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Sermon on Hospitality

SERMON ON HOSPITALITY

(EUREKA, I HAVE FOUND IT!)

TEXT: LUKE 15:1-10

 

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Parables are little stories that Jesus told. He used them to capture his listeners' attention; he used them to teach. But most of all, he used them to help people have an experience of God. Parables are metaphors drawn from daily life, so his audience would have an affinity for them. Luke takes three of Jesus' stories and strings them together here. The two parables for today are followed by the story of the Prodigal son. Luke is saying that these three stories have a lot in common. As I read aloud the Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, see if you can discover the common themes.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 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 neighbors, 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 persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin
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 neighbors, 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."

GOD REJOICES
The repeating themes: Something is lost, the seeker is unrelenting in the search, and when the missing sheep or coin is found, there is great rejoicing!

Rejoicing, that is my favorite theme. If we take the parables at their most obvious level, they are about God's inordinate joy at finding one who is lost. Jesus asks this question of his audience "Which one of you will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost?" "Which one of you will not turn her house upside down in order to find a tiny silver coin and then when you find it, give a party that will set you back 10 times the value of the coin?" Which one of you?
The answer to that question is, NO-ONE!

GOD, THE FRANTIC SEEKER; WE THE LOST LAMB
No, we are too sensible. We would not be so foolish as to leave 99 sheep to the peril of the wilderness and go off in crazed abandon to find one lost one. As to the little coin, probably just part of a decorative head-dress, what's the big deal? It didn't have that much value. Which one of you? . . . Not me!

But God, like the shepherd is overcome with love for that little sheep, God, like the housewife is obsessed with something immeasurably dear to her, . . . God seeks, finds, and rejoices! This is an astounding image! In much religious thought, the worshipper must try to win the attention of God. He or she must beg for a hearing, make sacrifices, and follow a strict regime of prayers and rituals. And then, maybe, God will look with pity upon the poor wretch. But Jesus says that God initiates the relationship. God is ever seeking, yearning for, pursuing us! Love that will not let us go.

And so we put ourselves into this parable. Are we the blessed sheep, the precious coin? Once lost, now found? I hope so; contrary to the self-righteous attitudes of the Pharisees, none of us is so self-sufficient or pure that we do not need the saving grace of God to seek us out.

THE CHURCH WHO IMITATES GOD
But as a church, we must read these stories with yet another point of view, for surely, we are called to be a God-like community. How do we emulate the character of God in this parable? How are we to become not only the found, but the seekers as well?

This sermon is the second in a series about why we come to church. The first was: We come to learn to follow Jesus. This one is: We come to form an alternative community, a place where all are welcome; where friendliness, hospitality, and acceptance are valued. We come to imitate God, seeking out the one who needs the safety of a flock and thrilled when that one is found and brought home.

The local sports news this week was all about the revered coach of the Patriots, Bill Belichick caught in a cheating scandal, taping the signals of the opposing coaches. Many people have excused or explained this lapse by saying "it's all about winning at any cost." That's probably true. Professional sports surely aren't about playing for the fun of it. But the sad thing is, this mentality filters into colleges, high schools, and even Little League. Winning, fame, beauty-that's what makes us worthwhile.
How we rejoiced at the fall of Britney Spears. She no longer has it. She is OUT! A lost sheep. And we're lovin' it! The dominant cultural attitude has become Schadenfruede. Rejoicing at the misfortunes of others is the new cool.

Don't you think this affects us and our children? I notice even our 5-year-old grandsons are obsessed with winning and being the best. That's way too young even to be conscious of a social pecking order.

CHURCH AS SAFE HAVEN, ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY
Church has got to be an alternative. We've got to feel comfortable and accepted here if we don't have it all-expensive clothes, perfect bodies, white collar job. We've got to be accepted here if we're not entirely whole: battling addiction or depression, self-esteem in the pits, so overwhelmed by life that we can't do anything more than plop ourselves in a pew on Sunday and maybe shed a tear or two. We've got to be accepted here if we're carrying some tattered baggage-unruly children, bad luck in relationships or jobs, a prison record. We've got to be accepted if we're the lost sheep.

A pastor tells about illustrating this story for the children's time. He divided the kids into two groups-the "Good Shepherds" and "the Lost Sheep". He asked all of the "Good Shepherds to turn their backs to the congregation and close their eyes. The "Lost Sheep" were instructed to find a hiding place in the sanctuary. Then the "Good Shepherds" persistently searched for the "Lost Sheep". All seemed to go well and the "Good Shepherds" were really proud of finding the "Lost Sheep" as they all trooped down to Sunday school. A bit later, while the pastor was launching an important point in his sermon, a small, frightened voice was heard, "I'm still lost"!

And plenty of us can be hiding here in this sanctuary and say the same thing that little one did, "I'm still lost." But don't worry, God is seeking, seeking, seeking. And if we succeed at being the church we want to be, so are we.

So yes, this is church. An alternative to the culture that tends to rank people and shun the lost. We need to be a safe haven. And yet, these parables are not about simple hospitality. They are about passionate outreach. The shepherd doesn't expect the lost sheep to wander back into the fold. The coin will not return of its own volition. God is active: calling, searching, sweeping, overturning things. The church must be also.

SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS, BEING THE SEEKER
The time is right. Any trendwatcher will tell you there is a climate of spiritual exploration in our culture right now. Materialism has left us empty, war has made us afraid. We are in search of something with transcendent meaning, we are in search of inner peace and spiritual security.
I know we main-liners cringe at obtrusive proselytizing. That is not our way. But there are lots of ways to reach out respectfully, to be active in our witness. Many of us are here today because someone invited us. That's the easiest, most effective way of bringing the good news of God to another.

We're moving into a new era at Pilgrim. New space downstairs that's going to expand our potential for creating child-friendly programs and for providing fellowship opportunities. I hope that will also start a trend toward bringing in new people. I read once about a church leadership Council that ended every one of its monthly meetings by filing into the sanctuary where each member knelt in front of one of the seats in the auditorium. There they prayed, "God, may this seat be filled on Sunday with someone who really needs to hear a saving word of love." And they worked their way down the rows until each seat in the sanctuary had been prayed over. I'm sure those prayers led to action as they put feet to their prayers and invited people to come to church with them.

INVITE, INVITE, INVITE
Somewhere in your neighborhood, on the soccer field, at work, in the PTO, in your book group, there is somebody who wants a place to explore living to his or her deepest potential. Somewhere there is a person who'd love to sing in a choir. Somewhere there is a gay man like the one I talked to at a wedding yesterday who is looking for a place he can be himself; not a person who is judged but a fellow Christian among friends. Somewhere there is a child who'd like to know more about Jesus. Somewhere there is a person who has an impulse to serve others but can't figure out how to do it.

If you know that person, seek him out. Invite her to come. That shepherd didn't just yodel "Here, sheepy, sheepy!" He went out and brought him in. "Come to our church barbeque next month. I'll pick you up."

Now I'm going to ask you to look around. Not at your fellow pew mates, but at the empty seats. Pick one. Focus on that spot and as you hold that place in your vision, pray with me.

PRAYER FOR THE GUEST WHO IS WAITING TO BE WELCOMED
Loving, compassionate, seeking God. There is someone who needs to occupy this place. Help me to reach out to a friend or acquaintance with a friendly invitation. If someone visits and sits there, may he or she find in us a welcoming place of hope and safety, a community who rejoices that we have found each other. Amen.