But what if it is broken?
Commentary
Conventional wisdom says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's fair advice. But what if it is broken? What shall be our policy then?
We make that kind of decision on a regular basis. Some items are so inexpensive or so unimportant to us that we regard them as disposable. If they're broken, we throw them away and replace them. Other items are so valuable to us, however, that we readily invest the time, effort, and money necessary to fix them when they are broken.
Sometimes the choice is not so clear-cut, of course. When the family car is getting old and has a lot of miles on it, and the mechanic says it will cost this much to fix the latest problem, then what should you do? Is it more cost effective to keep putting repair and maintenance money into the car that's already paid off, or is your money better spent on something newer that will require less upkeep?
In the biblical story, we see a God whose creation is broken. It is not his doing, of course, but ours. Indeed, our brokenness seems chronic. The fix is costly beyond estimation. That is the loving, saving choice he made -- to remake us rather than to replace us -- and at great personal expense.
Our three scripture passages this week bear witness both to the brokenness of humanity and to God's costly fix.
Jeremiah was a judgment prophet in the early days of the Babylonian Empire. Like the other judgment prophets, a part of Jeremiah's ministry and message was the identification of the people's sins. In our selected verses from chapter 4, Jeremiah offers a glimpse of the chronic brokenness of humanity -- which, in this case, is God's own people.
Our passage from Paul's first letter to Timothy includes a part of Paul's testimony. He articulates the form and depth of his own formerly broken state. Then he bears witness to the gracious and costly "fix" by God that we call salvation.
Finally, the familiar selection from Luke's gospel portrays in story form the beauty of God's approach. The explicit theme is not brokenness but "lostness." God's response to his lost loved ones is to seek, to find, and then, to rejoice.
The mechanic might tell me that my car isn't worth putting any more of my money into it, and any impartial observer would have told God that rebellious and fallen humanity was not worth what he intended to invest in us. "You're throwing good grace after bad" might have been the skeptic's counsel.
But love does not count the cost; it just pays the price.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
The Old Testament judgment prophets were the bearers of bad news. And they did not do much to try to disguise or to soften it. That in itself is something of a lesson to us, for often a fear of confrontation, an instinct toward salesmanship, or a well-meaning pity interferes with our capacity to speak bad news. Jeremiah and his prophetic colleagues, however, did not offer a spoonful of sugar with their medicine. There was bad news for the people, and the people needed to recognize it. "Warning" and "danger" signs do no good if they are in small print.
Here that bad news is represented by "a hot wind" -- a provocative image in contrast to the image of a cool breeze. A cool breeze connotes relief and pleasantness for us; a hot wind, therefore, must be a burdensome, destructive thing.
We referenced earlier the chronic brokenness of humanity. God laments it in verse 22, detailing the severity of the problem. He expresses it in three sad observations.
First, God laments that his people "are foolish, they do not know me." Over a century earlier, God had expressed the same kind of bewildered complaint about his people through the prophet Isaiah (1:3). How is it that God's own covenant people should not know him? Throughout their history, he had provided for them, led them, spoken to them, and revealed himself to them. They were uniquely and intimately his, and yet they did not know him. We human beings are surely mystified by the things of God, but he may be even more mystified by us. God's mystery, after all, is due to his vastness and majesty. Our mystery, however, is in our inconsistency and illogic.
Second, God laments that "they are stupid children, they have no understanding." The identification of the people as children carries two great implications. On the one hand, it is no doubt an insult to the pride of the people. They surely did not regard themselves as being like children -- particularly like stupid children. It is a harsh criticism to say to an adult, "You're being childish" or "You need to grow up." This was the spirit of God's critique of his own people. On the other hand, we must never lose sight of the beauty in God referring to his people as children. That, after all, is how he always views us. I am an adult with children of my own, and yet my mother still regards me as her child. And it is that identification of his people as his children, albeit stupid ones, that moves God's compassion and devotion (see, for example, Hosea 11:1-8).
Third, God laments that "they are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good." This is the great indictment of fallen humanity, and it becomes our own realization about ourselves (see Romans 7:15-19). The question to consider is whether this condition is a matter of degree or a universal state of being. Paul's implication in Romans 7 seems to be that this is a ubiquitous symptom of our "fallenness." On the other hand, one senses in God's words in Jeremiah 4 that he expects better of his people.
Next, the voice of the speaker suddenly changes. After the Lord has expressed what he sees as he looks at his people, Jeremiah then expresses prophetically what he sees as he looks around him. "I looked" is the recurring statement that introduces four descriptions of God's judgment.
The first thing Jeremiah saw was an earth that "was waste and void" and heavens that "had no light." The imagery is reminiscent of Genesis 1, for before God began his creative act there was no light and "the earth was a formless void" (Genesis 1:2). Does the imagery in Jeremiah mean that God's deliberate judgment reverts the universe to its prior, terrible state? Does the imagery suggest that Judah's choice to live without God eventually results in an experience that completely lacks God's gracious influence? Does the state of darkness and void anticipate the saving work of God who will once again bring light and life?
The second thing Jeremiah saw was mountains "quaking" and hills moving "to and fro." It is an eerie sight. I remember flying to the Holy Land some years ago, and as our plane passed 35,000 feet over Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, I was awed to see how high above the clouds the mighty mountains of the Alps rose. They seemed to be more a part of the sky than the earth, looking down on the clouds below. I imagine those mighty mountains shaking and quaking, and I have a picture of chaos: Earth is out of control when the largest, most immovable, most stable symbols on earth are quivering.
The third thing Jeremiah saw was "no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled." There is something peculiarly unnerving about a place that has been completely vacated. That the birds had fled suggests a kind of dread -- as though nature itself sensed the terror that was coming, and took flight. On the other hand, "there was no one at all" suggests that perhaps the terror had already come. Perhaps the people had not fled and were gone, but were rather dead and gone.
Finally, Jeremiah saw that "the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins." The prior image was one of desolation. This is an image of devastation. Everything has been ruined, from nature to civilization. We are reminded of Leviticus 26 and the truth that both God's blessings and his curses are thorough. No area of life is untouched by his generosity. And, likewise, nothing is shielded from his judgment.
On the tail end of this otherwise unrelenting slideshow of troubles, comes this brief word of hope: "yet I will not make a full end." How utterly characteristic of God and of his judgments this sounds. In the days of Noah, God did not make a full end, but preserved for a fresh start Noah, his family, and two of every kind of animal. In the days of Israel's unfaithfulness at the border of Canaan, God did not make a full end, but raised up a new generation to take into the land of his promise. To the people of Jeremiah's day, he promised again not to make a full end. For in the end, his final purpose is not sentencing, but saving.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
In the Jeremiah passage, we saw God's view of the brokenness of his people, and, in the end, we also got a glimpse of the mercy that is built into even his judgment, for he does not "make a full end."
