RCL Year C (Proper 19) - September 12, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 19) - September 12, 2010

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Psalm 14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

We may think this morning… “Hey!! This week, these lessons are easy! We know right away what it says! You know, it’s like that hymn “Amazing Grace”… I once was lost, but now I am found… I got it preacher, you can stop right there! End of Sermon – See you next Sunday…

But, I’m not going to let you off that easy! Sometimes when we read the lessons, we think they are so easy… So easy that sometimes we like to get to the point because we think we don’t need to open the box…

It’s easy for us to jump right to being “lost” like the sheep and the coin from the Gospel lesson… We jump so quick that we loose the depth of what the scripture readings are telling us together this morning…

The prophet Jeremiah talks to us about how Judah interpreted what was happening to them… they were under attack, their lands were being destroyed, and their lives were falling apart. As far as they knew it, the end was near and all was lost!

They evaluated their situation and decided that they were suffering this dilemma because they were not following God’s ways, so God must be punishing them. The logic that they are using is pretty easy to understand. It is so easy to blame God for our misfortunes even though we are probably the ones who caused them in the first place.

But we have to remember, regardless of who is doing the destroying, out of the destruction God brings re-creation and restoration. Out of tearing down God builds up. Just like out of crucifixion God provided resurrection and out of death God brings us to life everlasting.

It’s hard to hear about that portion of the journey it difficult for us to spend time wrestling with the questions, trying to figure out where we have gone astray. It becomes so easy to blame God when something doesn’t go like we think it should. But, it becomes just as easy to praise God when something happens to us that we perceive as a blessing.

We think that these things are easy, because deep in our minds we think that it’s all about us instead of it being all about God. We are so hung up on that Amazing grace… that divine favor… God’s grace for us, that we don’t look beyond the gift of God’s Grace into our desperate need for God’s Grace.

We need to remember that God and only God has the ability to form, transform, restore, re-create, and resurrect. It must be that we are a bit hard-headed, and stubborn. We need that element of control because we have it all figured out. That’s probably why we don’t let God shower us with the abundance that God has in store for us.

In the new testament lesson, we get a first hand account of Paul’s testimony. Paul, a blasphemer, a persecutor, and man of violence was transformed into an example of the faith. Prior to his conversion, Paul thought he was very much in control. The scripture says that he acted out of ignorance. He was blinded by the things that he refused to believe. He was lost, and had that desperate need for God’s Grace.

And God went to work on Paul… redeeming him, restoring him, and re-recreating him for God’s glory. Paul was lost until Paul found God on the road to Damascus.

So, that brings up the question for us to ponder this morning, “In reference to God, who is lost – and who is found???” In reference to God, not in reference to the Pharisees, (who think that they have it all figured out)… or in reference to ourselves (because the Lord knows, we’re not in control, and if we use ourselves as a reference, and we consider ourselves found then everyone not like us is lost…) But in reference to God… Who is lost and who is found… In reference to God??

The gospel lessons this morning, Luke gives us 2 parables in the lost trilogy – the lost sheep and the lost coin. I say it is a trilogy, because the story of the lost son (some of us know it better as the prodigal son) that comes right after it, but we hear that story in Lent.

In the first parable, a shepherd looses one of his sheep. Shepherds are talked about quite a bit in the Bible, and is often used as a metaphor for how God tends to us and cares for us… In the case that Jesus presents, the shepherd has a hundred sheep (Now – a hundred sheep is a pretty large flock. Most families would only have a small fraction of that number.) And Jesus gives us a clear invitation to identify with this thankless shepherd asks the question, "Which one of you?"

Which one of you, having 100 sheep, and loosing one, would leave the 99 in the wilderness? It almost makes it sound as if leaving the ninety-nine was the natural response, but that is far from the case here. It’s actually an absurdity.

It’s not practical! Anybody with any kind of business sense would say, don’t worry about the one. Protect the core business -- the ninety-nine. We can survive a one-percent loss. We cannot survive a ninety-nine percent loss. But Jesus speaks to us about leaving the ninety-nine… leaving the 99 not "safely in the sheepfold," but in the wilderness – an extremely wild and dangerous place.

