September 16, 2025 • 34 mins
When Jesus sat down to eat with "notorious sinners," he wasn't just breaking rules—he was showing us what God's heart truly looks like. This powerful examination of Luke 15 reveals how radical hospitality lies at the center of Christian faith.
The religious establishment of Jesus' day had created clear boundaries around who belonged and who didn't. They complained when Jesus crossed these lines, triggering him to respond with parables that completely upend our understanding of God's character. A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to find just one. A woman tears apart her house searching for a single lost coin. In both cases, finding what was lost results not in punishment but celebration.
These stories challenge us to examine where we've drawn our own lines of exclusion. Have we, like the Pharisees, created rules about who belongs at God's table? The sermon suggests we might all need to become "recovering Pharisees," allowing our hearts to expand beyond comfortable boundaries.
Perhaps most striking is the invitation to shift our default mode from judgment to joy. When we practice intentional gratitude and celebration, we align ourselves with heaven's response to even one person changing their mind about God. This perspective shift offers healing in a world increasingly dominated by fear, division, and isolation.
The message culminates with a profound insight: there are only two categories for everything we encounter—it's either love, or it's a call to love. This simple framework eliminates our tendency to sort people and circumstances into hierarchies of worthiness and instead invites us to respond with Christlike love in every situation.
Ready to experience the joy of radical hospitality? Join us at First Love Church as we continue exploring how to tell a better story with our lives—one that welcomes everyone to the table of belonging.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
florida.
We are grateful for thisopportunity to be together this
week to tell a better story, torehearse the good news of Jesus,
(00:22):
for whatever your week lookedlike, whatever it was that you
were experiencing, I want toremind you this morning that
there is a better story, thatthere is a deeper magic still,
that love is eternal, love isthe way, and love is what we can
count on and how we live ourlives.
And so beloved.
(00:43):
I am grateful for your presencetoday.
I'm grateful for the fact thatwe're going to rehearse the
words of Jesus and we are goingto practice telling a better
story this week.
It is again with such joy thatI am so grateful to have the
opportunity to gather with you,and we are reading from Luke's
(01:03):
gospel, chapter 15, and we arereminding ourselves of the story
of Jesus.
In a week where violence meetsus, I remind you that there is a
higher way, there is a betterway, there is a Jesus way.
Jesus has reminded us thatviolence does not beget peace.
Peace only comes through thelove of God, and so the
(01:26):
invitation for all of us is toturn our hearts toward peace.
In this first verse, where wemeet Jesus, tax collectors and
other notorious sinners oftencame to listen to Jesus teach.
I love this verse and I don'twant to just rush on past the
fact that Jesus wasn't the onewriting this.
(01:47):
Somebody else did and they hadclassified people as tax
collectors and notorious sinners.
I mean, if you're going to sin,I hope you're a notorious
sinner.
I mean, I just hope thatthere's some notoriety around it
.
And this is the invitation wehave to even start from the very
beginning of this story, tolisten.
And I remind you that Jesus notonly had Pharisees listen to
(02:12):
him, not only had religiouspeople, but everyone came to
hear the words of Jesus.
And so, for those of you whowonder if you belong, yes, yes,
you do, because you are part ofthe notorious sinners and tax
collectors and everyone who isinvited to the table of the Lord
.
Now we know who we're listeningto Jesus teach.
(02:37):
And here it says and this madethe Pharisees and the teachers
of religious law complain.
The Pharisees and the teachersof religious law complain the
fact that people were coming andlistening to Jesus.
Tell a better story to Jesusshow us where our eyes needed
healing.
This made them complain.
(03:00):
So this part of the story startsout with a bunch of people who
are very religious, who have aparticular idea about God, who
have a way of their morality,and these people are complaining
and they are frustrated at thefact that Jesus doesn't seem to
make any kind of divisionbetween people, because Jesus
often ate with the Pharisees weknow this because there's
stories about them there butJesus refused to allow any of
(03:24):
the rules that people had set upto deny communion to say I will
eat with the Pharisees and Iwill also eat with the notorious
sinners.
I will eat with everyone, andeating with someone,
particularly in that day, was aninvitation into friendship, an
invitation into wholeness.
And here we see the light ofChrist.
These people are herecomplaining, going.
(03:44):
This should not be.
These people cannot be included, and Jesus is just enjoying his
dinner with all of them.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
You know, when you hear a story, most of the time
we write ourselves in it atsomewhere, someplace right, and
rarely are any of us going towrite ourselves in as the
Pharisee and rarely are any ofus going to write ourselves in
as the Pharisee.
But you know, if the truth betold, that's where most of the
church is today, if I can behonest, and that might include
(04:14):
you.
So listen up, I'm listening formy own heart to be adjusted and
checked, Because of course, wewould think that we're not and
want to be.
But I ask you where your lineis?
Because the Pharisees had aline.
They had a religious belief anda line and all they were is
trying to honor God.
I mean, we make them out to bethese terrible people, but they
(04:38):
were followers of God and theyhad their rules that they had.
That sounds like me.
And then they had lines and ifyou cross those lines, you went
too far.
We have lines that we say.
I remember one time our churchused to be twisted.
Our pulpit was over there andthe seats were out here.
(05:02):
I just mean it was a differentangle and it was like that.
I remember the back row andthis couple had come to church
for a few years, off and on, andthen I hadn't seen them in a
while and all of a sudden thewoman come in with a whole other
(05:25):
man and come to find out thatthat was her new boyfriend.
And turns out she wasn'tdivorced with the guys who used
to bring and.
And so all of a sudden thereligious, uh people in my
church told me I had anultimatum that either they were
(05:45):
leaving or that couple was to bepublicly embarrassed and kicked
out.
And there's scripture wherepeople do stuff like that.
There are people that do stufflike that, but it's not Jesus.
But see, they had a line andI've watched that line be
different for other people.
They're well open to thesepeople, but if you behave this
(06:07):
way or or have this kind oflifestyle or do you know,
whatever it is, there's a lineand you've crossed it.
And I wonder if we miss.
What Jesus is trying to do inour hearts is extend our ability
to love, past what we see,because it's always easy to
point out the sin that somebodyelse is doing that you're not,
(06:33):
or it's always easy to point outthe thing that they're doing
that you aren't tempted with oryou don't struggle with or
whatever, and then we are on theside of good and they aren't,
and, and so I I just think thatreally an answer to the kind of
hatred we've seen this week andviolence and and, uh, the the
(06:55):
effort for somebody to silencesomeone because you disagree
with the things that they say.
You know, know, I just I can'tget past the thought that, you
know, if you had snuffed me out20 years ago, I wouldn't have
had a chance to become theperson that God's trying real
hard to make me be and for me tobegin to open my heart to
(07:19):
things that I was very closedoff on before.