In the Luke passage, we see two parables that depict the happy ending of God seeking and saving his people. Both stories are told from the perspective of the "God characters" (i.e., the shepherd of the lost sheep and the woman who lost the coin).
In between the other two lections, in these words from the Apostle Paul, we see the other side of the same story. This is the human side: The personal testimony of one who was lost and broken, and who has been sought and saved by God. We do not hear from the people of Judah in the Jeremiah passage. We do not hear from the sheep or the coin in the Luke passage. But we do hear from Paul. He offers the testimonial of all those who have been lost and broken, and who have been the recipients of God's grace.
Paul recalls the specifics of his former condition: He was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man of violence, and ignorant. Indeed, Paul identifies himself as the "foremost" of sinners. The Greek word translated as "foremost" is protos. It is used most often in the New Testament to refer to someone or something that comes first in time or in sequence, which is clearly not what Paul has in mind here. There are a few other uses, however, that lend special insight into Paul's self-identification as the foremost -- the protos -- of sinners.
Jesus told his disciples "whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave" (Matthew 20:27), and protos is the word translated "first." The commandment to love God is cited as the protos commandment (Matthew 20:27). The robe that the father of the returning prodigal son calls for is the protos robe (Luke 15:22). When Paul calls himself the protos of sinners, therefore, he means that he is the blue ribbon, gold-medal sinner.
Lucy once said to Charlie Brown, "Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest." Such is the nature of Paul's conclusion about himself. Of all the sinners in the world, he had been the "sinneriest."
This is a little bit of boasting on Paul's part, but not boasting about his sinfulness. He is not like the fool who brags about how drunk or wasted he got over the weekend. Rather, Paul is citing his badness as a way of boasting about God's goodness. The magnitude of Paul's sinfulness only serves to bear witness to the magnitude of saving grace.
In this regard, Paul's is a model testimony, for we are rightly struck by the fact that his own testimony is not really about him. Four times in six verses, Paul references Jesus by name. The real headline is not Paul's sin, but the Savior and his love and grace.
Finally, the pattern of the passage is noteworthy, for it begins with thanksgiving and ends with praise. "I am grateful," Paul begins, "to Christ Jesus our Lord." Then, after recalling his sin and God's salvation, his testimony crescendos to a great doxology: "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17).
If the sheep and the coin could speak, I expect that's what they would say, too.
Luke 15:1-10
Luke 15 has often been referred to as the "lost and found chapter" of the Bible. Here we find, in succession, the three great parables of Jesus about someone or something being lost and then found again. First comes the story of the lost sheep, then the lost coin, and then the lost (we call him the prodigal) son.
The three stories escalate in intimacy and value. The lost sheep is just one out of a hundred. The lost coin is one out of just ten. And the lost son is, well, a son, and one of only two. Each story ends with the lost item being restored to the proper person, who in turn throws a great celebration.
This whole set of priceless parables, according to Luke, is shared by Jesus in response to some grumbling by the Pharisees and the scribes.
From time to time you get some criticism that assures you that you're doing the right thing. That is surely the nature of what the Pharisees and scribes had to say about Jesus. They thought that they were being sharply critical. In fact, however, they were just grouchy evangelists, declaring with a frown the good news about Jesus: "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
The scribes and Pharisees had the right lyrics. They just didn't realize that they were singing them to the wrong tune. They said that Jesus welcomed sinners in the tone that one would say, "This fellow blasphemes God," or "This fellow teaches heresy." Instead, they should have said it with the same tone and expression that one would use to say, "This fellow feeds the hungry," or "This fellow heals the sick." Their critique of Jesus was actually good news.
Jesus responded to their misguided criticism with three stories, two of which are a part of our Gospel Lesson for this week: the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin.
The stories are different, as we observed, in the relative value of the item lost, as well as in the culpability of the item lost. What is identical in the two stories, meanwhile, is the behavior of the "God character." Both the shepherd and the woman devote themselves to finding what has been lost, and both celebrate with others when it has been found.
Such is the heart of God toward his lost loved ones. He does not regard us as disposable -- not even one of us. And so, instead, Christ came "to seek out and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Or, as Paul expressed it to Timothy, "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Application
What to do with something broken?
Some things are so cheap that there's no point in fixing them, so we simply throw them away. When my shoelace breaks, I buy a new one.
Some things are too difficult to fix, and so we replace those, too. When I was a little boy, I broke a window or two while playing ball. My dad did not try to gather and reassemble the pieces of broken glass to fix the window; he replaced the window.
Then there are those things that are too costly to fix. It is actually cheaper to replace the item than repair the item, and that's what we do.
But see what God does with a broken creation? Surely it would have been less costly to throw us away and create something all new. We don't see any expense to God at the creation; we see a great expense, however, at the cross. Still, he paid the price to fix us.
An Alternative Application
Jeremiah 4:11-12. God's emphatic statement -- "It is I who speak in judgment against them" -- might go unappreciated by the people in our pews. At best, it seems redundant; for the larger context of Jeremiah's message makes it quite obvious that the Lord is speaking judgment against the people. At worst, God's words here may sound bullying or spiteful. In fact, however, there is a great reassurance to be found in this affirmation from God to his threatened people: he is running the show.
The current events of Jeremiah's day were foreboding for Judah and Jerusalem. The Babylonian Empire was a menacing presence, and Judah had little realistic hope of prevailing in any conflict with Babylon. During Jeremiah's lifetime, the Babylonians would conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple, and take several "shifts" of Jews into exile.
To wonder, in the midst of all the trouble and tragedy, whether God had forgotten his people would have been debilitating to their faith. To think that the gods of Babylon had defeated the God of Israel would have been unbearable. But the Jews faced no such theological crisis, for it was God himself who spoke "in judgment against them."
When I was young, I sometimes objected to my mother's rules and discipline. When I was forced to come home earlier than some friend, I would protest, "His mother doesn't care what time he comes home!" And my mother would answer, "But I do care what time you come home. I do care." That was even her claim in the midst of punishing me: "I only punish you because I care."
That is the nature of the good news hidden in the midst of this judgment message. Judah did not fall to Babylon because God was absent or defeated. Instead, God himself was behind the catastrophe. He declared: "It is I who speak in judgment against them." That means he cares.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 14
The psalm writer has an interesting perspective on the origin of injustice in our world. He begins the psalm by making the assertion that those who do not believe in God are "fools." He goes on to accuse them of corruption and being incapable of doing good. Later on he writes, "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?" (v. 4).