The little lost lamb is found, and "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.” This is a nice thought, but it’s truly absurd! But, I think it’s absurd to make a point… The point to see in this story is the radical and absurd ways that we are called to act as disciples of Christ in the world, because of the way God acts radically toward us.

It’s just like the church. Sometimes as a church we do stuff that the world would consider absurd. You can take your pick and fill in the blank. But we do these things in order to respond to the unquantifiable grace that we have received... the love, forgiveness, and pure joy that we can only get from God. When the shepherd comes home, he calls together all his friends and neighbors. The shepherd's joy cannot be contained, but overflows throughout the whole community.

The second parable this morning is about a woman that has 10 silver coins, but looses 1. Again the balance is upset… Where could it be? How could I have been so careless? How difficult is it to keep a mere ten coins in the bag? Lost! Nine coins will not be enough. All ten will be required to meet the needs of the month. Look under the bed. Carefully sweep the rooms and sift through the debris. Where could it have gone? Check the mantel once again. "Ah, there it is!" Rejoice!

Throughout his ministry, Jesus introduces us to the kingdom of God, a radical place of upside-down rules, an absurd place where the norms are different than that of the world. In these stories about the kingdom of God, Jesus teaches us about the radical nature of God's love. This is a place where the ordinary rules of business calculations do NOT apply.

The shepherd mourns the loss of the sheep, so the shepherd searches until he finds the sheep. The woman is frantic at her loss of the coin. But, the joy she expresses at the coins return is beyond extreme elation!

The parables of the lost, really aren’t about being lost at all they should be referred to as the parables of the found! The reaction to finding the lost sheep and the coin is a metaphor for God's joy… God’s joy over the one sinner who repents.

So God's joy really is the point of these parables…

The Pharisees think that they have it figured out, and chastise Jesus for eating with the wrong people… grumbling and telling Jesus that they are sinners… that they are all lost... But Jesus seeks them out and eats with them… Jesus finds them and shares a meal with them, and teaches them, and transforms them into and example of God’s grace, just like he does with us…

Like the people of Judah, we are all here in the wilderness, in the desolate desert, in the ruins of our life, living in the issues and problems that we have made for ourselves. The problem is, like Paul we think we have control of it. But, we are just as lost as we can be. However, no matter how lost we may feel, or how horrified we may become, God is there. God is there to restore us, to reconcile us, and re-create us… All we have to do is accept it and live into it…

The sheep wonder off and go astray, the coin drops off the table and onto the floor… But, all we need to do is remember that God is radically searching for us until we find God. Yes, you heard me right, God is so radically searching for us… searching for us until WE find God. And thank be to God!! God doesn’t follow the normal rules. God doesn’t write us off, or cut the losses because each and every soul is precious and deserving of God’s love.

God doesn’t keep us confined on a short leash, but lets us wonder around in the wilderness. And we do… we even get lost, because we are all a rebellious and sinful people. It is God’s love for us that continuously draws us back to God.

Regardless of how lost we may feel, or how sinful we may be (and when we finally figure out that it’s not about us) God is there… God is there among us, ready to draw us back… and bring us home to the church. So that when we repent we can be reconciled to God and be re-created and restored through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Because when we are lost, it is only through God that we are found!

RCL Year C (Proper 18) - September 5, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 18) - September 5, 2010

Jeremiah 18:1-11
Psalm 139:1-5, 13-17
Philemon 1-21
Luke 14:25-33

Life is full of “responsibilities”... We have responsibilities to our families, (our husbands, wives, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, children… Godchildren)… We have responsibilities to our jobs… We have responsibilities to our community… and we even have responsibilities to our church…

But ALL of us, as baptized Christians, have a responsibility to God, as a disciple of Jesus Christ. And all of our responsibilities fall into that delicate balance of our lives… our actions, our time, and our money. We must look at today’s readings in this context… In the context of these “responsibilities.”