And so I wonder if extendingthat line to people and
welcoming people in to thatconversation about Christ,
welcoming people into thatcommunication, that relationship
, that love, could transform allof us.
Maybe they need sometransforming, but, as it turns
(07:41):
out, as I reach down to pullsomeone up, I realized, oh, I
needed transformation all along,and so I I wonder where we can,
we can, stop ignoring that partin the bible that talks about
the pharisee and begin to seewhere maybe that might just
pertain to some of the choices Imake and some of the the
(08:02):
thought, thought patterns andbelief systems that I hold on to
that are not demonstratingChrist.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I'm glad that you reminded us that the Pharisees
because often in the way that wetell the story are people that
we look like and go.
They're wrong.
But the truth is these werepeople who devoted to God.
They were people who weredevoted to their history, to
their culture, to the way thatthey experienced God.
And so Jesus came and told us awhole new story and invites us
(08:32):
to live completely different.
But maybe we should start theservice with the way that other
groups do in such ways like this.
Maybe we could all go goodmorning, my name is Heather and
I'm a recovering Pharisee.
Maybe we could all say thatthis is a recovery group for all
of us, for all of the thingsthat we nurture, all of the
hatred and bigotry, all thethings that we think are any
(08:53):
kind of line to separate us.
This is the illusion of sin,that we are separate.
We are one.
We are made in the image of God.
We each have unique andbeautiful gifts for the world,
and so this invitation into thestory is an invitation to see
things differently.
(09:13):
Jesus was asking the people whowere there to see things
differently, and the Phariseesand teachers of religious law
complained that he was evenassociating with such sinful
people, even eating them.
And so the story of Jesus is astory of radical hospitality.
The story of Jesus is a storyof changing your mind, because
(09:34):
God showed us who God really is.
In fact, it is the apostle Paulwho says this that Jesus showed
us the perfect image of aninvisible God.
Once we didn't know what Godwas like, but now we do, because
Jesus is with us.
And this is the better story,beloved.
Jesus shows us how to love eachother, how to love the world.
(09:56):
So Jesus hears these people,these beloved brothers, sisters,
were not allowed.
So I just want to tell you thatIf we're going to talk about
who's complaining, it's thebrothers.
The brothers are therecomplaining and they're like the
rules aren't being followed,and Jesus hears this.
And Jesus tells them a story, astory.
(10:16):
There's something incredibleabout the power of story,
beloved.
Jesus didn't wag his finger atthem, jesus didn't shout at them
, jesus didn't humiliate them.
Jesus said I'd like to inviteyou to change your mind about
something.
In fact, that is whatrepentance actually is.
It means to change the way thatyou think.
(10:37):
And in this story, we are goingto see how joy invites us to
change the way that we think,and in this story we are going
to see how joy invites us tochange the way that we think.
And so Jesus hears peoplecomplaining about his
willingness to open arm.
Every single person, thenotorious sinners alike, the tax
collectors alike, everymarginalized group, welcomed
(10:59):
Jesus sitting with them, andJesus told this story.
This is also told in Matthew ina different context.
I remind you that storiesaren't just told once, they're
often told in different contexts, so you can see the wisdom in
them.
If a man has a hundred sheep andone of them gets lost, what
will he do?
One of them gets lost, whatwill he do?
(11:24):
Won't he leave the 99 others inthe wilderness and go to search
for the one that is lost untilhe finds it?
And when he has found it, hewill joyfully carry it home on
his shoulders?
He will leave the 99 and goafter the one, and when he finds
it, he will joyfully carry ithome on his shoulders.
(11:48):
And when he arrives, he willcall together his friends and
neighbors, saying rejoice withme because I have found my lost
sheep.
This is a beautiful reminderthis morning that no matter
where you go, you have a goodshepherd beloved, you have a God
, you have love that is pursuingyou, that is asking you to come
(12:10):
into the party.
Come into rejoicing, find joyand celebrate, because that
which is lost is now found, thatwhich is lost is now found.
This is a beautiful invitationbecause it goes against logic.
If you are a shepherd and youare keeping your sheep in the
wilderness, the wildernessitself tells us a lot about
(12:32):
something.
There's danger there, there'sharsh conditions there, and then
he sees that one is missing andhe leaves the 99.
We're like well, we have totake losses somewhere, and this
is a God who does not acceptlosses.
This is a God who's going to goafter the one Beloved.
What great joy it should giveus to remember that we have a
(12:54):
good shepherd.
Oh, when things feel out ofcontrol, when it feels like a
wilderness experience for us, wehave a good shepherd.
And when he arrives, he willcall together his friends and
neighbors saying rejoice with me.
Now we're going to get out alittle bit further into the
story, and perhaps you know thisbecause it's a story we've all
(13:14):
been told in our entire lives.
But this is a story about a Godwho rejoices, a God who loves a
party, a God who says there isgood in the world and invites us
into the party.
Joy is healing for us, and whenwe practice joy, when we
practice celebrating the thingsthat are good, it is an
(13:37):
invitation into this radicalhospitality that everything is
opened by Christ.
In the same way, there is morejoy in heaven over one lost
sinner who repents and returnsto God than there is over 99
others who are righteous andhaven't strayed away.
(14:01):
In the same way, jesus istelling us this story is
actually not about a shepherd,it's about God.
It is about God who has joy,god who is joy, god who, by the
Spirit, can birth in us joy.
And in a world that tells usthat we should only be afraid or
(14:21):
be sad, we listen to the wordsof Jesus, who tells us we're
invited to a kingdom that doesnot fail.
We're invited to a kingdomwherever we are, in the changing
of our mind.
This is an invitation.
Jesus is offering healing to usthat we would change our minds.
In the same way, there is morejoy in heaven over one sinner
(14:46):
who changes the way that hethinks and returns to God.
This language is the same.
We don't get to read it thismorning, but I'm going to give
you a spoiler alert.
There's a story of a father whohas two sons and the one son
leaves because he has an idea.
We don't know what put thatidea in his head, we don't know
where it came from, but he hadan idea that he was going to be
(15:07):
better off by himself than inthe father's house and he does
his thing.
We'll talk about that someother time.
But there's a portion of thestory that says as he's eating
pig slop, he changes his mind.
Pig slop, he changes his mindand he returns to himself and he
says I need to go home, I needto go back to my father.
(15:28):
And this is the same kind ofstory that God is telling us.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
This rejoicing when one person changes their mind.
This is the hope.
You know, and I think by andlarge we have this idea that you
know that it's yourresponsibility to come back,
that God has left you alone andI sense that with people that
are hearing this message,there's a portion of people that
(16:04):
just carry a lot of lonelinessand a lot of shame and guilt
about mistakes that you've made,and sometimes that isolation is
almost impossible to get out of.