It's a staggering thought. The greed and selfishness that marks so much of our world and that most certainly contributes to, and maintains, the massive poverty we see everywhere, is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the presence of God.
Of course, the psalmist is really saying more than just that. For the psalmist, those who say "there is no God" are the ones who have no "knowledge of God." This is not a nod toward a mental affirmation of some abstract existence of a divine being. The psalmist believes that knowing God means experiencing God in a personal, intimate, and disciplined relationship. It's not just saying, "Yes," to the question "Do you believe in God?" Knowing God means being connected to God in a relationship in which our entire existence centers on the presence of God.
Failure to do this, the psalmist seems to say, is the root of all our problems. It's what makes it possible for us to put money and possessions above people and their needs. Our failure to have a vital relationship with God renders us mentally and spiritually incapable of making appropriate ethical and moral decisions.
This is an important distinction for us to understand. There is much religiosity in our culture that is quick to offer verbal affirmations about God. In fact, there is a significant amount of interest in some quarters about the need to "acknowledge God" in our public life. Unfortunately, what this often boils down to is some sort of public display of piety or some token acknowledgment such as a monument to the Ten Commandments.
But the psalmist will not allow us to empty the meaning of "knowing God." When we really know God, we know God's people. The psalmist writes, "You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." In other words, if we had been in the company of God by means of a committed, intimate relationship we would never allow the exploitation of the weak and the needy.
The final verse points to the ultimate hope underlying the psalmist's meditation here. The expression "when God restores the fortunes of his people" could very well be an allusion to the Jubilee year detailed in Leviticus 25. The jubilee celebration was marked by the restoration of all property to those who had become poor through the intervening years.
Common sense would suggest that if we were forced to give land that we had held for fifty years back to the original owner, that would be an occasion for anger and resentment. But if we "know the Lord," the coming of the great restoration is an occasion for rejoicing and celebration within the entire community. This response is only possible if we have a lively relationship with God. By means of an intimate connection with God's presence, we learn to want what God wants. We will want what is right and fair.
After all, only fools who say and act as if there is no God are comfortable in a world where the poor suffer while the wealthy prosper.
Illustrations
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
The words of Jeremiah are echoed in T. S. Eliot's indictment against our modern world that he describes in The Waste Land. He writes of our world in prophetic fashion, where even in spring, though lilacs breed "out of the dead land," they grace a "stony rubbish ... a heap of broken images where the sun beats, / and the dead tree gives no shelter ... / and the dry stone no sound of water." The heat of God's anger blows through us, leaving us empty and parched, as Eliot depicts in another work, The Hollow Man: "Our dried voices, when / we whisper together / Are quiet and meaningless / As wind in dry grass / Or rat's feet over broken glass / In our dry cellar."
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Jeremiah's vision is of desolation far-surpassing any imagination. At 2 a.m. on August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets named the Enola Gay took off from the airfield on Tinian. On board was an atomic bomb named "Little Boy." Just after 6 a.m. the bomb was armed, and Colonel Tibbets informed the other nine men on the plane of their deadly cargo. At about 7 a.m., the Japanese detected the plane and informed people in Hiroshima, one of two targets determined earlier during the Potsdam conference. No bombers were spotted and the people in the city went back to work. At 7:25 a.m., two bombers were detected headed for the city and sirens again sounded. Many ignored the warnings. At 8:09 a.m., while cruising at 26,000 feet, the crew of the Enola Gay received word that the weather was suitable for dropping their bomb. By this time the crew could see the city and confirm their target. Following the release of the bomb the crew witnessed its detonation near the center of the city. The explosion that followed was of a magnitude unimaginable to a crew used to conventional weapons. One weapon had leveled an entire city.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
On January 13, 2004, Timothy Spahr, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, observed a pinpoint of light indicating a possible earthbound asteroid. He posted the information on the website for other astronomers to note. While he was at dinner that evening, an amateur German astronomer noted that the object, estimated to be about 100 feet in diameter, was approaching the earth at a blistering speed. At that size, it would probably explode in the atmosphere a few miles above the earth's surface with the force of a one-megaton H-bomb. By the time other astronomers noted this new information, calculations indicated a one-in-four probability that the asteroid would strike the earth. Their only hope was that perhaps some astronomer in a more advantageous location could observe the asteroid and determine if it was indeed headed for the earth. Fortunately, at 3:30 a.m., Brian Warner, an amateur in Colorado Springs, Colorado, found that the asteroid was not in an orbit where it would collide with the earth. Had they not been able to come up with that information by the following morning, they would have had to warn the world of an imminent disaster. Later observations revealed that the asteroid was actually about 1,600 feet in diameter and would have caused widespread devastation.
The astronomers chose not to warn the world of a possible disaster. Fortunately, their decision was exonerated when it was found that the potential widespread destruction would not occur. God, through Jeremiah, chose to warn his people of an imminent disaster. Unless they repented, they would suffer devastation and desolation due to God's wrath. The outcome would have been sure and certain. This was not a false alarm.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Nature never ceases to amaze me. In the normal course of things, nature is predictable and helpful: seasons change, the sun shines, rain falls, winter freezes, spring thaws, seeds are planted, crops grow, people are born, and people die ... and the cycle continues. All of that is amazing in and of itself, but when the powerful forces take a turn we don't expect, lives are changed in an instant. Tornados lift up houses and destroy lives. Volcanoes spew forth ash and lava. Blizzards isolate people from the necessities of life. Earthquakes shake and rattle in ways we can't predict or control.
I remember getting a call from my son when he was at Edwards Air Force Base in California. With an earthquake well over 75 miles away, he woke up because things were moving and shaking ... and his fear was expressed when he said, "Dad, there was nothing I could do to stop it."
Is it any wonder that God chose the forces of nature to exact his judgment upon his people?
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Soldiers returning from World War I brought this tale back with them. There was a trench full of wounded men, some of them so badly injured it was clear they would never make it back home. One of these dying soldiers turned to a comrade and said, "Listen, Dominic, you've led a bad life. Everywhere you are wanted by the police, but there are no convictions against me. My name is clear, so, here, take my wallet, take my papers, my identity, my good name, my life. And quickly, hand me your papers: that I may carry all your crimes away with me in death."
That is the same offer the living Christ makes to us through his saving death on the cross. (Told by Robert Beringer, The Easter People, Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1984, p. 13.)