It is just seems to complicate things sometimes when we mix up our other responsibilities with the responsibilities that we have as “disciples”… disciples of Jesus Christ.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is not only walking with the 12, but he is once again with the whole “crowd.” He has left the table of the Pharisees, (where he was last week), and is continuing to move forward to Jerusalem… forward to the cross, and the fait that awaits him…

But the crowd that is with Jesus, sees him as a real “winner” because he is a great teacher and healer… They see him as the messiah that will help Israel rise up and once again become a great nation. They want to be part of the social “in-crowd” and associate with him so that they can be “winners” too…

They want to be with Jesus and “be seen” with Jesus – because they think Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to claim his crown. But the crowds are completely oblivious of the horrible fate that awaits him in Jerusalem. And they don’t understand the consequences or the burden of the journey that Jesus is on.

Like the crowd that is with him, we have heard a lot about discipleship on his journey… From Sunday to Sunday during this long green season – the season of church growth after the day of Pentecost, we have learned what kind of followers we need to be, and how we need to give of ourselves, engage mission, and love each other… During this season we have been led to grow in faith, examine our lives and actions, and re-evaluate our responsibilities so we can be better disciples of Jesus…

We knew, because Jesus has warned us before, that being his disciple isn’t going to be easy, but we didn’t really expect anything like what we heard today. Jesus’ words are hard to hear in our context... they aren’t comfortable…

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus uses strong language to make a point… to teach the crowd (and in retrospect, teach us) that discipleship is costly – it carries a pretty big price tag.

Jesus does not make discipleship any easier for us than the cross was for him... He does not offer us buy one get one free deal, an easy payment plan, nor does he lower any expectations of difficulty. He gives it to us straight!

He has talked about discipleship many times, and he has never tried to disguise the cost. But this time he actually writes the price tag for discipleship in great big numbers, big enough for all of us to really see. This time, Jesus demands commitment!

The question is, are we ready to accept the responsibility and be a disciple of Jesus Christ? In our society, we are tempted to sugar coat the message and hide the true demands that being a disciple of Christ has on our lives… and we end up with more of a motovational speach instead of a sermon preached on the gospel of Christ... In the interest of filling the pews, afraid that we will run people off, we don’t to challenge people to faithful stewardship – faithful worship attendance – careful study of scripture – compassion for the less fortunate – or other costly responsibilities that being a disciple of Christ demands of us!!

Costly responsibilities that mold and shape us… costly responsibilities that require us to change our lives!

Instead, we play it cool, and cater to our feelings… we worship the god of family and convenience, and the lord of money and stuff.

Which one of us will have a commitment to serving at church and then as soon as something (that we perceive as better comes along) – we are looking for a replacement…

Or which of us evaluate the cost of discipleship as inconvenient… and when worship or study time conflicts with our sleep schedules, we adopt a religion of convenience, rather than a follow a way that promises eternal life.

And I have one more… Which one of us, when it comes to giving to the church, does so by giving things like toilet paper or reams of paper, or other specific needs that we are important… rather than disciplined proportional giving so that we can keep the lights on and pay salaries.

I have a feeling we have been comfortable too long… we have stressed the “freeness” of forgiveness so much, that we have ended up with “cheap grace.” We have become lazy about practicing our faith, giving our tithes, saying our prayers, and participating in our community. We have forgotten that the cost of discipleship is expensive!!!

We all want the rewards of what being a Christian means or we wouldn’t be here today. Yet, we are not willing to accept the responsibilities and pay for it by the way we live our lives. Instead, we continuously crucify Jesus again, making him pay over and over again, when he has already paid the debt once for all.

Now it’s our turn to step up! It our turn, and our responsibility to learn, to worship, and reach out, and become the best follower (the best disciple) that we can possibly be!

Now, I may have just gone from preachin’ to meddlin’ (like a seminary professor of mine likes to point out anytime a preacher has a strong message) but that is exactly what Jesus has done in today's Gospel lesson.

He's gone from preachin' to meddlin'. "If you don't hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, you cannot be my disciple. None of you can become my disciple unless you give up all your possessions."

Jesus has been gathering followers everywhere he goes. He does so because they see him go against the society norms and deliberately include the poor, heal the sick, and talk a lot about love and money. But, Jesus is now telling these same folks that if they want to stay with him, if they want to really be his disciples, they have to give up “everything” – EVERYTHING… family as well as possessions.

