Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, March 19, 2017

"All’s Not Lost" - Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent

All’s Not Lost
Lent 3 – Narrative Lectionary 3
March 19, 2017
Grace, Mankato, MN
Luke 15.1-32

This message was delivered in a reflective manner while sitting on a stool.

I was provoked by these three parables this past week, but not in the manner you might expect. After all, as Jesus’ parables go, these seem to be open and shut. God desperately seeks and saves those that are lost. Furthermore, when the lost are back in relationship with God, the celebrations are out of this world. Even the realization that those who don’t think they are lost—Pharisees, scribes, older siblings—are just as much in need of God’s overtures was not as provocative as you’d think. Some people think that God’s love, mercy and grace aren’t zero-sum commodities, but it seems to me that there are more than enough of all these things to go around.

No, the provocation came late Monday night as I was drifting off to sleep, thinking about “lost-ness.” I thought about all of the things that we can lose and have lost in our lives. I wondered: does God care about those as well? I know that we’ll see the people we’ve lost again someday, but what about other things we’ve lost? More to the point of today’s parables: does God somehow work just as hard to redeem those things, too?

Most of my wandering wondering that night centered on relationships, especially on those people closest to me. I wondered about the lost experiences with my parents because they died so young. What about all of the experiences that were missed: the birth of my girls, my becoming a pastor to name a few. What about the spotty relationships with my siblings, especially my older brother with whom I rarely communicate. What about the things I’ve missed with Cindy and the girls because of work? Are these things lost forever?

As I tried to verbalize these ramblings at a text study the next day, a colleague articulated what I couldn’t. (A text study is where preachers discuss the scripture passages for the coming Sunday. Pastor Jeanette Bidne said this: “We ache for the things that are lost and God has that ache, too.” That really resonated with me. God isn’t remote or unfeeling; God shares our “achiness.” As I’ve said before, “closure” and “getting over it” are deadly notions concerning loss. I think they are the emotional equivalent of the idea that God is content to forget about those things that are lost to us. I think that we all long to know that God cares about our hurts and that’s especially true about regrets in our relationships. And I’d like to believe God’s love and mercy extends to those things that are lost to us, even the not so good things.

It seems to me that one thing these parables tell us is that the past does not have all the power over us any longer. And they give me hope that one day God will bring restoration to those relationships that have been lost or broken. Though I don’t know how God will do that, I think we get glimpses of restoration from time to time. Though my parents are dead, I’ve been able to connect with them in some way through other relatives. One of them recently told me how proud my mom would have been that I become a pastor. And I’ve experienced joy in a stronger, deeper relationship with my sister than I thought possible a few years ago. These glimpses of joy give me hope that what has been lost may be restored at some point.

The key to all of this, of course, depends upon the nature of the One Who Seeks the Lost. I don’t think anything will stand in the way of the Seeker expressing love for what is lost, not even death. That’s the ironic, counter-intuitive message of the cross, isn’t it, that God will gather all of the lost and will buy it back? That’s why I love what Henri Nouwen says: “We are not loved because we are precious; we are precious because we are loved.” I have to believe that because of who God is, all of what has been lost is precious, loved, and will be restored someday. Thanks for listening.

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