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Showing mercy is God's gift to the undeserving. Sometimes mortals get it right as well. During the Crimean War, the Russians captured a young British officer. They searched him and found several letters concealed in his uniform. The soldier was particularly reluctant to part with one from his sweetheart, but the Russians insisted on having it. They sent it along to Prince Menshikov, commander in chief of the Russian forces. When the prince read it, he was amused to find that the soldier's girlfriend had written flippantly that she hoped her young man would have the good fortune to capture Prince Menshikov. She also suggested that, if he did, he was to be sure to send her one of the buttons from his uniform. Much to the British soldier's astonishment, the letter was sent back to him, along with a note from Menshikov -- and one of his uniform buttons!
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Among the many billboards seen along the Long Island Expressway are several for diet products and health clubs that show the classic "before" and "after" pictures of satisfied clients. They have used the pills, they have followed the exercise programs, and they have the pictures to prove how much weight they have lost. They are literally walking advertisements for the products and clubs they use.
Paul was also a walking advertisement for God's grace. He was a billboard depicting how God could completely change a life. If God could be merciful to Paul, the worst of sinners, and pour out abundant grace on him, even though he persecuted and insulted God's Son and God's church, then how much more patience would God show to the believers who came after Paul?
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Throughout history, there have been many who might claim that they were the foremost of sinners, who now had received God's grace. Many of these are met with cynicism when they tell of their conversion to Christ. The most famous, and most questioned, are those who claim to become Christian while in prison.
Consider Myra Hindley. In the early 1960s, Hindley and her boyfriend, Ian Bradley, lured and killed five youth in Britain. They buried their bodies in the Saddleworth Moor, and thus the affair became known as the Moors Murders. In one case, Hindley lured Bradley's 16-year-old neighbor out to the moors, so that Bradley could rape and kill her.
In prison, apart from Bradley's influence, Hindley apparently became a model prisoner. She earned a university degree, and more importantly, became a Christian, converting to Roman Catholicism. Prison authorities testify that she was a devout believer.
Truly, Hindley's was a tale of a foremost sinner receiving utmost grace. Interesting to note though: at her death in 2002, most of the British press continued to doubt the sincerity of her conversion, seeing it only as a ploy in an unsuccessful attempt to win parole.
Luke 15:1-10
A friend tells about Tess, the best dog he ever had. Tess was a full-blooded border collie who had been trained to work with sheep. She was an amazing dog and was a faithful member of his family for eighteen years. He describes watching her trainer send the dogs out into the field. They would take off out of sight and, within a few minutes or so, the first of the sheep would appear at the top of the hill, followed by the rest of the herd. The dogs made sure each sheep was brought in unharmed.
But the sheepherder was watching the sheep, too. He was counting them and knew each one. If one was missing, he was quick to go out and find it ... and he would not rest until they were all safely in the fold.
"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Luke 15:1-10
Two American college seniors, Dave Boyer and Crystal Ramsey, were hiking in the rain forest of Brazil not far from the Amazon Youth Hostel at the headwaters of the Rio Camerao Grande River. Prepared for an afternoon hike along a trail marked by white arrows, they soon found that they were lost. They had thought they would come to a river, but realized they had mistaken the word for standing water, and had already waded through a great deal of that. They made it through the night, but were bitten viciously by clouds of red mosquitoes. Dehydrated by the next noon, they drank water they filtered through their clothing. That night, they tried to ward off the mosquitoes by smearing themselves with mud. Trying to get to a place where they might be rescued, they were torn by thorns and bitten by black ants. That night, they dug trenches and half buried themselves trying to get away from the mosquitoes, but heavy rains spoiled that plan. On Saturday, they thought they heard a boat and further injured themselves trying to hurry through the forest to what they thought was a river or lake. But there was nothing. On Sunday, they heard a plane that was searching for them, but it flew on. Late in the afternoon, they finally broke through to blue sky and a broad brown river. Two dark-skinned men paddled toward them and took them on board. Some fifty people had been looking for them the six days they had been lost, and a plane hired by Boyer's father, had also been engaged in the search.
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells us how he has sought for us, who were lost in sin, and brought us safely back to our heavenly Father.
Luke 15:1-10
There is special celebration when something supposed lost is recovered. In April, insurgent forces in Iraq captured a U.S. civilian contractor. Truck driver, Thomas Hamill, 43, from Alabama, was wounded and taken hostage. Video reports that emerged soon after he was taken showed Hamill alive and surrounded by masked figures sporting automatic weapons. Many lamented the prospects for his safe recovery. After nearly three weeks of imprisonment, Hamill managed to break out of a locked room in Samarra and flagged down a U.S. patrol. Reports of his rescue by U.S. forces were celebrated with delight in the midst of other distressing reports from the region.
Luke 15:1-10
Near the Wisconsin Dells is the Lost Canyon. It got its name because it appears as if the landscape is lost, out of sight, to the rest of its neighbors, and could easily go totally unnoticed due to the draw of its more popular surroundings. But, when you discover this earthly jewel and enter it, you can become lost in the beauty and peace of its terrain. God knows where to find the lost and then becomes lost in joy over the one who is finally found. Saint Augustine writes in his Confessions that God loves all of us as if we were but one and loves each one of us as if the only one!
Worship Aids
Luke 15:1-10
Greeting
Leader: Once again, brothers and sisters, you have heard God's call and have answered with your presence in worship.
Congregation: Once again, O Lord, our hearts are full of the joy and peace of being in your house.
Leader: When just one wayward sinner repents there is rejoicing and great joy in God's house.
Congregation: And we join you in your happiness, O God. It is truly a delight to see the lost returned to your arms.
Prayer
God of grace and God of love, we hear Jesus' parables, and we know neither sheep nor coins can repent. But these parables are not about calling sinners to repentance. They are about inviting people like us to join the celebration.
God, why do we hold back? Why are our hearts so cold? Change us, God. Let us live out of the grace we have received. Let us love as you have loved us. And then let us join you in your happiness, today and every day. Amen.
Responses to the Word
Invite those worshipers who feel lost and out of touch with God to come to the front of the sanctuary to be received back into the loving arms of Jesus Christ. When people come forward, give them a chance to kneel and pray their own silent prayers. Then the pastor can give a prayer of thanksgiving for rescuing the lost, forgiving the sinful, and shepherding us all in one great flock.
Visuals
Go to a teacher supply store where you can buy ten large coins (or borrow some from an elementary teacher in the congregation). Attach ten of these coins to florist wire or the small sticks that florists use in arrangements. Put nine of these coins in the floral arrangement that will decorate the sanctuary. Hide the tenth coin somewhere in the front of the sanctuary. During the service, call the children forward and talk to them about the woman who has ten coins, but loses one. Tell how she searches all over until she finds the missing coin. Then count the coins with the children. When they realize that there are only nine coins, not ten, have them help find the missing coin. Celebrate when one of the children finds the missing coin, and add it to the floral arrangement with the others.