And I want to remind you thatthe God we serve says I go to
(16:25):
that place.
He is there with you.
Now.
It's difficult to see in themiddle of mire.
My friend is a diver, a deep,deep sea diver.
He's trained to do that, butsome of the projects he'll get
hired on will be dive down intomud and he said it's the
(16:49):
scariest thing to not be able tosee for hours.
He said you have to almost calmyourself because you can't see
your hand in front of your faceand you feel the pressure of
that and you just feel likemaybe I'm stuck here for this is
the end.
You know, imagine that andmaybe you don't experience
anxiety and depression, butthere are people right next to
(17:10):
your shoulders that carry thaton a daily basis and you feel
alone, and Jesus is using thisparable to try to remind you of
this truth.
You are not alone, you are notabandoned, you are not left
(17:32):
until you get it right to comeback, and that's really kind of
been the message of the church,sadly.
You know you come up here andwalk this aisle and do things
our way, and isn't that whatthis kind of stands in the face
of the people that were doing itthe right way were actually
told no, that's not the waywe're going to do it.
He's breaking the barriers ofreligion and we keep putting
(17:58):
them back on ourselves.
The restraints are broken byhim, the chains are loosed and
we sit around sometimes and mendthem.
And so I remind you, whereveryou are, you're not outside of
the reach of God, you're notoutside of the presence of God
and you're not outside of thelove and forgiveness and healing
(18:19):
.
And sometimes it's hard to evenfigure out.
How do I apply that?
How do I adapt that?
How do I move in that, pastor?
Well, that's why you have achurch, because there are
brothers and sisters and I canhave them raise their hand right
now who know what it's like tobe in the depths of depression
and somehow, through the graceof God, have been pulled out of
that and they can share a pathwith you.
(18:40):
And I can, and my wife can.
And look at the people aroundhere lifting their hands.
You're not alone, we're afamily.
We're made to believe thatwe're alone.
We're tricked in our own mindsand our own thoughts to believe
somehow we're so different andso in a unique situation.
(19:03):
But nothing is outside of God'sreach and his design and be
able to transform.
Amen.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining
us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(19:35):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
This story is told in threes andwe're only talking about two of
them today, but I do want totalk about the fact that things
get lost.
We love to blame someone.
We just do.
I don't know who moved this.
I don't know who put itsomewhere else.
I mean, we just we are good atblaming.
No one wants responsibility forthe losing of anything you know
(19:58):
.
Like that is like in our nature.
Somehow we don't want to be theone who's lost.
Now let's talk about a sheep.
How did the sheep get lost?
A little lamb, I don't know.
It has four legs.
Maybe it wandered off.
It saw something, I don't know,but it could have been that
lamb's problem, and we oftenjudge other people like that.
I don't know how they got wherethey got.
I don't know what they did,what choice they made?
(20:23):
Beloved.
Maybe they didn't make anychoice at all, but we're going
to get onto them.
There's a woman who lost a coin.
I just want to ask you aboutthe agency of a coin.
The coin doesn't lose itself,beloved.
That's somebody else who issupposed to be looking after it,
who lost it.
You might be the lost coin.
Maybe you find yourself in aplace that feels alone, that
(20:44):
feels terrible, but it hasnothing to do with you.
You may not be responsible forthat, and this is still the
story of God coming to youwherever you are.
I love this story becausethere's so much reality in this
particular version, becausewe're talking about a lost coin
and Jesus says there's a womanwho's gone to find it Now,
beloved.
What happens when we losethings?
(21:05):
We call on the sisters, we callon the women Please help us
find this, please.
And this woman is willing topush past her skirts lay on the
floorboard.
Look, where could this coinhave wedged itself?
Where could this coin have gone?
It says that she meticulouslylooks everywhere for this coin.
She sweeps the entire house.
Beloved.
(21:25):
This is how you find things.
I don't know if you knew this,but you clean up and put things
away, and then you'll findsomething that's out of order,
and this is a good word for youeven though as people don't want
to listen to it.
We light a lamp, also importantfor those of us who are past the
age of 40.
If you can't find something,turn the light on.
Turn the light on and we mightbe able to find it.
And what is the light Beloved?
(21:46):
We are the light of the world.
Jesus said this.
He said you are the light.
If something needs to be foundin a situation, you go there.
Be the light.
That is Christ.
Allow the light to come andcarefully searches until she
finds it.
And when she finds it, she willcall in her families and
(22:08):
neighbors and say rejoice withme because I found my lost coin
Again.
The invitation is to joy.
The invitation is to community,the invitation is to belonging.
Every time something isreturned, we have a party
Beloved.
There is joy in God.
God is a God who is not angryand sour-faced and upset that
(22:31):
people aren't doing things.
God is full of love.
God is love and the invitationis that we would begin to see
things, allow our eyes to behealed.
We would see them the way thatGod does.
Beloved I have found recentlyand I am working on this and you
may find it and you may work onit.
Also, there are only twocategories for everything, which
(22:53):
helps me because I'm a personwho has had a lot of.
I have a lot of children andlike things.
If you're doing laundry,there's a lot of sorting.
Who goes where?
What does this?
Do you know?
How does this get?
If you've got silverware andyou've got a 12-piece silverware
?
Where?
If you've got silverware andyou've got a 12-piece silverware
, where does each thing go?
A lot of times we sort in ourminds.
So there's only two categoriesfor everything it's all love or
it's a call to be loved.
One of the two and so if it'slove, then I just join right
(23:16):
into it.
If it's a call to be love, thenI find the Christ in me.
And how do I bring love to thatsituation?
It's all love or a call to love.
This is the invitation for us.
Rejoice with me because I havefound my lost coin.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
You know, and I think that if you can look at this
scripture it also can help usmaybe reorient our default mode,
because you know you probablyhave a default mode of just how
you exist, how you functionthrough life.
And are you a pessimist, areyou depressed, are you angry
most of the time, or are yourejoicing, are you finding
(23:56):
within, you know, just natureitself?
The other said something theother day in the pulpit, just
like how can we not just bethankful for the trees because
we breathe, because of what theyhand out, what they they, you
know, uh, expel?
And it's like, are you thankfulfor, for oxygen?
Whenever it gets knocked out ofyou, you want it real bad, and
so we forget how much we need itbecause it's coming so
(24:17):
plentifully.
But, uh, but I, I, I bring youback to that idea of where is
your default mode and and askGod to help you shift that to a
place of joy.
You know I got to tell youthere's two ways of looking at
what my day yesterday was.
I was in the shop and it washot.
