Welcome in God’s kingdom (proper 19)

 Luke 15: 1-10

I am infamous for my inability to remember the name of a film, or even (reliably) the names of stars who were in it. And yet, there are scenes and snippets of dialogue I can recall clearly, and within 5 minutes of starting to watch a film I can often say “oh I’ve seen this before”.

 

So it’s no surprise that I can remember a scene in a film about an American President in which, like Jesus, he is accused of mixing with the wrong sorts of people.

The president – played by a clean-cut type, perhaps Michael Douglas? – is being asked by the press whether he is friends with a business man who has been involved in a shady deal.

His first thought is to deny being friends with the man, but his press officer advises him to take a different tack.

‘If they say “are you friends?” you say “no we’re good friends”.

If they ask “are you good friends? You say “no, we were the best of friends”.

 

You step towards the questions – you leave them nowhere to go.’

 

In some contexts I have heard this called “stepping towards the conflict”.

 

And I think that’s what Jesus is doing in the passage we heard from Luke.

When he is accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners he doesn’t try to say “tax collectors are not all bad, you know. Some of my best friends are tax collectors”. Nor does he say that the sinners he talks to are not really awful sinners – they just sin in minor ways.

 

Jesus wants those who question him about the sort of people he is spending time with, to realise that he is reaching out with God’s love to everyone – and especially to those who most need it. He is stepping towards the tax-collectors and sinners, in love.

 

His critics have no time for tax collectors and sinners  - they despise them as the lowest and the least – but Jesus wants his questioners to realise how important these tax collectors and sinners really are.

 

So he tells the story of a shepherd – who has 100 sheep, but one gets lost. What does he do?

He leaves the 99 (some commentators suggest that he would leave them in the care of another member of the family) – and he goes in search of the one who is lost. And when he finds the missing sheep, he carries the lost sheep home, and rejoices.

 

The shepherd who cares values the one sheep in the hundred he owns.

That, Jesus says, is how much the angels in heaven rejoices over a lost soul.

 

Then Jesus tells the story of a woman who loses one of her ten coins – here is something even more valuable than 1% of a flock of sheep – a precious coin.

When she realise it is lost, she sweeps the whole house, and checks everywhere by the light of a lamp until the coin is found. And then, once again, it’s party time – she invites in all her neighbours to rejoice with her, because the coin is found and now she has ten once again.

That too, says, Jesus, is how much the angels rejoice over every lost soul which finds their way back to God’s love.

 

In the next part of Luke, after the reading we had today, is the third in this set of stories. The story of the lost sheep and the lost coin is followed by the story of the lost son – the story we most often call the story of the prodigal son.

The father rejoices because he gets back, he ‘finds’ one of his two sons.

A lost one in a hundred, a lost one in ten, a lost one of two…whatever the maths, God does not leave us lost, but steps out to find us.

 

Jesus says that is how much God, our heavenly father, rejoices over every soul which finds their way home to God’s arms.

Jesus is accused of mixing with the wrong sort of people – and he turns this accusation into a bold statement about who is important in God’s kingdom. Everyone is important, says Jesus – but the angels rejoice especially over the ones who turn away from sin, who leave behind lives of personal greed, and who turn to follow Jesus and walk in God’s ways.

 

Jesus eats with sinners so that they can hear his words and heed them, turn their lives around and become truly children of God. And then the angels rejoice.

 

And we are called to follow Jesus.

 

First of all, to recognise that the angels rejoice over us when we turn towards God and fall into step with Jesus.

I wonder how many angels are rejoicing this morning to see us gathered here in worship around this table?

 

Secondly, like Jesus, we need to welcome the people that are often rejected. The doors of our chapel stand open to anyone who wants to come in and hear more about Jesus.

Jesus himself says (in chapter 5 of Luke’s gospel), when he is criticised right after calling Matthew or Levi the tax collector to follow him:

“I have not come to call righteous people to repentance, but sinners”.

 

The saddest thing I ever heard was someone saying that they were not good enough to come to church – they didn’t earn enough, they didn’t look tidy enough or dress well enough. Yet everyone is welcomed by Jesus.

 

This evening we are launching “Open Table”  - an ecumenical venture to offer a place of worship and welcome for everyone, but particularly for those who are gay, or trans, or questioning about their sexuality – who may have been told they are not welcome in church or chapel because of who they are or how they live.

 

Everyone is welcome. To feel like you belong, or to offer that belonging to others.

 

Open Table uses the phrase ‘More than welcome’ to try to sum up what the aim is. It means:

• We are glad you are here. 
• We want to get know you. 
• We want you to know us. 
• We know God loves us all. 
• We don’t wish you to hide who you are. 
• We hope you will want to belong. 
• We will welcome the gifts and talents you bring. 

 

Please pray for Open Table as it reaches out to LGBTQIA+ people and all who love them.

And as we follow the Jesus who welcomed tax-collectors, sinners and all who felt lost and alone, please pray that this level of open welcome will be true of all our worship.

 

In the name of the God who made us, who steps towards us in Jesus,  and will never let any one of us go.  Amen.