We make that kind of decision on a regular basis. Some items are so inexpensive or so unimportant to us that we regard them as disposable. If they're broken, we throw them away and replace them. Other items are so valuable to us, however, that we readily invest the time, effort, and money necessary to fix them when they are broken.
Sometimes the choice is not so clear-cut, of course. When the family car is getting old and has a lot of miles on it, and the mechanic says it will cost this much to fix the latest problem, then what should you do? Is it more cost effective to keep putting repair and maintenance money into the car that's already paid off, or is your money better spent on something newer that will require less upkeep?
In the biblical story, we see a God whose creation is broken. It is not his doing, of course, but ours. Indeed, our brokenness seems chronic. The fix is costly beyond estimation. That is the loving, saving choice he made -- to remake us rather than to replace us -- and at great personal expense.
Our three scripture passages this week bear witness both to the brokenness of humanity and to God's costly fix.
Jeremiah was a judgment prophet in the early days of the Babylonian Empire. Like the other judgment prophets, a part of Jeremiah's ministry and message was the identification of the people's sins. In our selected verses from chapter 4, Jeremiah offers a glimpse of the chronic brokenness of humanity -- which, in this case, is God's own people.
Our passage from Paul's first letter to Timothy includes a part of Paul's testimony. He articulates the form and depth of his own formerly broken state. Then he bears witness to the gracious and costly "fix" by God that we call salvation.
Finally, the familiar selection from Luke's gospel portrays in story form the beauty of God's approach. The explicit theme is not brokenness but "lostness." God's response to his lost loved ones is to seek, to find, and then, to rejoice.
The mechanic might tell me that my car isn't worth putting any more of my money into it, and any impartial observer would have told God that rebellious and fallen humanity was not worth what he intended to invest in us. "You're throwing good grace after bad" might have been the skeptic's counsel.
But love does not count the cost; it just pays the price.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
The Old Testament judgment prophets were the bearers of bad news. And they did not do much to try to disguise or to soften it. That in itself is something of a lesson to us, for often a fear of confrontation, an instinct toward salesmanship, or a well-meaning pity interferes with our capacity to speak bad news. Jeremiah and his prophetic colleagues, however, did not offer a spoonful of sugar with their medicine. There was bad news for the people, and the people needed to recognize it. "Warning" and "danger" signs do no good if they are in small print.
Here that bad news is represented by "a hot wind" -- a provocative image in contrast to the image of a cool breeze. A cool breeze connotes relief and pleasantness for us; a hot wind, therefore, must be a burdensome, destructive thing.
We referenced earlier the chronic brokenness of humanity. God laments it in verse 22, detailing the severity of the problem. He expresses it in three sad observations.
First, God laments that his people "are foolish, they do not know me." Over a century earlier, God had expressed the same kind of bewildered complaint about his people through the prophet Isaiah (1:3). How is it that God's own covenant people should not know him? Throughout their history, he had provided for them, led them, spoken to them, and revealed himself to them. They were uniquely and intimately his, and yet they did not know him. We human beings are surely mystified by the things of God, but he may be even more mystified by us. God's mystery, after all, is due to his vastness and majesty. Our mystery, however, is in our inconsistency and illogic.
Second, God laments that "they are stupid children, they have no understanding." The identification of the people as children carries two great implications. On the one hand, it is no doubt an insult to the pride of the people. They surely did not regard themselves as being like children -- particularly like stupid children. It is a harsh criticism to say to an adult, "You're being childish" or "You need to grow up." This was the spirit of God's critique of his own people. On the other hand, we must never lose sight of the beauty in God referring to his people as children. That, after all, is how he always views us. I am an adult with children of my own, and yet my mother still regards me as her child. And it is that identification of his people as his children, albeit stupid ones, that moves God's compassion and devotion (see, for example, Hosea 11:1-8).
Third, God laments that "they are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good." This is the great indictment of fallen humanity, and it becomes our own realization about ourselves (see Romans 7:15-19). The question to consider is whether this condition is a matter of degree or a universal state of being. Paul's implication in Romans 7 seems to be that this is a ubiquitous symptom of our "fallenness." On the other hand, one senses in God's words in Jeremiah 4 that he expects better of his people.
Next, the voice of the speaker suddenly changes. After the Lord has expressed what he sees as he looks at his people, Jeremiah then expresses prophetically what he sees as he looks around him. "I looked" is the recurring statement that introduces four descriptions of God's judgment.
The first thing Jeremiah saw was an earth that "was waste and void" and heavens that "had no light." The imagery is reminiscent of Genesis 1, for before God began his creative act there was no light and "the earth was a formless void" (Genesis 1:2). Does the imagery in Jeremiah mean that God's deliberate judgment reverts the universe to its prior, terrible state? Does the imagery suggest that Judah's choice to live without God eventually results in an experience that completely lacks God's gracious influence? Does the state of darkness and void anticipate the saving work of God who will once again bring light and life?
The second thing Jeremiah saw was mountains "quaking" and hills moving "to and fro." It is an eerie sight. I remember flying to the Holy Land some years ago, and as our plane passed 35,000 feet over Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, I was awed to see how high above the clouds the mighty mountains of the Alps rose. They seemed to be more a part of the sky than the earth, looking down on the clouds below. I imagine those mighty mountains shaking and quaking, and I have a picture of chaos: Earth is out of control when the largest, most immovable, most stable symbols on earth are quivering.
The third thing Jeremiah saw was "no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled." There is something peculiarly unnerving about a place that has been completely vacated. That the birds had fled suggests a kind of dread -- as though nature itself sensed the terror that was coming, and took flight. On the other hand, "there was no one at all" suggests that perhaps the terror had already come. Perhaps the people had not fled and were gone, but were rather dead and gone.
Finally, Jeremiah saw that "the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins." The prior image was one of desolation. This is an image of devastation. Everything has been ruined, from nature to civilization. We are reminded of Leviticus 26 and the truth that both God's blessings and his curses are thorough. No area of life is untouched by his generosity. And, likewise, nothing is shielded from his judgment.
On the tail end of this otherwise unrelenting slideshow of troubles, comes this brief word of hope: "yet I will not make a full end." How utterly characteristic of God and of his judgments this sounds. In the days of Noah, God did not make a full end, but preserved for a fresh start Noah, his family, and two of every kind of animal. In the days of Israel's unfaithfulness at the border of Canaan, God did not make a full end, but raised up a new generation to take into the land of his promise. To the people of Jeremiah's day, he promised again not to make a full end. For in the end, his final purpose is not sentencing, but saving.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
In the Jeremiah passage, we saw God's view of the brokenness of his people, and, in the end, we also got a glimpse of the mercy that is built into even his judgment, for he does not "make a full end."