I was lifting and moving heavythings and later on that evening
(24:40):
I was very sore.
Or the truth.
I have a mid-30s son, who couldvery well hate me and want
nothing to do with me, invitedme in to a project that he was
doing and I had the most joyjust spending time with my son
(25:03):
and I counted every minute.
He's working, he's gone for allpractical purposes and I got to
spend that time with him and Igot to tell you that I just you
couldn't knock the joy out of me.
I'd stand up and he'd go what'swrong?
Oh, nothing.
But I'm like you know what waswrong?
I was just so sore.
(25:27):
But it's like what's my defaultmode?
Oh man, how you doing.
Oh, I'm sore, how you doing?
Well, you know taxes are comingaround.
You know they're always comingaround.
Or, man, am I grateful that Ihave my spouse, that I have
children, that I have my spouse,that I have children, that I
(25:51):
have a job, that I have anincome, that I have oxygen?
There's something you can find,and I'm telling you, in
shifting that default mode, itshifts your universe, it shifts
some things around in us.
And so look at that and go.
Why are God's people, thoseweirdos, rejoicing all the time?
(26:12):
What's wrong with them?
Or I can go.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
I want some of that rejoicing Amen, there's joy in
the presence of God's angels.
When even one person who's inan illusion changes their mind,
that's what the scripture says.
To repent is to change the wayyou're looking at something.
When even one person who's inan illusion changes their mind,
that's what the scripture says.
To repent is to change the wayyou're looking at something, and
the only reason why we wouldhead down a wrong path is
because, if we've been told itis the right path, it is an
(26:39):
illusion, and that's why so muchof Jesus' miracles have to do
with healing our sight, healingthe way that we look at the
world, the way that we look ateach other.
This is an invitation.
I did not have to participate inthe outside work yesterday, and
for this I am grateful, butwhat I did recognize, and what
was so beautiful to me, is allof the work that Thomas and
(27:01):
Dennis and the other people thatcontributed are doing, is not
for any of us.
Thomas saw somebody else inneed and recognized the resource
.
At our house we have people whocould fix this, and so this is
what true community looks like.
We now have friends that we aremeeting in need, not because we
know them, but because Thomasloves them.
(27:22):
And this is the invitation ofthe church that, as we allow
everyone to come together, as wedon't make delineations between
notorious sinners, taxcollectors and Pharisees, as we
just say we are all the childrenof God and everyone is invited
to communion, to fellowship, towholeness.
This is how our love expands,beloved, this is how the world
(27:46):
changes, that we allow ourselvesto love people that we don't
even know, maybe we disagreewith, maybe we don't have any
point or any way to connect, butsomebody we love loves them,
and that's a way for us to lovethem.
And this is where joy is, inthis beautiful, hopeful place.
(28:07):
This is where communion takesplace, that all of us remember.
It is at the table where we arereminded of the goodness of God
.
It is in hope and in holycommunion that we're reminded.
This is, in fact, the season ofcreation, from September to
October, where we pay attentionto nature.
(28:29):
We're supposed to pay attentionto it all the time, but the
church, fathers and mothersrealize we're going to need to
make this a holiday.
We're going to need to makethis something that you put
together here, where we rememberwhat the animals teach us.
Have you ever really had aheartache and had a dog look at
you.
There's something holy aboutthat.
(28:50):
Have you ever really beenafraid and have an animal speak
to you of it's peace?
There's peace.
We are not alone.
There is something soincredibly powerful about the
witness of nature that comes tous and reminds us that there is
joy in belonging and all ofnature is given.
Every time we're at the table,we use bread and we use the
(29:12):
juice, and we're reminded thatnature is witnessing to us the
mystery that is inclusion.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I think you've got a perfect opportunity right here
to talk about the fact.
You know what I'm going to sayand I'm doing this as a selfless
is it?
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I'm not sure.
What is this like a selflessopportunity?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
I offer to the people in this room or who are
watching me online that it'sscientifically proven.
Okay, that's not me.
I didn't come up with this.
Heather read it the other daythat there's a healing vibration
in your body and a cat's purris that same frequency.
(29:53):
I have two kittens at my housethat I offer that they were
rescued unto thee because I wantnature to witness to you.
I want healing vibrations tocome through your body.
I want you to cuddle.
I'm not saying that because Iwant them out of my bathroom.
(30:13):
I'm not saying that because thelitter box stinks.
I'm saying that because I loveyou.
It's a boy and a girl.
I mean pair matching pair.
It's for your taking.
I don't know, heather, I'mgoing to try next week.
I've successfully derailed theservice.
(30:35):
Now Go on.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Let me try to bring it back around for this reason.
Why do you have two cats?
If you didn't want them, whyare you trying to give away
something that you have?
Let me just tell you how we gotthem.
It was raining and it wasmidnight, and these two tiny
kittens can fit in the palm ofyour hand.
We're outside alone.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
In the street.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
In the street, beloved.
I don't, however, you plannedyour day.
When you see something that istiny and needs defense, when you
see something big and needsdefense, it is in us all a call
to love in ways that areinconvenient to us, and this is
how we practice our attention onthe small things, on the things
(31:24):
that seem like they don'tmatter rescuing a kitten and you
know that small things aregoing to be a lot of work.
I don't know if you've ever hada child before, if you've ever
been around children before.
They are tiny and they are alot of work, but they're not the
only things that are a lot ofwork.
Sometimes people stuck in theirown way of doing things with
(31:45):
hateful things in their heartare a lot of work, and so we can
either disregard that or we can, together, say we will tell a
better story.
We'll tell the story of Jesus,who tells us about a man who
lost a sheep and left 99 andwent out after it.
We'll tell the story of a womanwho lost a coin and found it
and said everybody, come homeand rejoice.
(32:07):
You know the story.
We didn't talk about it today.
This is a three-part story.
There is a father who has a sonwho leaves and comes home and
he has a party and he says myson, who is dead, is now alive.
Of course we have to celebrate.
And the older brother is in thecorner going I can't believe
(32:29):
you're having a party for him.
I've been here the whole time.
I've done the right thing everysingle day.
I can't believe that's whatyou're celebrating.
And you know what the fathersays Just come into the party,
beloved.
We don't ever know if he goesinto the party, because I think
that's our choice.
Beloved, we don't ever know.
If he goes into the partybecause I think that's our
choice, will you enter joy?
Will you intentionally saywhere can I be a part of the
(32:54):
hope that builds the world?
Where do I enter into the storythat Jesus is retelling for all
of us, that there is anotherkingdom, and it is not the
kingdom of this world, it is thekingdom of God's love, and it
is available now.
It is available right now.
