Sunday's Sermon 3-10-13

First Congregational Church
March 10 2013
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
"Have You Ever....?"
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Have you ever tried to figure out how miracles happen?  Take for instance, Ole, who had decided to give up meat on Fridays for Lent.  He thought it a good test of discipline, but he lived on Lake Minnebelle, and was surrounded by folks that hadn't made such decisions.  So every Friday night after work, Ole would fire up his grill along with all the neighbors, and while he did fish, all the neighbors grilled the venison they had caught the previous fall.  And don'tcha know dat da delicious aroma from the grilled venison wafted all da vay from Cokato, Dassel and Cosmos.  It vas drifing him mad!  

But den Ole remembered when he changed church affiliations when he married Lena.  He had attended some classes and after much study, Ole attended a mass where the priest sprinkled him with holy water and said, "You were born a Lutheran, and raised a Lutheran, but now you are a Catholic."  

So the next Friday night came along, and der vas Ole, out der grillin' along wit all de neighbors.  And on his grill vas a venison steak.  And yust as he vas about to take it off da grill, he carefully sprinkled some holy vater on it and pronounced, "You vuz born a deer, you vuz raised a deer, but now you is a valleye."  So I'm wondering if maybe Jesus feeding all those folks with bread and fish?

Before we get to our scripture passage for this morning - which is not at all about fish or venison - have you ever put yourself into each of the characters of one of Jesus' parables?  

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32   Scripted For Six Readers
Narrator:  Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 

Have you ever imagined who is in that group of tax collectors and sinners?  Have you ever imagined yourself in that group?  Have you ever imagined how much "sin" it would take to be "included" in that group?  Have you ever considered yourself to be a Pharisee or scribe type of person?  Have you ever considered who would be the "in" group at a dinner with Jesus and "sinners" - or who would be the outsiders?

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32   Scripted For Six Readers

Narrator:  So he told them this parable:

Jesus: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father,

1: ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’

Jesus: So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said,

1: ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’

Narrator: So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him,

1: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

Jesus: But the father said to his slaves,

ickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’

Jesus: And they began to celebrate. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied,

3: ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’

Jesus: Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father,

4: ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’

Jesus: Then the father said to him,

2: ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said,

‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’

So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him,  ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his slaves,

‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’

And they began to celebrate. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father,

‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’

Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

Thank you, readers.  Have you ever gathered all you had and traveled to a distant country - really or metaphorically?  Where did you go?  Why?

Have you ever had to hire out to feed pigs, i.e., do a job you would otherwise think beneath you?  Did you learn anything in that job?  If you could do your life over again, would you do that "job" again?  

Have you ever "come to yourself" and realized you needed to go home?

Have you ever had to humble yourself before someone in a way like the younger son?  What lesson did you learn from it?  Have you - in that situation - realized your "sin" against heaven?

Have you ever longed to hear the words "get the best robe, a ring, sandals and let's have a big ol' barbecue"?   Have you ever wanted to be "found?"  Is there anyone you know that needs such a party, sans robe, ring and sandals - maybe just a cupcake or dinner?

Have you ever been excluded - ultimately discovering that you weren't so "justified" in your feeling of exclusion?  Have you ever been jealous of the sibling/person that got the calf or goat when you didn't get one yourself?

Have you ever come to your senses and realized realized that you have always had everything (God) with you, and that all God has - was/is yours?  Have you ever known anyone who was dead and came back to life, was lost and had been found?

Who have you been in this parable?  Who would you like to be?  Realizing that the world "prodigal" means spending resources or money freely and recklessly, wastefully extravagant, have you ever read it with the understanding of God being the Prodigal Father?  How does/would that change the parable for you?

Have you ever thought of Lent as a wonderful time - to remember who we are, where we've been, and to look ahead to the place where we are going.  Have you ever thought of Lent as a time to get cleaned up?

Have you ever visited your sister's house, where there are normally five people living - and the very day you arrive, the family is putting in a new vanity in the only bathroom with a shower?  And this little cosmetic fixer-upper reveals black mold, which results in a total bathroom demolition, complete with jack-hammering out the floor and concrete shower base.  And naturally, wanting to get the black mold out as soon as possible, especially because of a 7 and 4 year olds living in the house, the shower is destroyed three days before you are to leave.  Have you ever really wished for a winter storm to come, that would hasten your get-away - to someplace - any place - that has a shower?  And even after bathtub rinses, and sponge baths, have you ever felt anything so good as getting under a real - hot - shower - to let all that dust and probable mold and who knows what else - go right down the drain?  Have you ever - in a similar sort of situation - discovered that you didn't even realize how grimy you felt until you got done?

Lent presents us an opportunity to get rid of the grime that some how finds itself attached to our hearts, minds and souls.  Whether it's unwise decisions, feelings and actions of grandiosity, exclusion, or any other attribute that leads us away from God's truth, Lent is such a perfect time to shower off -what we call sin - with God's grace, mercy, forgiveness and love.  There's a beautiful line in the Lutheran liturgy that says, "Forgive us, God, for what we have done and what we have left undone."  

We may know we need to talk to God about setting some things straight, but it can be so easy to get distracted by venison that becomes walleye.  So today we will take the opportunity to do what we may have left undone - and finish it - with the Responsive Lenten Litany in the bulletin insert page opposite the Announcements.    

We were sin-sick, O God. Our illness was terminal. The prognosis ... death. God, we know that you love us, yet we sometimes travel far away from you. Forgive us for our wanderings, and show us your way.

Yet, O merciful Physician, you have inoculated your world. You have injected us with the serum of your grace; sending your Son. Continue to work your remedy in us, O God. Heal our bodies. Cleanse our hearts. Drive sin away from us. Make us contagious carriers of your grace.

We know that you have always cared for is, yet at times, we live carelessly and recklessly. Forgive us for not respecting you and ourselves the way we should and help us to live a life that honors you. Keep us from the temptation to judge, lest we disapprove of your mercy like the elder son. 

We know that you have always looked out for us, yet we have so often taken your protection for granted. Forgive us for not always recognizing how much you have done to keep us safe, and help us to put our trust in you whenever we are in danger. We know that you are waiting to embrace us, yet we have so often found ourselves in the clutches of the Evil One. Forgive us for the times when we let evil have a stranglehold on us, and help us to find a way of escape from it.

We know that you rejoice over us. Forgive us for not always rejoicing in our relationship with you, and help us to let joy and gladness reign in our hearts and in our lives.  In your mercy, forgiveness and love, all your people say, Amen!