In the Luke passage, we see two parables that depict the happy ending of God seeking and saving his people. Both stories are told from the perspective of the "God characters" (i.e., the shepherd of the lost sheep and the woman who lost the coin).
In between the other two lections, in these words from the Apostle Paul, we see the other side of the same story. This is the human side: The personal testimony of one who was lost and broken, and who has been sought and saved by God. We do not hear from the people of Judah in the Jeremiah passage. We do not hear from the sheep or the coin in the Luke passage. But we do hear from Paul. He offers the testimonial of all those who have been lost and broken, and who have been the recipients of God's grace.
Paul recalls the specifics of his former condition: He was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man of violence, and ignorant. Indeed, Paul identifies himself as the "foremost" of sinners. The Greek word translated as "foremost" is protos. It is used most often in the New Testament to refer to someone or something that comes first in time or in sequence, which is clearly not what Paul has in mind here. There are a few other uses, however, that lend special insight into Paul's self-identification as the foremost -- the protos -- of sinners.
Jesus told his disciples "whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave" (Matthew 20:27), and protos is the word translated "first." The commandment to love God is cited as the protos commandment (Matthew 20:27). The robe that the father of the returning prodigal son calls for is the protos robe (Luke 15:22). When Paul calls himself the protos of sinners, therefore, he means that he is the blue ribbon, gold-medal sinner.
Lucy once said to Charlie Brown, "Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest." Such is the nature of Paul's conclusion about himself. Of all the sinners in the world, he had been the "sinneriest."
This is a little bit of boasting on Paul's part, but not boasting about his sinfulness. He is not like the fool who brags about how drunk or wasted he got over the weekend. Rather, Paul is citing his badness as a way of boasting about God's goodness. The magnitude of Paul's sinfulness only serves to bear witness to the magnitude of saving grace.
In this regard, Paul's is a model testimony, for we are rightly struck by the fact that his own testimony is not really about him. Four times in six verses, Paul references Jesus by name. The real headline is not Paul's sin, but the Savior and his love and grace.
Finally, the pattern of the passage is noteworthy, for it begins with thanksgiving and ends with praise. "I am grateful," Paul begins, "to Christ Jesus our Lord." Then, after recalling his sin and God's salvation, his testimony crescendos to a great doxology: "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17).
If the sheep and the coin could speak, I expect that's what they would say, too.
Luke 15:1-10
Luke 15 has often been referred to as the "lost and found chapter" of the Bible. Here we find, in succession, the three great parables of Jesus about someone or something being lost and then found again. First comes the story of the lost sheep, then the lost coin, and then the lost (we call him the prodigal) son.
The three stories escalate in intimacy and value. The lost sheep is just one out of a hundred. The lost coin is one out of just ten. And the lost son is, well, a son, and one of only two. Each story ends with the lost item being restored to the proper person, who in turn throws a great celebration.
This whole set of priceless parables, according to Luke, is shared by Jesus in response to some grumbling by the Pharisees and the scribes.
From time to time you get some criticism that assures you that you're doing the right thing. That is surely the nature of what the Pharisees and scribes had to say about Jesus. They thought that they were being sharply critical. In fact, however, they were just grouchy evangelists, declaring with a frown the good news about Jesus: "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
The scribes and Pharisees had the right lyrics. They just didn't realize that they were singing them to the wrong tune. They said that Jesus welcomed sinners in the tone that one would say, "This fellow blasphemes God," or "This fellow teaches heresy." Instead, they should have said it with the same tone and expression that one would use to say, "This fellow feeds the hungry," or "This fellow heals the sick." Their critique of Jesus was actually good news.
Jesus responded to their misguided criticism with three stories, two of which are a part of our Gospel Lesson for this week: the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin.
The stories are different, as we observed, in the relative value of the item lost, as well as in the culpability of the item lost. What is identical in the two stories, meanwhile, is the behavior of the "God character." Both the shepherd and the woman devote themselves to finding what has been lost, and both celebrate with others when it has been found.
Such is the heart of God toward his lost loved ones. He does not regard us as disposable -- not even one of us. And so, instead, Christ came "to seek out and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Or, as Paul expressed it to Timothy, "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Application
What to do with something broken?
Some things are so cheap that there's no point in fixing them, so we simply throw them away. When my shoelace breaks, I buy a new one.
Some things are too difficult to fix, and so we replace those, too. When I was a little boy, I broke a window or two while playing ball. My dad did not try to gather and reassemble the pieces of broken glass to fix the window; he replaced the window.
Then there are those things that are too costly to fix. It is actually cheaper to replace the item than repair the item, and that's what we do.
But see what God does with a broken creation? Surely it would have been less costly to throw us away and create something all new. We don't see any expense to God at the creation; we see a great expense, however, at the cross. Still, he paid the price to fix us.
An Alternative Application
Jeremiah 4:11-12. God's emphatic statement -- "It is I who speak in judgment against them" -- might go unappreciated by the people in our pews. At best, it seems redundant; for the larger context of Jeremiah's message makes it quite obvious that the Lord is speaking judgment against the people. At worst, God's words here may sound bullying or spiteful. In fact, however, there is a great reassurance to be found in this affirmation from God to his threatened people: he is running the show.
The current events of Jeremiah's day were foreboding for Judah and Jerusalem. The Babylonian Empire was a menacing presence, and Judah had little realistic hope of prevailing in any conflict with Babylon. During Jeremiah's lifetime, the Babylonians would conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple, and take several "shifts" of Jews into exile.
To wonder, in the midst of all the trouble and tragedy, whether God had forgotten his people would have been debilitating to their faith. To think that the gods of Babylon had defeated the God of Israel would have been unbearable. But the Jews faced no such theological crisis, for it was God himself who spoke "in judgment against them."
When I was young, I sometimes objected to my mother's rules and discipline. When I was forced to come home earlier than some friend, I would protest, "His mother doesn't care what time he comes home!" And my mother would answer, "But I do care what time you come home. I do care." That was even her claim in the midst of punishing me: "I only punish you because I care."
That is the nature of the good news hidden in the midst of this judgment message. Judah did not fall to Babylon because God was absent or defeated. Instead, God himself was behind the catastrophe. He declared: "It is I who speak in judgment against them." That means he cares.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 14
The psalm writer has an interesting perspective on the origin of injustice in our world. He begins the psalm by making the assertion that those who do not believe in God are "fools." He goes on to accuse them of corruption and being incapable of doing good. Later on he writes, "Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?" (v. 4).