Somebody was telling mesomething the other day about
eternity and they kept referringto it as way, way down the
round, and I was reminding them.
(33:15):
Eternity is now beloved.
We are not outside of eternity.
Eternity is now, and so thechoices that we make now
certainly influence the furtherpart of eternity, but this is
all eternity.
We're not outside of eternity.
We are one in Christ, we areone in each other, we are one in
the Spirit.
And this is the invitation tolive in this community, to live
(33:39):
in communion with God at thetable and to make sure all of
our brothers and sisters arewelcomed at the table of the
Lord and that at the table it isnot sorrow, there is joy.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
And did I mention they were litter box trained?
I'm just kidding In the sameway there is joy in the presence
of.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
God's angels when even one person changes their
mind about something.
Amen.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurchorg.
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
florida.
We are grateful for thisopportunity to be together this
week to tell a better story, torehearse the good news of Jesus,
(00:22):
for whatever your week lookedlike, whatever it was that you
were experiencing, I want toremind you this morning that
there is a better story, thatthere is a deeper magic still,
that love is eternal, love isthe way, and love is what we can
count on and how we live ourlives.
And so beloved.
(00:43):
I am grateful for your presencetoday.
I'm grateful for the fact thatwe're going to rehearse the
words of Jesus and we are goingto practice telling a better
story this week.
It is again with such joy thatI am so grateful to have the
opportunity to gather with you,and we are reading from Luke's
(01:03):
gospel, chapter 15, and we arereminding ourselves of the story
of Jesus.
In a week where violence meetsus, I remind you that there is a
higher way, there is a betterway, there is a Jesus way.
Jesus has reminded us thatviolence does not beget peace.
Peace only comes through thelove of God, and so the
(01:26):
invitation for all of us is toturn our hearts toward peace.
In this first verse, where wemeet Jesus, tax collectors and
other notorious sinners oftencame to listen to Jesus teach.
I love this verse and I don'twant to just rush on past the
fact that Jesus wasn't the onewriting this.
(01:47):
Somebody else did and they hadclassified people as tax
collectors and notorious sinners.
I mean, if you're going to sin,I hope you're a notorious
sinner.
I mean, I just hope thatthere's some notoriety around it
.
And this is the invitation wehave to even start from the very
beginning of this story, tolisten.
And I remind you that Jesus notonly had Pharisees listen to
(02:12):
him, not only had religiouspeople, but everyone came to
hear the words of Jesus.
And so, for those of you whowonder if you belong, yes, yes,
you do, because you are part ofthe notorious sinners and tax
collectors and everyone who isinvited to the table of the Lord
.
Now we know who we're listeningto Jesus teach.
(02:37):
And here it says and this madethe Pharisees and the teachers
of religious law complain.
The Pharisees and the teachersof religious law complain the
fact that people were coming andlistening to Jesus.
Tell a better story to Jesusshow us where our eyes needed
healing.
This made them complain.
(03:00):
So this part of the story startsout with a bunch of people who
are very religious, who have aparticular idea about God, who
have a way of their morality,and these people are complaining
and they are frustrated at thefact that Jesus doesn't seem to
make any kind of divisionbetween people, because Jesus
often ate with the Pharisees weknow this because there's
stories about them there butJesus refused to allow any of
(03:24):
the rules that people had set upto deny communion to say I will
eat with the Pharisees and Iwill also eat with the notorious
sinners.
I will eat with everyone, andeating with someone,
particularly in that day, was aninvitation into friendship, an
invitation into wholeness.
And here we see the light ofChrist.
These people are herecomplaining, going.
(03:44):
This should not be.
These people cannot be included, and Jesus is just enjoying his
dinner with all of them.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
You know, when you hear a story, most of the time
we write ourselves in it atsomewhere, someplace right, and
rarely are any of us going towrite ourselves in as the
Pharisee and rarely are any ofus going to write ourselves in
as the Pharisee.
But you know, if the truth betold, that's where most of the
church is today, if I can behonest, and that might include
(04:14):
you.
So listen up, I'm listening formy own heart to be adjusted and
checked, Because of course, wewould think that we're not and
want to be.
But I ask you where your lineis?
Because the Pharisees had aline.
They had a religious belief anda line and all they were is
trying to honor God.
I mean, we make them out to bethese terrible people, but they
(04:38):
were followers of God and theyhad their rules that they had.
That sounds like me.
And then they had lines and ifyou cross those lines, you went
too far.
We have lines that we say.
I remember one time our churchused to be twisted.
Our pulpit was over there andthe seats were out here.
(05:02):
I just mean it was a differentangle and it was like that.
I remember the back row andthis couple had come to church
for a few years, off and on, andthen I hadn't seen them in a
while and all of a sudden thewoman come in with a whole other
(05:25):
man and come to find out thatthat was her new boyfriend.
And turns out she wasn'tdivorced with the guys who used
to bring and.
And so all of a sudden thereligious, uh people in my
church told me I had anultimatum that either they were
(05:45):
leaving or that couple was to bepublicly embarrassed and kicked
out.
And there's scripture wherepeople do stuff like that.
There are people that do stufflike that, but it's not Jesus.
But see, they had a line andI've watched that line be
different for other people.
They're well open to thesepeople, but if you behave this
(06:07):
way or or have this kind oflifestyle or do you know,
whatever it is, there's a lineand you've crossed it.
And I wonder if we miss.
What Jesus is trying to do inour hearts is extend our ability
to love, past what we see,because it's always easy to
point out the sin that somebodyelse is doing that you're not,
(06:33):
or it's always easy to point outthe thing that they're doing
that you aren't tempted with oryou don't struggle with or
whatever, and then we are on theside of good and they aren't,
and, and so I I just think thatreally an answer to the kind of
hatred we've seen this week andviolence and and, uh, the the
(06:55):
effort for somebody to silencesomeone because you disagree
with the things that they say.
You know, know, I just I can'tget past the thought that, you
know, if you had snuffed me out20 years ago, I wouldn't have
had a chance to become theperson that God's trying real
hard to make me be and for me tobegin to open my heart to
(07:19):
things that I was very closedoff on before.
And so I wonder if extendingthat line to people and
welcoming people in to thatconversation about Christ,
welcoming people into thatcommunication, that relationship
, that love, could transform allof us.
Maybe they need sometransforming, but, as it turns
(07:41):
out, as I reach down to pullsomeone up, I realized, oh, I
needed transformation all along,and so I I wonder where we can,
we can, stop ignoring that partin the bible that talks about
the pharisee and begin to seewhere maybe that might just
pertain to some of the choices Imake and some of the the
(08:02):
thought, thought patterns andbelief systems that I hold on to
that are not demonstratingChrist.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
I'm glad that you reminded us that the Pharisees
because often in the way that wetell the story are people that
we look like and go.
