of you are Bible smarties), if we look at the original text, the first text in I Timothy, which probably was not written by Paul, but by someone writing in Paul's voice, it's a complete and total confession. And, if you don't remember this from your days in Sunday School, Paul was not a nice guy. He persecuted many Jewish Christians including and especially Jesus. He was known to have murdered some Christians. But then he had a transformative experience one day on the road to Damascus and the scales fell from his eyes. And he realized there was a better way to be and that even he, too, as awful as he was, could be loved by Jesus! Imagine if we took this text and we prayed this text every day until we unfurled all that stuff we're carrying around.
A couple weeks ago I was talking to you about our posture and I've been thinking a lot about the posture since then. Some of you have been trained by your mothers. I know a few of you mentioned that your mothers made you sit up straight all the time. But I've been noticing people's posture and I think it's not only because as we age, we don't exercise as much. But I think it's because the older we get, the more we carry around--the more heartache we carry around, the more burdens we carry around, and I think that's what makes us slowly bend over. It's not just the pain, friends. It's the stuff that we're still holding on to that we don't yet have the courage to name. And we all lose our way. We all lost our way in the last two and a half years in one way or another, or many. And coming back into the fold is easier said than done.
It's wonderful to see so many of you here and some of the young families are returning and that's a work in progress. But friends this is not about necessarily lost and found. It all goes back to this. (Points to the Communion table) It all goes back to this. Think about all the disciples that Jesus worked with. They were Hebrew school dropouts. They were incapable of memorizing all of the Torah and all of the purity laws and so they could only go so far. But Jesus said, “That's okay. I don't need you to know that stuff. I just need you to work with me and pray with me and travel with me and care for the sick and love the brokenhearted and care for the widows and to be honest with me about who you are. And no matter what you've done or left undone... I'm still going to break bread with you. I still want to give you new life. I still want to free you up in a way that only I, as the Christ, can.”
I've gotten reconnected with a friend that I've known for years. She and I worked together and then she worked for me in my company. She's clever and funny and right now she's living in France. We've rekindled our friendship and we zoom every week. What we both noticed is that as we've gotten reconnected, there’s a richness in being known by the other. She lost her husband about three years ago and so that's an ongoing pain for her. So, to have a friend pop out of her history and to be known, is such a nice feeling. And I hope you all have at least one person like that. Whether it's your spouse or not, we all want to be known. But we want to be known and loved in spite of being known; fully known. Jesus knows us and loves all of us so much that he will leave everybody else and go seek us out individually and say, “Come home. It's okay. Forget the judgment. Forget the shame. Forget the blame. Forget all those things that you still don't do perfectly. I don't really care, but what I do care about is that you can feel and receive my love fully, especially when you don't think you're worth it, you think you're invisible or you don't think you're good enough. I don't really care. And when you come home, not only will I create a feast for you, but even the angels in heaven will rejoice. Ah yes, welcome home friends, good and faithful servants.”
So, as we prepare our hearts and minds, again, today to receive communion, take the time to unburden and unfurl all those things you're still holding in secret. God's big enough to take it and toss it away. May it be so. Amen.