1 Timothy 1:12–17
St. Luke 15:1–32
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Have you noticed how much our God is into feasting? Three Sundays in a row now mention feasts: Abraham and Lazarus reclining at table in heaven; the banquet of the great man who invited many; and today, a shepherd and a woman throw parties for their friends, and a father invites the whole town to the barbecue celebrating the return of his son.
Then, let’s not forget all the other great feasts of the Bible: Eden—where there is nothing but rejoicing and rich bounty; the Passover—a meal of roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs—to be sure a hasty supper for a dangerous night before a dangerous journey, but still a feast of salvation; then the feast Israel has at Sinai, and the feast they continue to have in the Tabernacle and Temple—feasting on the sacrifices, the holy food of God. And Jesus is always eating with people, tax collectors and sinners, but also with Pharisees. And we can’t overlook the fact that Jesus institutes His very own feast of His body and blood. Plus, the feast we’re all getting closer to each day—the feast of heaven in the new creation.
From beginning to end, the Bible is just full of food, and celebrating with food. And every time, the reason for all these joyous feasts is the same: sinners are saved. Every story in the Bible is about the same thing. Every story in the Bible is about being lost and getting found, being dead and getting raised to life again, and how Jesus makes that happen. So, if there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents, then it is also fitting for the Church to celebrate and be glad, and join in the feast of the Lord.
But before we can get to the feasting and celebrating, sinners must be brought to repentance. And the Church also has a part to play in this. The Church and her ministers must call sinners to repentance. The Lord doesn’t do His work on sinners and for sinners without the Church—He works through us. So, this means that the Church must speak God’s Law, and teach what is sinful, and warn sinners of judgment. This is part of God’s love for sinners. A God who doesn’t threaten to punish you doesn’t care about you enough to love you.
But God’s Law and wrath are not everything that’s needed for repentance. You can’t simply scare people into repentance. God’s love for sinners moves Him to seek the lost and raise the dead. And so He also sends out His Church and her ministers to proclaim the Gospel—to tell of God’s Love that became flesh and sacrificed Himself for sinners.
We all know there is a lot of evil in this world. There are a lot sinners who sneer at God and at His Church and don’t want anything to do with them. There are a lot of sinners who attack and destroy and hate the very people God sends to help and save them. It’s what they did to God Himself, when He came to rescue us from ourselves—from our own foolishness, and from the evil in which we get ourselves captured—and they called Him a liar and a hater, and nailed Him to a cross. There is a lot of evil in this world, and it would not be just to merely ignore it and hope it goes away on its own. Yes, the Law must be taught, and the Law must be enforced.
But the message of God’s love that forgives sinners can never be left out. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The message of God’s love for sinners and His desire to have them home with Him must still always be held out as the only hope any of us have. This means it must be said that God loves the out-of-the-closet homosexual. And God loves the rioter who burns businesses and smashes memorials. God loves the doctor who kills babies. God loves the man who beats his wife. God loves the kids who shack up and won’t move out. God loves the bitter hypocrite who looks down on everyone else. And in this awful list, I must include myself, and you must include yourself. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—to save those people—of whom I am the foremost.
Jesus never stops loving sinners. And, if they let Him, His love changes them. His love seeks them out and brings them home. His love lights the lamp in their dark lives and sweeps away all the dirt. His love brings them into His house and will have them there only on His generous terms: He doesn’t want servants, but sons. This is what it means for a sinner to repent—to change—to stop the old ways and begin the new. And it is humbling for the lost one, the dead one, the sinner. It can hurt and wound their pride, or what we call self-esteem. But that’s good for them, good for us—to stop going our own way and to be brought back home again to the feast.
So, when a sinner repents, the Church does not act like a smug, social justice warrior. The Church does not say, “See, I told you you were wrong. Now, we’ll see if you get it right this time.” Instead, the Church knows that when a sinner repents the love of Jesus has worked a miracle: the lost has been found, the dead has been raised. So, when a sinner repents the angels rejoice, and the whole Church in heaven and on earth rejoices with them.
The Church’s whole life is about rejoicing over repentant sinners. That’s why she gathers together, that’s why she sings, that’s why she keeps on feasting. It’s who we are. And here’s why society’s response to this health crisis has been so damaging and could have the potential to change us if we let it. It strikes at the heart of what the church does: gathering together, singing together, feasting together. We can certainly make some temporary changes to how we do things when we need to. We can take some special steps in times of emergency. But we can’t change the things that make us who we are.
We are sinners, brought into a party with all the angels. We are saved and changed by the love of Jesus. We are the lost ones now found, the dead ones now alive. So, we keep on coming together with the Lord, joining our voices with all of heaven, sharing the one bread of His body, sharing the one cup of His blood. Our God is into feasting. We are too.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