It's a staggering thought. The greed and selfishness that marks so much of our world and that most certainly contributes to, and maintains, the massive poverty we see everywhere, is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the presence of God.
Of course, the psalmist is really saying more than just that. For the psalmist, those who say "there is no God" are the ones who have no "knowledge of God." This is not a nod toward a mental affirmation of some abstract existence of a divine being. The psalmist believes that knowing God means experiencing God in a personal, intimate, and disciplined relationship. It's not just saying, "Yes," to the question "Do you believe in God?" Knowing God means being connected to God in a relationship in which our entire existence centers on the presence of God.
Failure to do this, the psalmist seems to say, is the root of all our problems. It's what makes it possible for us to put money and possessions above people and their needs. Our failure to have a vital relationship with God renders us mentally and spiritually incapable of making appropriate ethical and moral decisions.
This is an important distinction for us to understand. There is much religiosity in our culture that is quick to offer verbal affirmations about God. In fact, there is a significant amount of interest in some quarters about the need to "acknowledge God" in our public life. Unfortunately, what this often boils down to is some sort of public display of piety or some token acknowledgment such as a monument to the Ten Commandments.
But the psalmist will not allow us to empty the meaning of "knowing God." When we really know God, we know God's people. The psalmist writes, "You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." In other words, if we had been in the company of God by means of a committed, intimate relationship we would never allow the exploitation of the weak and the needy.
The final verse points to the ultimate hope underlying the psalmist's meditation here. The expression "when God restores the fortunes of his people" could very well be an allusion to the Jubilee year detailed in Leviticus 25. The jubilee celebration was marked by the restoration of all property to those who had become poor through the intervening years.
Common sense would suggest that if we were forced to give land that we had held for fifty years back to the original owner, that would be an occasion for anger and resentment. But if we "know the Lord," the coming of the great restoration is an occasion for rejoicing and celebration within the entire community. This response is only possible if we have a lively relationship with God. By means of an intimate connection with God's presence, we learn to want what God wants. We will want what is right and fair.
After all, only fools who say and act as if there is no God are comfortable in a world where the poor suffer while the wealthy prosper.
Illustrations
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
The words of Jeremiah are echoed in T. S. Eliot's indictment against our modern world that he describes in The Waste Land. He writes of our world in prophetic fashion, where even in spring, though lilacs breed "out of the dead land," they grace a "stony rubbish ... a heap of broken images where the sun beats, / and the dead tree gives no shelter ... / and the dry stone no sound of water." The heat of God's anger blows through us, leaving us empty and parched, as Eliot depicts in another work, The Hollow Man: "Our dried voices, when / we whisper together / Are quiet and meaningless / As wind in dry grass / Or rat's feet over broken glass / In our dry cellar."
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Jeremiah's vision is of desolation far-surpassing any imagination. At 2 a.m. on August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets named the Enola Gay took off from the airfield on Tinian. On board was an atomic bomb named "Little Boy." Just after 6 a.m. the bomb was armed, and Colonel Tibbets informed the other nine men on the plane of their deadly cargo. At about 7 a.m., the Japanese detected the plane and informed people in Hiroshima, one of two targets determined earlier during the Potsdam conference. No bombers were spotted and the people in the city went back to work. At 7:25 a.m., two bombers were detected headed for the city and sirens again sounded. Many ignored the warnings. At 8:09 a.m., while cruising at 26,000 feet, the crew of the Enola Gay received word that the weather was suitable for dropping their bomb. By this time the crew could see the city and confirm their target. Following the release of the bomb the crew witnessed its detonation near the center of the city. The explosion that followed was of a magnitude unimaginable to a crew used to conventional weapons. One weapon had leveled an entire city.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
On January 13, 2004, Timothy Spahr, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, observed a pinpoint of light indicating a possible earthbound asteroid. He posted the information on the website for other astronomers to note. While he was at dinner that evening, an amateur German astronomer noted that the object, estimated to be about 100 feet in diameter, was approaching the earth at a blistering speed. At that size, it would probably explode in the atmosphere a few miles above the earth's surface with the force of a one-megaton H-bomb. By the time other astronomers noted this new information, calculations indicated a one-in-four probability that the asteroid would strike the earth. Their only hope was that perhaps some astronomer in a more advantageous location could observe the asteroid and determine if it was indeed headed for the earth. Fortunately, at 3:30 a.m., Brian Warner, an amateur in Colorado Springs, Colorado, found that the asteroid was not in an orbit where it would collide with the earth. Had they not been able to come up with that information by the following morning, they would have had to warn the world of an imminent disaster. Later observations revealed that the asteroid was actually about 1,600 feet in diameter and would have caused widespread devastation.
The astronomers chose not to warn the world of a possible disaster. Fortunately, their decision was exonerated when it was found that the potential widespread destruction would not occur. God, through Jeremiah, chose to warn his people of an imminent disaster. Unless they repented, they would suffer devastation and desolation due to God's wrath. The outcome would have been sure and certain. This was not a false alarm.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Nature never ceases to amaze me. In the normal course of things, nature is predictable and helpful: seasons change, the sun shines, rain falls, winter freezes, spring thaws, seeds are planted, crops grow, people are born, and people die ... and the cycle continues. All of that is amazing in and of itself, but when the powerful forces take a turn we don't expect, lives are changed in an instant. Tornados lift up houses and destroy lives. Volcanoes spew forth ash and lava. Blizzards isolate people from the necessities of life. Earthquakes shake and rattle in ways we can't predict or control.
I remember getting a call from my son when he was at Edwards Air Force Base in California. With an earthquake well over 75 miles away, he woke up because things were moving and shaking ... and his fear was expressed when he said, "Dad, there was nothing I could do to stop it."
Is it any wonder that God chose the forces of nature to exact his judgment upon his people?
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Soldiers returning from World War I brought this tale back with them. There was a trench full of wounded men, some of them so badly injured it was clear they would never make it back home. One of these dying soldiers turned to a comrade and said, "Listen, Dominic, you've led a bad life. Everywhere you are wanted by the police, but there are no convictions against me. My name is clear, so, here, take my wallet, take my papers, my identity, my good name, my life. And quickly, hand me your papers: that I may carry all your crimes away with me in death."
That is the same offer the living Christ makes to us through his saving death on the cross. (Told by Robert Beringer, The Easter People, Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1984, p. 13.)