They're wrong.
But the truth is these werepeople who devoted to God.
They were people who weredevoted to their history, to
their culture, to the way thatthey experienced God.
And so Jesus came and told us awhole new story and invites us
(08:32):
to live completely different.
But maybe we should start theservice with the way that other
groups do in such ways like this.
Maybe we could all go goodmorning, my name is Heather and
I'm a recovering Pharisee.
Maybe we could all say thatthis is a recovery group for all
of us, for all of the thingsthat we nurture, all of the
hatred and bigotry, all thethings that we think are any
(08:53):
kind of line to separate us.
This is the illusion of sin,that we are separate.
We are one.
We are made in the image of God.
We each have unique andbeautiful gifts for the world,
and so this invitation into thestory is an invitation to see
things differently.
(09:13):
Jesus was asking the people whowere there to see things
differently, and the Phariseesand teachers of religious law
complained that he was evenassociating with such sinful
people, even eating them.
And so the story of Jesus is astory of radical hospitality.
The story of Jesus is a storyof changing your mind, because
(09:34):
God showed us who God really is.
In fact, it is the apostle Paulwho says this that Jesus showed
us the perfect image of aninvisible God.
Once we didn't know what Godwas like, but now we do, because
Jesus is with us.
And this is the better story,beloved.
Jesus shows us how to love eachother, how to love the world.
(09:56):
So Jesus hears these people,these beloved brothers, sisters,
were not allowed.
So I just want to tell you thatIf we're going to talk about
who's complaining, it's thebrothers.
The brothers are therecomplaining and they're like the
rules aren't being followed,and Jesus hears this.
And Jesus tells them a story, astory.
(10:16):
There's something incredibleabout the power of story,
beloved.
Jesus didn't wag his finger atthem, jesus didn't shout at them
, jesus didn't humiliate them.
Jesus said I'd like to inviteyou to change your mind about
something.
In fact, that is whatrepentance actually is.
It means to change the way thatyou think.
(10:37):
And in this story, we are goingto see how joy invites us to
change the way that we think,and in this story we are going
to see how joy invites us tochange the way that we think.
And so Jesus hears peoplecomplaining about his
willingness to open arm.
Every single person, thenotorious sinners alike, the tax
collectors alike, everymarginalized group, welcomed
(10:59):
Jesus sitting with them, andJesus told this story.
This is also told in Matthew ina different context.
I remind you that storiesaren't just told once, they're
often told in different contexts, so you can see the wisdom in
them.
If a man has a hundred sheep andone of them gets lost, what
will he do?
One of them gets lost, whatwill he do?
(11:24):
Won't he leave the 99 others inthe wilderness and go to search
for the one that is lost untilhe finds it?
And when he has found it, hewill joyfully carry it home on
his shoulders?
He will leave the 99 and goafter the one, and when he finds
it, he will joyfully carry ithome on his shoulders.
(11:48):
And when he arrives, he willcall together his friends and
neighbors, saying rejoice withme because I have found my lost
sheep.
This is a beautiful reminderthis morning that no matter
where you go, you have a goodshepherd beloved, you have a God
, you have love that is pursuingyou, that is asking you to come
(12:10):
into the party.
Come into rejoicing, find joyand celebrate, because that
which is lost is now found, thatwhich is lost is now found.
This is a beautiful invitationbecause it goes against logic.
If you are a shepherd and youare keeping your sheep in the
wilderness, the wildernessitself tells us a lot about
(12:32):
something.
There's danger there, there'sharsh conditions there, and then
he sees that one is missing andhe leaves the 99.
We're like well, we have totake losses somewhere, and this
is a God who does not acceptlosses.
This is a God who's going to goafter the one Beloved.
What great joy it should giveus to remember that we have a
(12:54):
good shepherd.
Oh, when things feel out ofcontrol, when it feels like a
wilderness experience for us, wehave a good shepherd.
And when he arrives, he willcall together his friends and
neighbors saying rejoice with me.
Now we're going to get out alittle bit further into the
story, and perhaps you know thisbecause it's a story we've all
(13:14):
been told in our entire lives.
But this is a story about a Godwho rejoices, a God who loves a
party, a God who says there isgood in the world and invites us
into the party.
Joy is healing for us, and whenwe practice joy, when we
practice celebrating the thingsthat are good, it is an
(13:37):
invitation into this radicalhospitality that everything is
opened by Christ.
In the same way, there is morejoy in heaven over one lost
sinner who repents and returnsto God than there is over 99
others who are righteous andhaven't strayed away.
(14:01):
In the same way, jesus istelling us this story is
actually not about a shepherd,it's about God.
It is about God who has joy,god who is joy, god who, by the
Spirit, can birth in us joy.
And in a world that tells usthat we should only be afraid or
(14:21):
be sad, we listen to the wordsof Jesus, who tells us we're
invited to a kingdom that doesnot fail.
We're invited to a kingdomwherever we are, in the changing
of our mind.
This is an invitation.
Jesus is offering healing to usthat we would change our minds.
In the same way, there is morejoy in heaven over one sinner
(14:46):
who changes the way that hethinks and returns to God.
This language is the same.
We don't get to read it thismorning, but I'm going to give
you a spoiler alert.
There's a story of a father whohas two sons and the one son
leaves because he has an idea.
We don't know what put thatidea in his head, we don't know
where it came from, but he hadan idea that he was going to be
(15:07):
better off by himself than inthe father's house and he does
his thing.
We'll talk about that someother time.
But there's a portion of thestory that says as he's eating
pig slop, he changes his mind.
Pig slop, he changes his mindand he returns to himself and he
says I need to go home, I needto go back to my father.
(15:28):
And this is the same kind ofstory that God is telling us.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
This rejoicing when one person changes their mind.
This is the hope.
You know, and I think by andlarge we have this idea that you
know that it's yourresponsibility to come back,
that God has left you alone andI sense that with people that
are hearing this message,there's a portion of people that
(16:04):
just carry a lot of lonelinessand a lot of shame and guilt
about mistakes that you've made,and sometimes that isolation is
almost impossible to get out of.
And I want to remind you thatthe God we serve says I go to
(16:25):
that place.
He is there with you.
Now.
It's difficult to see in themiddle of mire.
My friend is a diver, a deep,deep sea diver.
He's trained to do that, butsome of the projects he'll get
hired on will be dive down intomud and he said it's the
(16:49):
scariest thing to not be able tosee for hours.
He said you have to almost calmyourself because you can't see
your hand in front of your faceand you feel the pressure of
that and you just feel likemaybe I'm stuck here for this is
the end.
