In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
Grand Central Station, the elegant train station in midtown Manhattan,
has over 19,000 items in their lost and found. The most popular item
lost is a coat. Up to 2,000 coats a year are lost there. 60 percent of
lost items are found. When a laptop computer or iPod music device is
lost, close to 98 percent of them are claimed.
The one, holy, Christian and Apostolic Church, Jesus Christ's elegant
bride scattered throughout the earth, has countless numbers of people
who are lost. The most popular lost person is the Christian who once
believed that Jesus Christ is their Savior from sin and death, but no
longer practice what they once believed. Few of these lost souls are
found. When one person lost is found, Jesus says there will be more joy
in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons
who need no repentance.
Our Savior Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation, our Lord's elegant outpost
of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Momence, Illinois, has 295
baptized members, yet averages around 55 people for Divine Service.
Where are the 240 others? Are there still 240 others out there who are
lost? Some of them we cannot find. They have moved away or refuse to
remain in contact with us. Some are not here because of a personality
conflict with one of us, with the current pastor, or with a previous
pastor. The conflict may be years old but still festers in their mind so
much that they cannot, or will not, return to this congregation.
Perhaps the most popular reason why so many are on our rolls yet never
attend Divine Service is that they don't need this congregation anymore.
They have paid their debt to the Lord by having their children baptized,
attending Sunday School, maybe Divine Service once in a while, and going
through confirmation instruction. Once that debt of responsibility is
fulfilled, then going to God's House becomes an option rarely taken. One
train of thought might be, "I know I am baptized. I know Jesus died for
my sins and rose from the dead. I can practice my faith from the privacy
of my own home. I no longer need to go to church. I can pray from home
and watch the occasional TV preacher."
Jesus' parable in Luke chapter 15 describes three different situations
of someone or something lost that is found. The first two are things
without a rational soul: a sheep and a coin. The last situation is one
that hits close to home for all of us: a lost son. The sheep strays from
the flock. The coin is misplaced. The son tells his father to drop dead.
That is what is behind the son asking for his share of the inheritance
before his father dies. The shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep behind to
search for the lost one. The woman performs a thorough search of her
house to find one silver coin. The son loses all his inheritance and
lives with swine before coming to himself and preparing an appropriate
apology for his father.
All three items are precious things to which they belong. When they are
found, there is much rejoicing. If the party on earth for a lost sheep,
a lost silver coin, and a lost son is something, think of the party in
heaven when one lost soul repents of their sin and again believes in
Jesus Christ. Yet we seem to think nothing of it. We might think it's
high time that heathen dragged their sorry self back to church. They
need the Lord.
When we despise preaching and God's Word, it's high time we heathens
dragged our sorry selves back to church. Saint Peter says in today's
Epistle be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him,
steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced
by your brotherhood in the world. When Peter mentions sobriety he
doesn't mean quit drinking. Peter means stay alert; watch out for the
roaring lion of sin prowling on cat's feet right behind you. Whether
it's been one week or one decade since the last visit to church, what a
Christian suffers in this world is no different from any other person.
The big difference between a Christian and the person who hardens their
heart against God and His amazing grace believes Jesus Christ is the end
of sin and suffering. Listen again to the prophet Micah: Who is a God
like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the
remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because
He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will
subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the
sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have
sworn to our fathers from days of old.
God loves the lost. He pardons their sin and forgets His anger because
He delights in mercy. Mercy is God's standard default position over
creation. Before the foundation of the world, God knew man would fall
into sin. Our heavenly Father's love and mercy for mankind caused Him to
send His only-begotten Son Jesus Christ in the flesh into our world.
Jesus Christ came to our world to destroy sin and death. He found the
lost, scattered sheep of Israel, died for their sins, and rose from the
dead triumphant over our satanic enemy. Jesus ascends into heaven to
prepare a place for you and me at the banquet table of forgiveness and
life in heaven. The life of the world to come will be a feast the likes
of which you and me can only imagine.
There is a foretaste of the feast to come here in this world. This
foretaste is in this chancel, where the Word of God's mercy and love for
lost sinners is proclaimed week after week. It's stunning that more
people do not want to be a part of the foretaste of the feast to come.
Reasons abound why so many call themselves Christians but want nothing
to do with Christ. Rather than count reasons or cast aspersions, we
rejoice with God over one sinner who repents, is found by the Master,
and returns to the fold.
Rather than worry about all the people who are not coming here to the
church, rather than pine away for a church where the people were more
active, where visitors were more frequent, and where there is a thriving
youth program, let’s focus on the one sinner that repents. Rather than
worship our god of numbers and size, let’s rejoice when just one sinner
comes back to the faith, when just one sinner sees his need for Christ
and clings to Him. That’s the way of Jesus. That’s the way of the holy
Christian Church. Therefore, what if our numbers are small. Who said it
would be different? Just look at Jesus’ ministry. Over half those who
followed Him left Him after Jesus said He was the Bread of Life. When
Jesus questioned whether the Twelve would also leave, Peter responded
Lord, to Whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.
Big Church; little Church; it’s still the Church. It’s still the Kingdom
of Heaven. Christ still dwells here. Wherever two or three are gathered
together in my name, says Christ, there I am in the midst of them. Let’s
be done with “wishing we had something better.” It’s time to be done
with the negative thoughts and attitudes. Let’s put behind us the
attitude that says: “We’re going to be the last people who ever come
here.” It’s time to be the Church. Do what Christians do. We worship
God; we serve one another in our vocations, whether that is in the home,
in the church, or in our work. We pray to our heavenly Father daily,
confess him in the Creeds, study His Word and grow in our knowledge and
understanding of it, and most of all, we take refuge and comfort,
whenever we are afflicted with the guilt of sin or the attacks of the
devil, in the holy and life-saving cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Size
doesn't matter in the kingdom of heaven. What matters is when lost souls
like you and me are fed with Living Bread that comes from heaven. The
angels rejoice with us today as God gathers His beloved around altar,
pulpit, and font in this foretaste of the feast to come. To [God] be the
glory and the dominion forever and ever.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
(I am indebted to Rev. Paul L. Beisel for his thoughts in the last two
paragraphs.)
--
Rev. David M. Juhl
Our Savior Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Momence, IL
http://oselcmomence.googlepages.com
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