Sunday - September 15, 2013

The 17^th Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 19 C
Cathedral Church of the Nativity
The Rev. Kimberly Reinholz
Luke 15:1-10

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                I love the game “Hide and Seek”.  I often play it with my nieces and nephews and look forward to playing it with my own children, but whenever I play I am reminded of a story I heard once of how quickly an innocent game of “Hide and Seek” escalated into something more serious, because not everyone involved knew there was a game being played. 

A little boy about 5 years old and his baby sitter went to a local department store.  The babysitter gets distracted for a moment and turns around to find the boy missing.  She is hysterical she starts tearing around the store looking for him.  She gets the manager and all the store employees looking for him.  The police are called.  In the mean-time the little boy has started his own game of hide and seek and is climbing in the clothing racks, sneaking from rack to rack whenever someone gets close.  Eventually he gets tired of running around and falls asleep on a pile of clothes in the fitting room, which is where they eventually find him.  All’s well that ends well right? Thank God this story has a happy ending. 

                Imagine what it must have felt like to be that baby sitter frantically missing the child for whom she was responsible.  It must have been horrible!

                Imagine what it felt like to be the boy who thought he was playing the best game of hide and seek ever.  It must have been awesome!

In the Gospel today Jesus tells about how valuable each and every one of us is.  When the Pharisees are disturbed by Jesus fraternizing with sinners and tax collectors, those who liked to ignore the laws which the Pharisees held sacred Jesus reminds them that people are more sacred than the law. 

                Jesus shares a pair of parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin which both end with rejoicing because what had been lost is now found. As Christians it is this rejoicing which we hope everyone has the opportunity to experience.  This exuberant welcoming home, this embrace, this celebration at being reunited with God, is like the little boy being swept up into the arms of the baby sitter when he is found resting in the fitting room, the lamb which is flung across the shoulders of the shepherd when it had wandered off, or the coin safely stored in the woman’s purse after it had been misplaced. 

It is wonderful to think that there will be rejoicing when the lost person or the lost item is returned to its rightful place, but how often are we ignorant of the fact that we are lost, how often do we think instead that we are playing a game of spiritual hide and seek from God the creator of us all?  How often do we fool ourselves into thinking that we don’t need to come to church , or join that small group, or participate in that ministry because God is everywhere not just in this building?  I know that many of my friends, family and colleagues in and outside of the church feel this way.  It is impossible to explain to those who have never been part of a congregation why it is important to come to church, because can’t you worship God in your garden or in your living room, why do you have to go to some stuffy old building to experience community?  I will admit that sometimes I am envious of people who sleep in, have brunch and do the crossword puzzle on most Sunday mornings.  That doesn’t sound like being lost to me, it sounds like a nice relaxing morning where I know exactly where I am, happily relaxing in my fluffy robe and bunny slippers and it sounds better than running around editing my sermon or looking for my clerical collar. 

I know that not everyone who isn’t here is enjoying a mimosa and scone.  I know that there are people who have to work elsewhere on Sundays.  I know that there are people who have other responsibilities which divert their attention from worship. Sometimes in our busy lives coming to church feels like it just one more thing to do, and we just can’t do anymore.   

I recognize that we are part of a culture which has moved away from the observation of a Sabbath.   But the truth is that observing the Sabbath, by coming to church, is exactly the opposite of having something else to do.  Yes we do a lot when we come to church we worship the Lord our God, celebrate the Eucharist, read scripture, recite prayers, seek intercession for our own needs and those of others, and come together in this holy space so that we can go out refreshed and renewed into a world that doesn’t understand us and feels like what we do here is a waste of valuable “down time”.  But in reality what we do when come here is we refocus on God- our gaze does not fall on ourselves, our children, our friends, or co-workers but in worship we turn our eyes, our hearts and our minds towards God. We stop and take stock of where we are, what we are doing and where we will be going next. 

This is orienteering essential. Only if we look towards Christ Jesus can we find our true north, can we find our true value, and we can discern who we are and what God expects us to be.  If we do not take this time regularly to focus on our creator, redeemer and sustainer we are deluding ourselves into thinking we are playing a game of Hide and Seek when in fact we are truly Lost. 

Like the shepherd seeks out the sheep, the woman scours for her coin, and the sitter panics as the loss of her charge so too Jesus searches for each and every soul of each and every person in creation.  In his searching Jesus rejoices exponentially more than the shepherd or the woman or the babysitter whenever a person, stops and takes a breath, looks up, focuses on God, and remembers that there is more to life than their calendar. In those moments when Jesus rejoices and all the company of heaven rejoices with Him, all of us who were playing at knowing what we are doing, realize that we were in reality lost are now are truly found. 

I think that the next time I feel like I might be wasting my time on Sunday morning by going to church, I might just ask myself am I really playing an intricate game of hide and seek with God?  If that is the case I know that I won’t be wasting my time in going to worship, I will just be reaffirming what has been sung time and time again in that beautiful hymn Amazing Grace- I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see.