Proper 19C

Have any of you seen the Christopher Robin movie?

Its very cute and not just for children.

Actually, I think its more geared toward adults really.

But, anyway, there is a scene in the movie where

Christopher Robin, as an adult, is standing in an important meeting at his job,

realizing he has lost all of his work papers from his briefcase.

The real truth is that Tigger took them out of the briefcase,

but Christopher Robin doesn't know that.

He simply knows that he has lost something important

and he doesn't know where it is.

Luckily, Christopher Robin's daughter, Madeline, figures out that Tigger took all of Christopher Robin's important papers because she finds them with Winnie the Pooh and the gang.

So she sets out on an expedition to return the papers to Christopher Robin,

while Christopher Robin sets out on his own journey to find them.

Along the way, both Christopher Robin and Madeline both find what they had really lost,

not the work papers, the boring suitcase manufacturing efficiency paperwork,

but their joy in living.

And the movie ends, in saving the company of course, but also their rejoicing of new life

with what they had really lost,

each other.

Today we hear in the gospel passage from Luke

the first two stories in a three part teaching parable.

The real clincher story, the third story, we don't get to hear today,

and sadly, we won't get to hear next week either.

But you all know what comes after the story of the lost sheep,

and the story of the lost coin, right?

The parable of the lost son, the story of the prodigal son.

The one who takes all his inheritance, goes out into the world,

spending all his life on worldly pleasures,

eventually to find himself wishing for some pig slop to eat,

so he returns to his family, as one who is lost,

but his father finds him and rejoices in his return,

giving him more than he ever deserved.

Rejoicing that they have found each other.

These stories are amazing on so many levels.

Not only because they show God's grace and mercy in such abounding ways,

but also because they can also show us other truths,

truths about what we lose in our lives

and how important it is to find those things and rejoice in their finding.

The shepherd lost a sheep.

The woman lost a coin.

The father lost a son,

the son lost his way

the older son lost his relationship

And Jesus tells us these stories

because our God is one who searches out and finds

and rejoices in the finding.

We can be comforted, both in knowing that when we are lost,

God is searching for us and will find us.

And then when we have lost something, God will help us search out and find.

So that in the end, we can rejoice together,

we can call all our friends and family,

just as the shepherd, the woman, the father,

even as Christopher Robin does,

to rejoice together.

Rejoicing together is part of the calling of the church.

Jesus asks us to rejoice with him

whenever anyone who has been lost is found.

Rejoicing is a major part of the whole idea of a Sunday morning worship service.

We gather together in celebration,

in celebration of what God has done for us,

and in celebration that we are a community together.

Its the best title I could ever have, the Celebrant,

the one who leads in celebration.

Sadly, we don't always feel able to rejoice in what God has done.

Sometimes we feel offended by who God has chosen to include,

like the Pharisees watching Jesus talk to tax collectors and sinners.

Sometimes we feel upset that we are not the ones being celebrated,

like the older brother in the Prodigal Son Parable.

Sometimes we don't feel that rejoicing is important, 

we have more important things to do,

like the guests in the wedding banquet parable,

where the guests are invited but none show up because they are too busy.

However, God continues to call us to rejoice,

even if we don't respond at first.

One of the nice things about parables

is that they can be seen in many different ways.

Not only does God go out to find that which is lost,

but we are also called to go out in search of what is lost,

including bringing those who have been distant from God

into relationship with God,

bringing them to church.

Unfortunately, sometimes people wonder if it is really okay to bring

those who have been lost into the church,

people who have committed crimes or made mistakes in their lives.

Do we really want those kinds of people in our community? They ask.

The answer is always

Yes. 

Yes, that is the church.

No one here is perfect. 

We have all been lost at some point in our lives

and we have all made mistakes and messed up our lives

at some point or another.

This is the amazing thing about God.

The grace and mercy and love of God.

God, as a shepherd, as a woman, as a father, as a host,

wants to gather us together,

the lost and the found,

those who are still seeking and those who have found,

to rejoice!

God has done amazing things for all of us

and we should rejoice together.

I look around our church/chapel this morning,

and I see lots of empty pews. 

For whatever reason, 

being lost,

offended, confused, too busy,

there are a lot of people not rejoicing with us this morning. 

Its hard to fulfill our calling 

to rejoice together

if there aren't many together.

I know, Franklin is a vibrant town.

It doesn't have the biggest industries anymore,

but it does have a lot of spirit and a lot of people who are engaged and involved.

Plenty of social events and people enjoying community.

And I also know,

that some of those people are feeling lost in their lives.

They feel that something is missing.

They feel hopeless or lonely or despair,

and we aren't out there searching for them.

We are not being the shepherd who searches for the lost sheep,

we are not being the woman who searches her home.

We are not being the father, welcoming others home.

In some ways, we simply seem to hanging out on the sidelines,

waiting for someone else to do something.

Jesus calls us to go out and search,

and then to gather together and rejoice.

We have to go out into the world and search and find

in order to come back to rejoice.

I know we could have a full rejoicing church on Sunday mornings.

God knows it is possible.

All these open pews are waiting to be found

by all those out in the world searching.

God calls us to enter into the work of searching out and finding,

so that gathered all together

we can rejoice in the great goodness 

of our awesome God.

Amen.