We could almost imagine his followers thinking, and some of you are probably thinking it about me… "Hey, I liked him a lot better when he was giving me a warm fuzzy – preaching about love. Leave it there! How dare you ask me to change my life." Jesus HAS really gone from preachin' to meddlin'. Jesus is challenging his disciples to radically change their lives… to completely put what they say and what they believe to the test… to put it in its proper place, before any of their own comforts.

These words are very difficult to hear, but this is where the rubber meets the road! You may remember a few weeks ago in the 12th chapter of Luke, that we heard a few Sundays back, Jesus said practically the same thing: “if you want to be a disciple, your household may be divided… Mother against daughter, Father against son, etc…”

Being a disciple is a REAL responsibility! It take dedication and hard work. People may not like us for it, they may consider us to be unpopular or un-cool. They may not even agree with what we are doing or why we are doing it. And, as so many disciples have found out before us, the price that we pay may be the cross!

But all through Luke’s gospel, Jesus points us to the cross. All through Luke (that we have been hearing this season) Jesus challenges the thinking and lifestyles of his listeners (us)… Challenging us to become “real” disciples, to be dedicated participants in our community, to engage in mission, and have a steadfast direction.

But we still have that troubling part… the part where Jesus says that if you don't hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – and yes, even life itself – you can't be my disciple. It’s the word “hate” that just doesn't sound like Jesus.

The Greek word that is used for hate is (miseo), it doesn’t mean “hate” at all in the sense that we are accustomed to hearing it… It’s not the anger and hostility that we would normally associate with the word “hate.” It means that being a follower of Jesus, being a true disciple, “outweighs” the most honored human relationships… It means that EVERYTHING is secondary to our relationship with God in Christ.

So now, if we look at Jesus’ instructions in the proper context, it isn't a call to “hate” at all – but a call to set our priorities and responsibilities right. Because putting anything – anything at all – before our relationship with God skews the rest of our relationships and responsibilities, and messes up our whole life.

The key to understanding the Gospel this morning is to first look at how we act towards one another. If we do this, we won't be like the builder that Jesus uses as an example, who lays an improper foundation and is unable to finish the work that he started.

Instead, we will have the proper foundation to build on and our priorities will be right. And when things are set right with Christ as our foundation, we will see our personal relationships grow deeper and our life have more meaning.

And then there’s that troubling part about taking up our cross… There will always be the cross… As Christian disciples, we always have a cross – but in the cross, we know that on the other side is God's promise of resurrection.

Jesus challenges us today to and intense examination of every aspect of our lives. For instance, how we use – or abuse – the gifts and blessings of our life and the wonders of God’s creation around us? It is all tied together… It could be something as simple and as how and where we shop (or even what we buy)… it all has a place in our spiritual lives… and it could even include the lives of people (people that we will probably never know) and how they are effected every time we go to the store… There are hundreds of other examples that each of us could probably can think of.

The important thing is to remember is… this Gospel makes us take a good look at our responsibilities and priorities – It makes us take a good look at the place that God occupies in our lives.

If this passage makes us squirm in our pews, and think to ourselves that Jesus really has gone from preachin' to meddlin', we need to stop and say, “why?” Why are we squirming?? Are we worried that we might be unwilling to pay the price of discipleship to really be followers of Jesus? Are we worried that we might need to make some changes in our lives?... changes necessary to straighten out our responsibilities and priorities?

The truth is… this gospel lesson ought to energize us to get up off of our duffs and get on about the business of being real disciples of Jesus Christ. To not worry about how much money we have our don’t have, but be faithful disciples, and fully engage opportunities to learn and participate in mission, and give generously so that we can grow these ministries.

In the coming weeks, I would like us to take a good look at where God is in our life… The place of God is in our life is our silent acknowledgement of who and what we know our God to be… It shows up all over our lives… of how we act, our relationships, our checkbooks, and even our participation...

If God is first, then don’t just sit around casually and say God is first!… lets do something about it!!

If God is second, then Lord have mercy on us! Let’s find out what is keeping God from being first and re-evaluate our responsibilities and priorities and do what we need to do to put God first! Amen!