Vicar Brett Wilson – 16th Sunday after Pentecost - 9/12/10
Luke 15:1-10

In today's gospel lesson, Jesus says twice, through the voice of the woman and the shepherd in the parables, “Rejoice with me!” Rejoice! It's rally day, we all have reasons to count our blessings, let's have a party! Think about all the reasons we throw parties. Kids especially love a good party. I am the oldest child in my family, I have one brother who is two and a half years younger than me, and it's fair to say that we had a pretty competitive sense of sibling rivalry when we were growing up. When my brother's birthday rolled around, especially when I was about 10 or younger, as the days got closer and the plans for the birthday party were made, I would feel my jealousy creeping in. It wasn't that my parents made that big of a fuss about birthdays but I would be jealous of the focus on him instead of me. I would think – he hasn't been that good in school lately . . . he doesn't deserve a video game! And even though I got to enjoy the birthday meal, the birthday cake and games at the party, I still sometimes resented it.

Maybe it's that part of me, the little girl on her brother's birthday, that so easily can relate to the feelings of the Pharisees and scribes in this morning's gospel. There they are, the in crowd. The Pharisees always have a seat with Jesus and an invitation to the party (even if they wrote it themselves). And yet, once again when Jesus gathers the outcast, traitors, and forgotten of society and sits with them for a meal and conversation, the in-crowd complains – how can he welcome sinners and eat with them? Jesus' parable here, like most other places, is a direct answer and a very sharp move. The Pharisees are most definitely the ninety-nine sheep or the nine coins in the parable. And while we are so used to hearing this story and picturing ourselves as the one lost – and we are – what if you were one of the 99? What do you mean you're leaving us here unprotected in the wilderness to go look for that one? They got lost! It's their own fault. It seems logical enough an argument and yet totally overlooks the grace and love of the shepherd, of the woman, of our God.

Yet this is an argument we use all too often to exclude others from our own tables. Just like a childhood birthday party, we get jealous when the focus is on others or people are invited to our tables whom we judge as unworthy to eat with. We think – they got lost, it's their own fault. . . Our society, but really our humanity, has us label people as the weak link without even thinking twice about it, and then resent why they may be invited to the same party as us – to the same benefits, to the same quality of life and respect. We label people as the weak link, as undeserving to be at the party, with the labels undocumented immigrant, welfare cheater, lazy disabled person, lazy rich person, mooch. We expect people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. We expect them to deserve it – just like the Pharisees expect the so-called, outcasts, sinners, to work and deserve Jesus' attention – just like I wanted my brother to not get birthday presents if he had just pulled my hair or broken my barbie the day before. It doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem fair, it doesn't make sense that the shepherd would go out and look for the one, or the woman would sweep the house to find one coin and then probably spend much more than one coin to throw a party to celebrate finding it.

I just had a birthday a couple weeks ago, and I felt really loved. I received so many cards and warm wishes. I spent a wonderful, relaxing day. Yet every year on my birthday I think about – I didn't do anything to deserve this! I just . . . am! I always make sure to thank my mom and dad, and God on my birthdays. They did all the work. And with my memories of my childhood birthday parties, I am inspired by the fullness of grace in this gospel story. You cannot work to earn a birthday just like the parties the shepherd and the woman throw were not earned. It's not about deserving or mastering any skills. It isn't about fairness, or about it all making sense. It's about God's extravagant love for you. You are the coin, you are the sheep, and a coin and a sheep cannot do anything to be found. It cannot yell “hey, I'm over here!” operate a homing beacon or GPS, or have any way of finding its seeker. In the same way, I am lost, I am sinful, and I have absolutely no power to repent – all I can do is say - “I'm lost!” This is all we do in confession – admit we're lost - God does the rest, finding us and forgiving us, right where we are. Jesus finds you. God has no limits to how far or how long, but God seeks you out. It doesn't make sense, it's not fair, because it's not about that – it's about God's extravagant love, love without limits, for each individual person, right down to the very last one.

Sometimes we may catch ourselves feeling like the 99, being the Pharisees who label others as undeserving and complain that they are invited to the party. But Jesus interrupts us and says – what are you complaining about – you're already at the party! So rejoice with me! Rejoice with Christ each time the body of Christ grows. Rejoice that Christ's love does not fit within our labels and that Jesus goes to every length to find each individual, especially those we forget or cast aside. Rejoice that we get to be at the birthday party each time a child of God is baptized here, that we get to have our seat at the (communion) table and join in every birthday meal. You're already at the party! Rejoice!

Rejoice that we can tell others about how wonderful it is to be at this celebration. Rejoice that because Christ found us, and claimed us in our baptism, we can reflect God's love in inviting others to the table. This is evangelism, and it is a great gift to us – not a burden, but an urge to tell, to invite, just as Christ found us, invited us. We are not the hosts of this party, but we rejoice that God is, and we get to sit at the table with Christ, sins and all. This invitation is just, as D. T. Niles put it, one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. We cannot find Christ ourselves or even draw someone else a map or a guide on how to do it, but we can witness to that Jesus will sweep every corner of the world looking for you – he will shine on you the light of the gospel, and God will welcome you home.