13th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 307

• 13^th Sunday after Trinity
• 10.0 am Holy Communion CW
• 15^th September 2019

Prayer to Start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ.           AMEN                                             

INTRODUCTION

Getting lost!

We’ve all done it – in the car – on foot – one minute we thought we knew where were – the next – we take a wrong turn – and – we realize we don’t –

I remember getting lost once – on a school trip to York – when I was 11 – I left my school cap in York Minister – and decided on the lunch break to go back and retrieve it – of course – it wasn’t there – and when I came out  – and then – turned left instead of right – some minutes later I found myself walking along the banks of the river Ouse – in the wrong direction –

Fortunately – a kind a Lady saw I was getting distressed  – and after only the briefest of information  – and a short bus ride later – I was taken back to my teachers  – (with half a crown and an orange in my pocket) – before the police were informed – 

The getting lost that – Jesus is talking about – however – is in our relationship with God –

We can lose our way through  – all sorts of reasons – by accident  – on purpose – as a result of someone else’s influence – but here  – in these parables – in our Gospel reading – whatever the reason – Jesus tells us that God – wants us found – and as quickly as possible – and He’s – prepared to go to any lengths to find us –

Point 1        Sticking with God 

When children are small – the words – “I love you” – comes out of their mouths – as often as the kisses – they blow out at us – and we are thrilled every time we hear and see their love expressed

As they grow older – their signs of affection are not so frequent – but when they do make them – we know they’re – more meaningful than ever – 

God our Father enjoys our expressions of love for Him – every bit as much – as our earthly parents do – and responding to His love is a vital part of our relationship with Him –

Our OT reading from Jeremiah reminds us that everything to do with God and His love is personal – to Him – if we turn our backs on God – He considers us foolish – children – with no understanding –

Everything connected with God must be “taken to the heart” – He wants us to remain close to Him – through the love of Jesus – who nourishes us – and is the source of our life – vitality – and strength

Throughout our lives we will be faced with many instances – many demands that – will want to pull us away from God – but we have to resist and stay faithful – and put our love for Him first –

If we put God first – we will go places – if we don’t we’ll get lost – 

And of course – there are other ways of losing the plot – and one of them – is not knowing Him in the first place – 

The importance of God’s love must be taught – and the family and Church are the ideal places to teach about it –

In our NT lesson Paul reminds Timothy of the importance of teaching – about the faith and love of Jesus Christ – of the tremendous difference Jesus can make to someone’s life –

When people realize what the Christian Gospel is all about – how sin and death have been defeated through Jesus – and that God’s power has been brought to light through the resurrection of Jesus – then entire world values can be turned upside down –

Such a transformation of course happened to Paul himself – who sets himself up as an example of someone who has received God’s mercy and grace.

Someone who has been saved by the shepherd – but Paul wasn’t just a lost sheep – away from God – he was more of a wolf – harrying and devouring the flock – but still God’s mercy came to him.

If Paul can be rescued – anyone can be rescued.

Point 2    God who searches for the lost

Most of us – have found a tin at the bottom of the cupboard – without a label -wondering what’s inside – fruit – beans – soup – cat food? – there’s only one way to find out – and that’s to look inside –

We all use labels – to remember things – to identify things – they can be important – they can also be misleading – just because there’s a brand name on the clothes doesn’t – necessarily mean its an authentic product –

When it comes to people – however  – using labels can be dangerous – if you’re not careful – you can end up being sued – or worst –

None of us fits easily into neat categories – we all have a complex mixture of good and bad – strong and weak – wise and foolish – inside us – but as Jesus found throughout His ministry – it’s part of our  human nature  – to pigeon hole people  – despite the misery it causes  – 

These two parables in Luke  – were told because Jesus had a habit of mixing with the wrong people – tax collectors – gentiles – the poor – folk other people would have considered unclean – or out of touch with God – He was eating and drinking with them – and the Pharisees and His followers didn’t understand why –

Today its no different – the same prejudices all too easily find – their way into our hearts – preventing us from mixing and reaching out to people in need – we need to look – as Jesus did – behind the label – to see what lies underneath –

What the shepherd did for the lost sheep – God is doing for us now – He is looking for us – and wants to bring us back to His fold –

When we drop something – How long are we prepared to keep looking for it? –  Of course – it depends on what we have lost -whether it’s a penny – or a pound – or a gold wedding ring –

Few of us are willing to look for anything – too long – even if its something really valuable – the exception of course is if a child or a family member goes missing – then we go on searching for as long as it takes –

That’s how God feels about us – as Jesus tells us – He is like the shepherd searching for His lost sheep – the woman looking for her lost coin – until she finds it – God will keep searching for us – for as long as it takes –

When we go astray – God just doesn’t look for a moment and then lose interest – He goes on looking for us – never resting until He finds us –

Whoever we are – whatever we have done – we matter enough for Him never to abandon His search – enough for Him to rescue and redeem us – even to the point of offering His Son – 

God’s love is a love that will not let us go – until we are restored to His side –

Point 3        God who saves

And now – we come to one of the main points of the parables – when someone is found and returns to the flock – it’s a great celebration – there’s a party going on in heaven – and if we don’t have one as well – says Jesus – then we are out of tune with God’s way of thinking

The punch line for each of the two parables is that heaven and earth are meant to be in harmony with each other – and we should be celebrating with God – too –

The closest the Pharisees got to understanding this was to maintain a strict purity of the temple –

Jesus is not saying that those who have strayed – should be taken in as they stand – there must be repentance – a change in direction – 

But Jesus has a different idea to His critics on what “repentance” means – for the Jewish leaders its about – observing the law – For Jesus it’s about following Him – and following His ways –

Of course – getting lost – is not a one-off event – we go on making mistakes everyday – straying off the line Jesus gives us – and we sometimes have to make some major changes to get back on course

The sheep and the coin are not in themselves special – the lost sheep is not loved any more than the other 99 – its just that they are lost – and need to be found –

Ending

The real challenge of these parables – is in what we should do – in response to them – and in response to the love God shows to us – through His Son Jesus –

Jesus tells us that – when we discover how things are in heaven then we will know how things should be on earth – and He is the one who shows us how things are in Heaven –

What better expression of our love can we make therefore than to follow Jesus and fulfill the commandment He gave us – to show God’s heavenly love to all – a love that never gives up – that never stops looking – no matter who we are – or what we have done – until we are found and brought back to God.

Let’s finish with a prayer:

Gracious God, we praise you that though we may lose sight of you – you will never lose sight of us – we thank you – that though we may sometimes stray – we know that you will never abandon us – watch over us Lord – today and everyday – and lead us safely through our journey of life – through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.