In the gospel of Luke we have stories of the lost sheep – the lost coin – the prodigal son. Only Luke tells us these stories – none of the other gospel writers includes these wonderful little parables! Last Sunday at the park we heard a couple of these little gems: the lost sheep and the lost coin. Each story emphasizes God’s desire – so clearly manifested in Jesus — to find the lost one – to reach out to the fringes to find each ONE and how important that ONE is to God. There is much love for that ONE and much joy over just ONE who returns to God.
The wonder of these stories is to realize and to believe that we are each that ONE – that one lost sheep – that one lost coin – that prodigal one being welcomed home. And something amazing happens to us when we hear this good news. In fact, I think at least a couple of things happen to us when we realize WE are the ones God seeks to save.
The first thing that happens is this: When we realize that each of us recipient of God’s desire and his love, when we believe that God is FOR ME — that I am the one for whom Christ died — we are overcome with a wave of comfort and joy and relief.
It’s like putting your own name into the text of John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only son.” Put your name in place of the word WORLD. Like this: God so loved JON that he gave his only son. You do it with me right now. Insert your own name. Ready? God so loved XXX that he gave his only son. That is amazing. Almost unbelievable. We did nothing to deserve this except present our need and our brokenness to God. We did not make it easy to be found. We were not easy to love. We did not clean up our act first, nor have we kept ourselves pulled together. We didn’t get to be this ONE because of our spiritual performance or impeccable morality or anything at all! This love just IS. And it is FOR YOU. YOU are the ONE.
There’s a lot of shame and regret and pressure that falls off our shoulders with this good news. There is a lot of freedom in knowing that there is nothing we have to do. And it’s hard to believe this at times. But when we can let go and just let ourselves be loved, well . . . that is exactly where God wants us to be. Caught up in the wonder of his love. And what a holy place to be. And I hope you are in that place right now – right here – in this gathering.
There is something ELSE happens when we realize that we are God’s beloved and the object of his saving grace. Perhaps without us knowing it. And it is a thing that has the power to completely change our perspective on the world and on everyone else around us. It’s something that can change the church. It could change the world. The other thing that happens to us when we believe that we are the ONE is that we begin to realize that we are not the only ONES.
Our second reading for today is from a letter by the apostle Paul. Paul was a persecutor of Christians until Jesus found him and called him to preach the good news. Paul knows that the heart of the gospel message is that “Christ Jesus came to save sinners.” And he knows that this good news is FOR HIM whom calls the worst of the sinners Jesus came to save. But then Paul goes on to expand on this good news for the ONE and tells us something about God’s desire for EVERYONE. “God desires EVERYONE to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” He says that “Jesus gave his life as a ransom for MANY” – not just for a few chosen ones, but for ALL.
Paul wrote these words to a young pastor named Timothy — a close companion of the Apostle Paul mentioned several times in the New Testament. Timothy had been appointed as pastor in the city of Ephesus – an influential church in a major bustling metropolis – like a New York City. The population of Ephesus and of the church was diverse including Jews and Gentiles.
The Jewish Christians in the Ephesian church felt that they were the chosen ones. Paul tells them they are to welcome those with different traditions even if they are not compliant with the Jewish understanding of the law. Paul reminds Pastor Timothy of God’s desire that everyone be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
There are also those in the Ephesian church who are being influenced by a movement in the church and in the world at the time called Gnosticism. This was a belief that in order to be “saved” or know the truth or come to God, one had to have a special, exclusive knowledge known only by some. Almost like knowing the password or secret code that would allow you to discern the things of God.
So when Paul says that God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, He’s telling them that you don’t need to be in the exclusive club or achieve some elevated status to know the truth that Christ Jesus came to save sinners. That’s for EVERYONE! And when Paul says that God wants everyone to be saved, the word used there can refer to “all people” or it can be translated “all KINDS of people. God wants everyone, all kinds. To be saved.
The question today for us is: Do we desire what God desires? Do WE want all people – all KINDS of people to be welcome in the community of Christ’s love? Do we see the OTHER person as also being that ONE beloved of God? We are comforted by the fact that WE are included in the circle of God’s love not based on anything we do or don’t do. Isn’t that true for everyone? Are we going to require more of those with different traditions or who we feel are in non-compliance with the law?
Are we worried that some of our loved ones – our kids or grandkids haven’t done enough to be included? That people we care about do not gather for worship or don’t know the Bible or haven’t been confirmed? We believe that we are constantly being sought after by God even when we are struggling or confused. It’s that true for everyone? Isn’t he also just as busy seeking and saving those who do not have it all pulled together?
The challenge to believe that God truly wants all people to be saved is as real today as it was in Paul’s world and for Timothy’s church. All people and all kinds of people are included. Believing that can change the world and the church and us. It’s NOT for us alone. God’s love and his salvation is for everyone and what happens when we once again remember that we EACH and EVERYONE of us are the objects of God’s unconditional love is that we begin to desire what he desires. We begin to see our neighbor and the world through HIS eyes. We hear the lost, lonely cries that he hears. We care about the things HE cares about and our hearts begin to beat in time with his. And we begin to realize that the people whose salvation we may wonder about are the very people we ARE. Because what is true for us is true for all.
In fact, think for a minute of someone you think of as “lost” or someone that seems far away from God. Think of the crabbiest person you know – someone difficult to love – hard to understand – different from you in their lifestyle or values. And let’s put THEM in John 3:16. You don’t have to say their name out loud (in fact, please don’t) but listen as I read the passage and in your heart and mind you fill in the blank silently: “God so loved _____________ that he gave his only Son.”
That’s amazing, right? It’s what God wants us to believe and how he wants us to relate to the broken humanity of which we are a part. In our gathering here as a community we keep returning to that place safe place where we are found and chosen and free. And it is there that the amazing things happen to us and we experience the wonders of God’s love for ME for YOU and for ALL!
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