How are you?
The air is heavy. Hearts are hurting. And maybe you are left wondering what does God have to say about who we have become. I know I have been wondering that very thing. I know I’ve been praying for an in breaking of hope and peace that can transcend the anger and hate that is overflowing into our communities.
So, let’s start with a simple acknowledgement that there are a lot of people in pain.
I don’t think this is the kind of week where simple feel-good, uplifting words will do. This is a week we are called to name a deep anguish and uncertainty. And the thing is…this kind of anguish and uncertainty is not new. It’s not new to our time and place, to our country, to our political affiliation of choice. But, the difference is…this is our time and place and we have become a divided people.
It only takes a few minutes listening to the latest pundit, podcaster or politician to know that to be true.
And when we experience violence as an outgrowth of that division, it can be nothing less than a wakeup call to come back to God. To come back to God and start listening…really listen to who we are called to be in this moment.
I kept asking one question as I was preparing these words…
Why did Jesus care so much about what he taught?
He gave his life to teach these Gospel lessons to us. Lessons of love, compassion, and mercy. Of reconciliation and redemption. He risked everything to get this Gospel message into our hands. He risked everything for us to read these words every single day. But why? Why did it matter so much?
So, I went back to the times Jesus was living in. Marked by oppressive Roman rule - division, anger, and hatred were nothing new to Jesus. Historically we know this was a time of incredible political and social unrest, where only a small group of powerful people had access to resources. Where power and privilege ruled by intimidation and force. It was a desperate environment for the majority of people.
Brian McLaren, theologian and Dean of Faculty at the Center for Action and Contemplation, described Jesus’ motivation in contrast to the Roman empire like this:
Rome’s empire was violent. God’s empire was nonviolent.
Rome’s empire was characterized by domination. God’s empire was characterized by service and liberation.
Rome’s empire was preoccupied with money. God’s empire was preoccupied with generosity and was deeply suspicious of money.
Rome’s empire was fueled by the love of power. God’s empire was fueled by the power of love.
Rome’s empire created a domination pyramid that put a powerful and violent man on the top, with chains of command and submission that put everyone else in their place beneath the supreme leader. God’s empire created a network of solidarity and mutuality that turned conventional pyramids upside down and gave “the last, the least, and the lost” the honored place at the table.[1]
In Rome’s empire people were hurting. Trying to survive, searching for hope. And in the midst of their pain, Jesus saw another way. And his way wasn’t a way of violence.
It was a way that took care of the last, the least, and the lost. A way that was built on love and respect, not intimidation and fear. A way that gave everyone a seat at the table. A way that Jesus wanted us to know was possible. He wanted us to know it was possible no matter how scared or confused or hopeless we may have become. That goes for the people back then and it goes for all of us today.
And not only did Jesus show a way for people individually, he called people together communally. Jesus’ way was a way of unity. And in unity was true power. Real, transformative power. That reached into the depths of God’s love and brought it out into the light for you and for me….for all of us.
Look at our Gospel teaching for this week.
The parable of the lost sheep is one of the most familiar stories in the Gospel. It’s a story of hope…and a story of belonging. But context is important. Because as is often the case, this parable has been used to create division between perceived insiders and outsiders. Those who have God on their side and those who need to get God on their side because maybe they haven’t been living the way that they should.
But here’s the thing…when we look at the parable through this kind of lens it’s all too easy for us to divide into camps of worthiness and pat ourselves on the back for already being the righteous ones…the right kind of Christians who need to bring others around to our point of view. And you don’t have to look too far to see this happening throughout our Christian tradition today.
I can only imagine Jesus shaking his head in disbelief.
There’s got to be another way to think about this parable. Because we do know one thing…Jesus was not an advocate for division.
So, let’s think about a more accurate starting point.
Did you notice that the lost sheep started out as one of the flock? He was already one of God’s beloved. He just took some wrong turns, made some wrong decisions. And Jesus deeply desired that the flock be brought back into unity.
And in that moment when grace breaks through, those divisions are healed. Love overcomes darkness. Hope and goodness prevail no matter how far we may have drifted away from one another.
I started to think about the lost sheep as a powerful symbol for what we are living through right now. And it made me wonder what Jesus would say to us today.
I think one of the things we can take away from this parable is the ability to name our reality. To simply say…we have become lost. And now, we need to honestly ask ourselves as individuals and as a society…if Christ is always calling us back to unity, what is our role in making that unity a reality? Because it’s going to take all of us doing our part to heal our brokenness.
Let me offer these suggestions…
First, we need to remember that God loves us so much and when our relationships are broken, with God or with others, God grieves that brokenness. God grieves for us in our pain. And, God is going to keep seeking us and pulling us back to wholeness no matter how long it takes.
Second, in order to be found, to be brought back together, we need to be willing to learn and grow from the process of being lost. And that’s going to require a lot of courage and vulnerability on all of our parts. We may need to make some changes. We may need to open our hearts and our minds to see God’s belovedness in people we don’t like very much.
Third, our call to unity means unity for all. It means compassion for all. It means empathy for all. And when I think about why Jesus would risk everything for us to hold this Gospel in our hands, I believe he knew that it was only this kind of radical openness to one another that could ever heal humanity’s brokenness.
And the wholeness of humanity was worth any amount of risk for Jesus.
Your wholeness was worth any amount of risk for Jesus.
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his book Where Do We Go From Here,
If we want to turn over a new leaf and really set a new humanity afoot, we must begin to turn humankind away from the long and desolate night of violence. May it not be that the new humanity the world needs is the nonviolent human?… This not only will make us new people but will give us a new kind of power…. It will be power infused with love and justice, that will change dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows, and lift us from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope.[2]
“For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26–28).
[1] Brian D. McLaren, Do I Stay Christian? A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned (St. Martin’s, 2022), 21–23, 26.
[2] Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (Harper and Row, 1967)