You know, imagine that andmaybe you don't experience
anxiety and depression, butthere are people right next to
(17:10):
your shoulders that carry thaton a daily basis and you feel
alone, and Jesus is using thisparable to try to remind you of
this truth.
You are not alone, you are notabandoned, you are not left
(17:32):
until you get it right to comeback, and that's really kind of
been the message of the church,sadly.
You know you come up here andwalk this aisle and do things
our way, and isn't that whatthis kind of stands in the face
of the people that were doing itthe right way were actually
told no, that's not the waywe're going to do it.
He's breaking the barriers ofreligion and we keep putting
(17:58):
them back on ourselves.
The restraints are broken byhim, the chains are loosed and
we sit around sometimes and mendthem.
And so I remind you, whereveryou are, you're not outside of
the reach of God, you're notoutside of the presence of God
and you're not outside of thelove and forgiveness and healing
(18:19):
.
And sometimes it's hard to evenfigure out.
How do I apply that?
How do I adapt that?
How do I move in that, pastor?
Well, that's why you have achurch, because there are
brothers and sisters and I canhave them raise their hand right
now who know what it's like tobe in the depths of depression
and somehow, through the graceof God, have been pulled out of
that and they can share a pathwith you.
(18:40):
And I can, and my wife can.
And look at the people aroundhere lifting their hands.
You're not alone, we're afamily.
We're made to believe thatwe're alone.
We're tricked in our own mindsand our own thoughts to believe
somehow we're so different andso in a unique situation.
(19:03):
But nothing is outside of God'sreach and his design and be
able to transform.
Amen.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining
us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(19:35):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
This story is told in threes andwe're only talking about two of
them today, but I do want totalk about the fact that things
get lost.
We love to blame someone.
We just do.
I don't know who moved this.
I don't know who put itsomewhere else.
I mean, we just we are good atblaming.
No one wants responsibility forthe losing of anything you know
(19:58):
.
Like that is like in our nature.
Somehow we don't want to be theone who's lost.
Now let's talk about a sheep.
How did the sheep get lost?
A little lamb, I don't know.
It has four legs.
Maybe it wandered off.
It saw something, I don't know,but it could have been that
lamb's problem, and we oftenjudge other people like that.
I don't know how they got wherethey got.
I don't know what they did,what choice they made?
(20:23):
Beloved.
Maybe they didn't make anychoice at all, but we're going
to get onto them.
There's a woman who lost a coin.
I just want to ask you aboutthe agency of a coin.
The coin doesn't lose itself,beloved.
That's somebody else who issupposed to be looking after it,
who lost it.
You might be the lost coin.
Maybe you find yourself in aplace that feels alone, that
(20:44):
feels terrible, but it hasnothing to do with you.
You may not be responsible forthat, and this is still the
story of God coming to youwherever you are.
I love this story becausethere's so much reality in this
particular version, becausewe're talking about a lost coin
and Jesus says there's a womanwho's gone to find it Now,
beloved.
What happens when we losethings?
(21:05):
We call on the sisters, we callon the women Please help us
find this, please.
And this woman is willing topush past her skirts lay on the
floorboard.
Look, where could this coinhave wedged itself?
Where could this coin have gone?
It says that she meticulouslylooks everywhere for this coin.
She sweeps the entire house.
Beloved.
(21:25):
This is how you find things.
I don't know if you knew this,but you clean up and put things
away, and then you'll findsomething that's out of order,
and this is a good word for youeven though as people don't want
to listen to it.
We light a lamp, also importantfor those of us who are past the
age of 40.
If you can't find something,turn the light on.
Turn the light on and we mightbe able to find it.
And what is the light Beloved?
(21:46):
We are the light of the world.
Jesus said this.
He said you are the light.
If something needs to be foundin a situation, you go there.
Be the light.
That is Christ.
Allow the light to come andcarefully searches until she
finds it.
And when she finds it, she willcall in her families and
(22:08):
neighbors and say rejoice withme because I found my lost coin
Again.
The invitation is to joy.
The invitation is to community,the invitation is to belonging.
Every time something isreturned, we have a party
Beloved.
There is joy in God.
God is a God who is not angryand sour-faced and upset that
(22:31):
people aren't doing things.
God is full of love.
God is love and the invitationis that we would begin to see
things, allow our eyes to behealed.
We would see them the way thatGod does.
Beloved I have found recentlyand I am working on this and you
may find it and you may work onit.
Also, there are only twocategories for everything, which
(22:53):
helps me because I'm a personwho has had a lot of.
I have a lot of children andlike things.
If you're doing laundry,there's a lot of sorting.
Who goes where?
What does this?
Do you know?
How does this get?
If you've got silverware andyou've got a 12-piece silverware
?
Where?
If you've got silverware andyou've got a 12-piece silverware
, where does each thing go?
A lot of times we sort in ourminds.
So there's only two categoriesfor everything it's all love or
it's a call to be loved.
One of the two and so if it'slove, then I just join right
(23:16):
into it.
If it's a call to be love, thenI find the Christ in me.
And how do I bring love to thatsituation?
It's all love or a call to love.
This is the invitation for us.
Rejoice with me because I havefound my lost coin.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
You know, and I think that if you can look at this
scripture it also can help usmaybe reorient our default mode,
because you know you probablyhave a default mode of just how
you exist, how you functionthrough life.
And are you a pessimist, areyou depressed, are you angry
most of the time, or are yourejoicing, are you finding
(23:56):
within, you know, just natureitself?
The other said something theother day in the pulpit, just
like how can we not just bethankful for the trees because
we breathe, because of what theyhand out, what they they, you
know, uh, expel?
And it's like, are you thankfulfor, for oxygen?
Whenever it gets knocked out ofyou, you want it real bad, and
so we forget how much we need itbecause it's coming so
(24:17):
plentifully.
But, uh, but I, I, I bring youback to that idea of where is
your default mode and and askGod to help you shift that to a
place of joy.
You know I got to tell youthere's two ways of looking at
what my day yesterday was.
I was in the shop and it washot.
I was lifting and moving heavythings and later on that evening
(24:40):
I was very sore.
Or the truth.
I have a mid-30s son, who couldvery well hate me and want
nothing to do with me, invitedme in to a project that he was
doing and I had the most joyjust spending time with my son
(25:03):
and I counted every minute.
He's working, he's gone for allpractical purposes and I got to
spend that time with him and Igot to tell you that I just you
couldn't knock the joy out of me.
I'd stand up and he'd go what'swrong?
Oh, nothing.
But I'm like you know what waswrong?
I was just so sore.
(25:27):
But it's like what's my defaultmode?
Oh man, how you doing.
Oh, I'm sore, how you doing?
Well, you know taxes are comingaround.