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Showing mercy is God's gift to the undeserving. Sometimes mortals get it right as well. During the Crimean War, the Russians captured a young British officer. They searched him and found several letters concealed in his uniform. The soldier was particularly reluctant to part with one from his sweetheart, but the Russians insisted on having it. They sent it along to Prince Menshikov, commander in chief of the Russian forces. When the prince read it, he was amused to find that the soldier's girlfriend had written flippantly that she hoped her young man would have the good fortune to capture Prince Menshikov. She also suggested that, if he did, he was to be sure to send her one of the buttons from his uniform. Much to the British soldier's astonishment, the letter was sent back to him, along with a note from Menshikov -- and one of his uniform buttons!
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Among the many billboards seen along the Long Island Expressway are several for diet products and health clubs that show the classic "before" and "after" pictures of satisfied clients. They have used the pills, they have followed the exercise programs, and they have the pictures to prove how much weight they have lost. They are literally walking advertisements for the products and clubs they use.
Paul was also a walking advertisement for God's grace. He was a billboard depicting how God could completely change a life. If God could be merciful to Paul, the worst of sinners, and pour out abundant grace on him, even though he persecuted and insulted God's Son and God's church, then how much more patience would God show to the believers who came after Paul?
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Throughout history, there have been many who might claim that they were the foremost of sinners, who now had received God's grace. Many of these are met with cynicism when they tell of their conversion to Christ. The most famous, and most questioned, are those who claim to become Christian while in prison.
Consider Myra Hindley. In the early 1960s, Hindley and her boyfriend, Ian Bradley, lured and killed five youth in Britain. They buried their bodies in the Saddleworth Moor, and thus the affair became known as the Moors Murders. In one case, Hindley lured Bradley's 16-year-old neighbor out to the moors, so that Bradley could rape and kill her.
In prison, apart from Bradley's influence, Hindley apparently became a model prisoner. She earned a university degree, and more importantly, became a Christian, converting to Roman Catholicism. Prison authorities testify that she was a devout believer.
Truly, Hindley's was a tale of a foremost sinner receiving utmost grace. Interesting to note though: at her death in 2002, most of the British press continued to doubt the sincerity of her conversion, seeing it only as a ploy in an unsuccessful attempt to win parole.
Luke 15:1-10
A friend tells about Tess, the best dog he ever had. Tess was a full-blooded border collie who had been trained to work with sheep. She was an amazing dog and was a faithful member of his family for eighteen years. He describes watching her trainer send the dogs out into the field. They would take off out of sight and, within a few minutes or so, the first of the sheep would appear at the top of the hill, followed by the rest of the herd. The dogs made sure each sheep was brought in unharmed.
But the sheepherder was watching the sheep, too. He was counting them and knew each one. If one was missing, he was quick to go out and find it ... and he would not rest until they were all safely in the fold.
"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Luke 15:1-10
Two American college seniors, Dave Boyer and Crystal Ramsey, were hiking in the rain forest of Brazil not far from the Amazon Youth Hostel at the headwaters of the Rio Camerao Grande River. Prepared for an afternoon hike along a trail marked by white arrows, they soon found that they were lost. They had thought they would come to a river, but realized they had mistaken the word for standing water, and had already waded through a great deal of that. They made it through the night, but were bitten viciously by clouds of red mosquitoes. Dehydrated by the next noon, they drank water they filtered through their clothing. That night, they tried to ward off the mosquitoes by smearing themselves with mud. Trying to get to a place where they might be rescued, they were torn by thorns and bitten by black ants. That night, they dug trenches and half buried themselves trying to get away from the mosquitoes, but heavy rains spoiled that plan. On Saturday, they thought they heard a boat and further injured themselves trying to hurry through the forest to what they thought was a river or lake. But there was nothing. On Sunday, they heard a plane that was searching for them, but it flew on. Late in the afternoon, they finally broke through to blue sky and a broad brown river. Two dark-skinned men paddled toward them and took them on board. Some fifty people had been looking for them the six days they had been lost, and a plane hired by Boyer's father, had also been engaged in the search.
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells us how he has sought for us, who were lost in sin, and brought us safely back to our heavenly Father.
Luke 15:1-10
There is special celebration when something supposed lost is recovered. In April, insurgent forces in Iraq captured a U.S. civilian contractor. Truck driver, Thomas Hamill, 43, from Alabama, was wounded and taken hostage. Video reports that emerged soon after he was taken showed Hamill alive and surrounded by masked figures sporting automatic weapons. Many lamented the prospects for his safe recovery. After nearly three weeks of imprisonment, Hamill managed to break out of a locked room in Samarra and flagged down a U.S. patrol. Reports of his rescue by U.S. forces were celebrated with delight in the midst of other distressing reports from the region.
Luke 15:1-10
Near the Wisconsin Dells is the Lost Canyon. It got its name because it appears as if the landscape is lost, out of sight, to the rest of its neighbors, and could easily go totally unnoticed due to the draw of its more popular surroundings. But, when you discover this earthly jewel and enter it, you can become lost in the beauty and peace of its terrain. God knows where to find the lost and then becomes lost in joy over the one who is finally found. Saint Augustine writes in his Confessions that God loves all of us as if we were but one and loves each one of us as if the only one!
Worship Aids
Luke 15:1-10
Greeting
Leader: Once again, brothers and sisters, you have heard God's call and have answered with your presence in worship.
Congregation: Once again, O Lord, our hearts are full of the joy and peace of being in your house.
Leader: When just one wayward sinner repents there is rejoicing and great joy in God's house.
Congregation: And we join you in your happiness, O God. It is truly a delight to see the lost returned to your arms.
Prayer
God of grace and God of love, we hear Jesus' parables, and we know neither sheep nor coins can repent. But these parables are not about calling sinners to repentance. They are about inviting people like us to join the celebration.
God, why do we hold back? Why are our hearts so cold? Change us, God. Let us live out of the grace we have received. Let us love as you have loved us. And then let us join you in your happiness, today and every day. Amen.
Responses to the Word
Invite those worshipers who feel lost and out of touch with God to come to the front of the sanctuary to be received back into the loving arms of Jesus Christ. When people come forward, give them a chance to kneel and pray their own silent prayers. Then the pastor can give a prayer of thanksgiving for rescuing the lost, forgiving the sinful, and shepherding us all in one great flock.
Visuals
Go to a teacher supply store where you can buy ten large coins (or borrow some from an elementary teacher in the congregation). Attach ten of these coins to florist wire or the small sticks that florists use in arrangements. Put nine of these coins in the floral arrangement that will decorate the sanctuary. Hide the tenth coin somewhere in the front of the sanctuary. During the service, call the children forward and talk to them about the woman who has ten coins, but loses one. Tell how she searches all over until she finds the missing coin. Then count the coins with the children. When they realize that there are only nine coins, not ten, have them help find the missing coin. Celebrate when one of the children finds the missing coin, and add it to the floral arrangement with the others.
