"Lost or Found?" by The Rev. Donald L. Hamer, Rector
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Trinity Episcopal Church, Hartford, CT
Year C, Proper 19
September 11, 2016
“Lost or Found?”
1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15: 1-10
This morning’s Gospel passage contains two of Jesus’ best-known parables. The first is about the shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep that are protected to find the one lost sheep; the second is about a woman who rejoices after finding a single missing coin: She had ten and lost one. As we recall these well-known parables, we usually focus on God’s assurance that God is always looking for us, that Jesus the Good Shepherd is always watching out for us. And indeed we believe and trust in that blessed assurance.
The challenge presented by such well-known passages from Scripture is that they become so familiar to us that we assume that we know what’s there and so we don’t need to give it any more attention. But then there are the things we do NOT notice. This happens to us in everyday life – the man you have known as having a moustache for years shaves it off one day and when you see him, you know something is different but wind up asking him something like, “Did you get new glasses?” Or a more personal one: A question for all husbands – have you ever failed to notice that your wife has been to the hair stylist and has her hair done differently? Never a good scene. If she has to ask, “Do you like my hair?” – it’s too late.
As with anything in life, we can become so accustomed to the familiar that we fail to notice nuance or subtle changes or things that just don’t jump out at us. And this goes for passages from Scripture that we think we know. We don’t spend a lot of time delving into them and so, we can easily miss some of what God has waiting for us there.
As we consider this morning’s passage from Luke, we know so well the
message of care and safekeeping that the two parables are meant to convey. But when we examine more closely the occasion in which Luke places the two parables, we can gain some fresh insights into the meaning of the parables and the message Jesus has for us this morning. Look again at how Chapter 15 begins: Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The two parables Jesus tells are in response to the grumbling and criticism of the Pharisees and the scribes – the religious “insiders” who were surrounding Jesus. The radical hospitality offered by Jesus to people who were considered “outsiders” was an affront to the leaders’ sense of social etiquette and religious propriety. The scribes and Pharisees were the keepers of the social codes of “clean” and “unclean,” who and what was allowed and who and what wasn’t. Jesus was breaking the rules – and it made them uncomfortable.
And so when we reflect on the context in which these two parables are told, we are confronted with a very different way of understanding them: While we typically understand them in a way that emphasizes the redemption of the “lost,” we realize that the parables in their context are really meant to address those who are already “found.” They are meant to be as much of a challenge to those – including us – who are on the “inside” of religion as they are meant to be a comfort to everyone – both the insiders and the outsiders.
What about the threat of outsiders coming near? Chapter 15 begins with the words, Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near . . .” – that’s the beginning of the threat to the scribes and Pharisees. Now when you think about it, the tax collectors and sinners were always near – they were neighbors, they must have mingled in the streets and in the market places. So it wasn’t mere physical proximity that troubled them. What troubled the scribes and Pharisees is that one of them – the rabbi Jesus – was ignoring the rules of social propriety and religious custom by which they governed their own social conduct. He was inviting the outsiders inside. Jesus likes to do this around the imagery of a meal. Recall that just a few verses earlier in Chapter 14 of Luke, Jesus has told a story to a group gathered at the home of a Pharisee about a king who gave a great dinner and invited the customary invitees. None of them would come, saying they had other things to do. And Jesus continues: Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those invited will taste my dinner.” Jesus’ table is always open to anyone who will come.
So what is upsetting the scribes and Pharisees in this morning’s story is not that the sinners and tax collectors are drawing near, it is that they are getting too near; that Jesus is ignoring the boundaries, the walls, the barriers that they – in organized Judaism – have set up. The sad reality is that whenever we define ourselves by our boundaries, it says very little about who we are or what we stand for. It only says something about who we are not, and almost always lifts man-made rules above the radical embrace to which Jesus calls us.
What are some of these traditions, these customs, these boundaries that are part of our own tradition and the traditions of other denominations? For starters, in the Episcopal Church, there is an official doctrine that one must have received the sacrament of baptism before one is allowed to receive communion. I know many of you from other parts of the Anglican Communion even remember a time when one was not allowed to receive communion until one was actually confirmed, never mind baptized. Where did this tradition come from? Is there any time in the Gospels when Jesus turns someone away from the table who faithfully desires to participate? I am not aware of one. In most Episcopal congregations this doctrinal rule is not observed – it has not been enforced here at Trinity for over 30 years. Why? Because the rule does nothing to build up the Body of Christ, and only serves as a barrier to people who are not members of the organization – part of the in-crowd. I don’t believe that Jesus needs to be protected from outsiders. His church shouldn’t need protection, either.
Jesus’ challenge to the scribes and Pharisees is also one to his own followers in the Christian church. Jesus radically welcomed all who came to him in faith and hope. We are called to do the same. How can we do that?
One example: Welcoming new neighbors who come to us as refugees or other immigrants seeking a new life. This is something we here at Trinity have done for more than 50 years. There is a lot of planning and effort that go into this – ask the dozen or so Trinity parishioners who are preparing to receive our refugee family from Syria. We know very little about them at this point, and we are working to receive them with a fully-furnished apartment, clothing and food. There may be moments of awkwardness or discomfort as we get used to one another and our respective traditions, beliefs, boundaries. The differences do not make our own values and traditions any less important or valid or even sacred – it simply means that Jesus has invited us to welcome these people into our space, into our lives, and to offer them hospitality – seeing Jesus’ face in theirs, even if they are not Christian.
Another example: Welcoming people who are not regular worshippers with us on Sunday mornings but for whom this place is a refuge, a haven that brings their lives closer to wholeness and to a sense that they are beloved children of God. Examples? Those whom we feed at Church by the Pond and at Loaves and Fishes; those for whom we provide space, such as the students and families of Trinity Academy, the men seeking to re-enter the job market through the Fresh Start pallet furniture program, the scores of men and women who meet here weekly for 12-step programs. Providing this type of hospitality are all 21st century examples of what Jesus was talking about to the scribes and Pharisees. We don’t see our fellow human beings whom we serve or welcome as an inconvenience or in the way – they are beloved children of God, made in God’s image, for whom we are a pathway to God’s love and warm embrace. We do it because that is what followers of Jesus do.
Jesus understands that those who are not “members” of the church are not outsiders, but critical to what the Body of Christ should be in its fullness. From them, we learn more fully about the nature of God, and together with them, the Kingdom of God draws near. On this Homecoming Sunday when we enjoy fellowship with one another over a meal that we have all participated in preparing, it is important to remind ourselves why we call Trinity our spiritual home. Jesus calls us to continue to open our doors and rejoice as we welcome all to share in the generous banquet of life and love that He Himself has provided to us. AMEN.