SERMON TITLE: God’s Welcoming Community
Preached by Hannah Lee on March 18, 2007 at
DPUC at her Covenanting Service
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke
15:1-3, 11b-32
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
15:3 So he told them this parable:
15:11b "There was a man who had two sons.
15:12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them.
15:13 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.
15:14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
15:15 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.
15:16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
15:17 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!
15:18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."'
15:20 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.
15:21 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.'
15:22 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.
15:23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
15:24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
15:25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
15:26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
15:27 He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.'
15:28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.
15:29 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.
15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'
15:31 Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
15:32 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.'"
Title:
God’s Welcoming Community
Everyone knows the parable of the prodigal son. It is a famous parable that speaks of God’s grace of unconditional love, forgiveness and acceptance. When the prodigal son returns to his father, he is humble and no longer does he feel that he deserves anything. He only wants to work alongside his father’s servants. But as he approaches the house, his father sees him and is filled with compassion. His father is so overjoyed at the lost son’s return that he runs out to meet him, and throws his arms around his son and kisses him. Not only that, the father is so ecstatic that he gives him the best of what he has. The best clothes, the best food. And they celebrated with a huge party, with music and dancing and food.
When the elder son sees this, he becomes angry and questions his father. The father’s answer is this: ‘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.’ ”
This is God’s unconditional love, forgiveness, and acceptance. God is always there for us. God will not deny us when we come to God, and God will not shame us for our past actions when we do. Like in the story, God knows we're coming, more precisely God prays for us to come back, and isn't thinking of our past. God is prepared to welcome us, celebrates our returning with open arms, and rejoices for our future.
The prodigal son thought that doing righteous things makes you worthy of the father's love. Wrong! The older brother thought the same thing. But look at what the father does – the lost son took his inheritance, left his father, and squandered it, yet the father welcomed him with open arms, with love and forgiveness, and celebrated with a great feast! The elder son had been obedient and hardworking all his life, and when he objects to the celebration for the lost son, the father says, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”
What the father desires is a relationship of love with both of his sons. The father demonstrates this when he doesn’t listen to the speech his prodigal son had rehearsed. Instead, the father welcomes his son with open arms, just as he is. He demonstrates this again when he tells his elder son, “you are always with me”. The father desired whole relationships with both sons. This relationship is based on unconditional love, and is manifested in the welcoming of the lost son.
Everyone wants to think of themselves as a welcoming person, as part of a welcoming church, God’s welcoming church, as the church of Christ. What do we mean by God’s welcoming? Is there any difference between my way of welcoming and God’s welcoming? What are our strengths and weaknesses in welcoming?
**
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favour to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know,” the son continued, "I am coming with a friend who was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
**
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. There’s a part of us that says we would rather stay away from people who aren't like us. But pause, and listen to the word of God.
God calls us to be God’s welcoming community. The story of the prodigal son is a great story of love, reconciliation and welcoming. It is also a story of the community who accepts those who have lost their home community. It is a story that shows us how can we be the church as the community of embracing – a community that forgives, accepts, and cares for those who need a home. In other words, this story is also about the identity of the church of Jesus Christ and its relevance to our world.
Can we welcome people who are different from us? And not just that, can we welcome them with open arms, and celebrate who they are? This means being able to accept them as they are and to affirm who they are, just as they are. This does not mean giving up something of ourselves. When we move toward welcoming others without losing our own identity, we will find God working in our midst to create something new as we develop a relationship of love.
These days, many churches experience the absence of young people. Young people are scattered outside of the church because the church does not speak to them – whether it is the lack of “fun” or lack of understanding. When young people face frustrations and find spiritual emptiness, they have no place to go. It is fascinating that Jesus was quite concerned about young people and he had intuition to see the problems of young people. As a young person myself, I find that Jesus’ perception of young people’s lifestyle and their interest is quite keen and accurate. Some things, like the issues of young people in Jesus’ time are very similar to that of today – we want to go out and have fun, do our own thing, our own way. But at the end, where can we find a community that welcomes us just as we are, where we can nurture and renew ourselves?
We at DPUC welcome people with open arms through the various community building events we have at our church: through the women’s group, the Healing Prayer service, movie nights, bazaar and rummage sale, pancake supper, etc. We prepare and volunteer for these events with the hope that people can enjoy these gatherings and have fun. But at the same time, I hear the invitation of Jesus Christ for us to gather as a welcoming church that is in and for the community and to be with the people who are longing for the community of God’s welcoming, of love, forgiveness and acceptance.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
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Updated March18, 2007