Rector's Sermon - Sunday, September 9, 2004

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
Exodus 32:7-14	51:1-5, 8-11	Timothy 1:12-17	Luke 15:1-10

    Jesus’ stories about a shepherd searching the fields and finding a lost sheep and an old woman sweeping her cottage to find a small coin seem to us rather quaint, and hopelessly dated. Yet, what if in our day. Jesus had phrased the questions: which of you who on the first day of school waited for your young child to return home on the school bus, and when your child did not get off the bus, would not call the bus garage and the school, or wait for the second bus, even if you had to cancel your dental appointment?

    Which one of you, if your family dog broke his leash and ran away, would not search the neighborhood for the dog calling for him to come, even if that meant you would have to postpone preparing dinner? Would you not rejoice when your child was found, even if she had not paid attention and got on the wrong bus? Would you not be relieved when you found your dog, even if the dog had trudged through a swamp and was caked with mud before being found? If you would respond this way to your child or family pet, do you not think God would respond to each one of us? Do you not think that God, who created us all, would treat our neighbor any less than our family dog?

    We live in a world that likes to hedge its bets, that does not wish to be committed to anything. In contrast to all the ambiguous messages, and menagerie of choices out there, Jesus does not hedge his bets on God's love. In their context and with proper translation, Jesus' parables are usually remarkably straightforward. They do not invite deep philosophical debates about God. They are incisive; they make a point, and invite a response. There are no hidden agendas or deceptive catches.

    The point of these parables is that God is always searching, and always wishes to find people. Hence the parable of the sheep is not about shepherding at all. It is not invoking a debate over what should you do with the ninety-nine sheep as you go after the one, or how do you keep the one sheep from getting lost in the first place, or what was wrong with the one sheep who got lost and what do you do about it? In the story of the woman and the coin, there is no hidden message on the virtues of keeping one’s savings in a bank or whether the woman should have gotten a 3 month, six month, 12 month, or 18 month certificate of deposit. Rather the parables are very consistent in announcing that God's benevolent concern for humanity is unrelenting and unconditional. If you are ever lost, you can count that God in someway wishes to find you. You can trust God on this.

    One of my favorite movie actors is Robin Williams. He is so expressive, breaks the stereotypes, and I rarely figure out what he is going to do next. A few years ago he starred in a movie called "What Dreams May Come." The script is about a couple that loses their daughter in a tragic accident. The mother tries, but blames herself and cannot forgive herself. Finally, in despair, she takes her own life. It becomes apparent that this marriage has caused lots of pain, but the husband, played by Williams, refuses to let go and pursues his wife into the realms of death in order to bring her back. All sorts of obstacles are placed in his way, which would deter even the most heroic person. Yet Williams’ character persists. The computer- generated visual effects are more stunning than the story line, but the husband does not give up until he finds and rescues his wife from death's jaws, even though it was a monster she had created.

    I have never liked the image of God sitting on a heavenly marble throne, similar to a giant version of the Lincoln Memorial. (Parenthetically I am not sure Lincoln himself would feel comfortable sitting way up there. I suspect he would much prefer to be down in the mall comforting people at the Vietnam Memorial Wall.) If there is a throne somewhere in heaven I doubt God is ever on it. God is out of the building, running down the lane, welcoming a lost son home, or out in a muddy field looking for a lamb, or is the neighbor with the broom, helping an old woman move the sofa cushions. I suppose God even spends more time waiting at the school bus stop in the rain, or calling for naughty dogs to mind, than any of us can imagine. As I listen to Jesus' parables describing God first and foremost as a searcher and healer of human hearts, I can imagine God looking eerily like a disheveled Robin Williams, for that is the type of role model God gives us. That is Good News.

    And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.