You know they're always comingaround.
Or, man, am I grateful that Ihave my spouse, that I have
children, that I have my spouse,that I have children, that I
(25:51):
have a job, that I have anincome, that I have oxygen?
There's something you can find,and I'm telling you, in
shifting that default mode, itshifts your universe, it shifts
some things around in us.
And so look at that and go.
Why are God's people, thoseweirdos, rejoicing all the time?
(26:12):
What's wrong with them?
Or I can go.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
I want some of that rejoicing Amen, there's joy in
the presence of God's angels.
When even one person who's inan illusion changes their mind,
that's what the scripture says.
To repent is to change the wayyou're looking at something.
When even one person who's inan illusion changes their mind,
that's what the scripture says.
To repent is to change the wayyou're looking at something, and
the only reason why we wouldhead down a wrong path is
because, if we've been told itis the right path, it is an
(26:39):
illusion, and that's why so muchof Jesus' miracles have to do
with healing our sight, healingthe way that we look at the
world, the way that we look ateach other.
This is an invitation.
I did not have to participate inthe outside work yesterday, and
for this I am grateful, butwhat I did recognize, and what
was so beautiful to me, is allof the work that Thomas and
(27:01):
Dennis and the other people thatcontributed are doing, is not
for any of us.
Thomas saw somebody else inneed and recognized the resource
.
At our house we have people whocould fix this, and so this is
what true community looks like.
We now have friends that we aremeeting in need, not because we
know them, but because Thomasloves them.
(27:22):
And this is the invitation ofthe church that, as we allow
everyone to come together, as wedon't make delineations between
notorious sinners, taxcollectors and Pharisees, as we
just say we are all the childrenof God and everyone is invited
to communion, to fellowship, towholeness.
This is how our love expands,beloved, this is how the world
(27:46):
changes, that we allow ourselvesto love people that we don't
even know, maybe we disagreewith, maybe we don't have any
point or any way to connect, butsomebody we love loves them,
and that's a way for us to lovethem.
And this is where joy is, inthis beautiful, hopeful place.
(28:07):
This is where communion takesplace, that all of us remember.
It is at the table where we arereminded of the goodness of God
.
It is in hope and in holycommunion that we're reminded.
This is, in fact, the season ofcreation, from September to
October, where we pay attentionto nature.
(28:29):
We're supposed to pay attentionto it all the time, but the
church, fathers and mothersrealize we're going to need to
make this a holiday.
We're going to need to makethis something that you put
together here, where we rememberwhat the animals teach us.
Have you ever really had aheartache and had a dog look at
you.
There's something holy aboutthat.
(28:50):
Have you ever really beenafraid and have an animal speak
to you of it's peace?
There's peace.
We are not alone.
There is something soincredibly powerful about the
witness of nature that comes tous and reminds us that there is
joy in belonging and all ofnature is given.
Every time we're at the table,we use bread and we use the
(29:12):
juice, and we're reminded thatnature is witnessing to us the
mystery that is inclusion.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I think you've got a perfect opportunity right here
to talk about the fact.
You know what I'm going to sayand I'm doing this as a selfless
is it?
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I'm not sure.
What is this like a selflessopportunity?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
I offer to the people in this room or who are
watching me online that it'sscientifically proven.
Okay, that's not me.
I didn't come up with this.
Heather read it the other daythat there's a healing vibration
in your body and a cat's purris that same frequency.
(29:53):
I have two kittens at my housethat I offer that they were
rescued unto thee because I wantnature to witness to you.
I want healing vibrations tocome through your body.
I want you to cuddle.
I'm not saying that because Iwant them out of my bathroom.
(30:13):
I'm not saying that because thelitter box stinks.
I'm saying that because I loveyou.
It's a boy and a girl.
I mean pair matching pair.
It's for your taking.
I don't know, heather, I'mgoing to try next week.
I've successfully derailed theservice.
(30:35):
Now Go on.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Let me try to bring it back around for this reason.
Why do you have two cats?
If you didn't want them, whyare you trying to give away
something that you have?
Let me just tell you how we gotthem.
It was raining and it wasmidnight, and these two tiny
kittens can fit in the palm ofyour hand.
We're outside alone.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
In the street.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
In the street, beloved.
I don't, however, you plannedyour day.
When you see something that istiny and needs defense, when you
see something big and needsdefense, it is in us all a call
to love in ways that areinconvenient to us, and this is
how we practice our attention onthe small things, on the things
(31:24):
that seem like they don'tmatter rescuing a kitten and you
know that small things aregoing to be a lot of work.
I don't know if you've ever hada child before, if you've ever
been around children before.
They are tiny and they are alot of work, but they're not the
only things that are a lot ofwork.
Sometimes people stuck in theirown way of doing things with
(31:45):
hateful things in their heartare a lot of work, and so we can
either disregard that or we can, together, say we will tell a
better story.
We'll tell the story of Jesus,who tells us about a man who
lost a sheep and left 99 andwent out after it.
We'll tell the story of a womanwho lost a coin and found it
and said everybody, come homeand rejoice.
(32:07):
You know the story.
We didn't talk about it today.
This is a three-part story.
There is a father who has a sonwho leaves and comes home and
he has a party and he says myson, who is dead, is now alive.
Of course we have to celebrate.
And the older brother is in thecorner going I can't believe
(32:29):
you're having a party for him.
I've been here the whole time.
I've done the right thing everysingle day.
I can't believe that's whatyou're celebrating.
And you know what the fathersays Just come into the party,
beloved.
We don't ever know if he goesinto the party, because I think
that's our choice.
Beloved, we don't ever know.
If he goes into the partybecause I think that's our
choice, will you enter joy?
Will you intentionally saywhere can I be a part of the
(32:54):
hope that builds the world?
Where do I enter into the storythat Jesus is retelling for all
of us, that there is anotherkingdom, and it is not the
kingdom of this world, it is thekingdom of God's love, and it
is available now.
It is available right now.
Somebody was telling mesomething the other day about
eternity and they kept referringto it as way, way down the
round, and I was reminding them.
(33:15):
Eternity is now beloved.
We are not outside of eternity.
Eternity is now, and so thechoices that we make now
certainly influence the furtherpart of eternity, but this is
all eternity.
We're not outside of eternity.
We are one in Christ, we areone in each other, we are one in
the Spirit.
And this is the invitation tolive in this community, to live
(33:39):
in communion with God at thetable and to make sure all of
our brothers and sisters arewelcomed at the table of the
Lord and that at the table it isnot sorrow, there is joy.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
And did I mention they were litter box trained?
I'm just kidding In the sameway there is joy in the presence
of.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
God's angels when even one person changes their
mind about something.
Amen.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurchorg.
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