Text of the Week: “… let us eat and
celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found!” And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:24-25
Welcome to today’s services and a special
welcome to any who are worshipping with us for the first time!
Today it’s Sunday Special: that means that
our children and young people are enjoying a late breakfast and some activities
around today’s theme before joining the rest of us for the last part of our
service. In our whistle-stop tour of Luke and Acts, today we almost get back to
where we started! We join Jesus and the women as well as the men who
accompanied him wherever he went. They’re on a journey that’s taking them to
Jerusalem. And on that journey they do what so many people down through the
ages have done on a journey: they share stories. It’s here in Luke’s Gospel on
the journey to Jerusalem that begins at chapter 9 verse 51 and ends when he first
sees the city at chapter 19 verse 41 that most of the ‘story-like’ parables of
Jesus are to be found. Right in the middle of the journey come three of the
most wonderful stories of Jesus and they go to the heart of the Gospel. As we
hear of the sheep that was lost and found, the coin that was sought and saved
and the son that was hugged and held we marvel at God’s grace and see the world
in a completely different way. Luke chapter 15 is nothing less than the Gospel
inside the Gospel.
Welcome
and Call to Worship
153
Great is thy faithfulness
Prayer
and the Lord’s Prayer
The
Journey begins
In
our whistle-stop tour of Luke and Acts, today we almost get back to where we
started! We join Jesus and the women as well as the men who accompanied him
wherever he went. They’re on a journey that’s taking them to Jerusalem. And on
that journey they do what so many people down through the ages have done on a
journey: they share stories. It’s here in Luke’s Gospel on the journey to
Jerusalem that begins at chapter 9 verse 51 and ends when he first sees the
city at chapter 19 verse 41 that most of the ‘story-like’ parables of Jesus are
to be found. It’s here, more than anywhere else, that we catch a glimpse of the
way Luke worked when he set out to write ‘an orderly account’ for a friend of
God, Theophilus. He is quite open in declaring that he made use of things other
people had written – lots of Mark’s gospel appears almost word for word in
Luke’s Gospel. But interestingly, Luke keeps close to the original Mark and includes
that Gospel in chunks. In all these 10 chapters there’s virtually nothing from
Mark’s Gospel. It’s all material Luke has researched himself. It includes
sayings of Jesus that appear in quite different contexts in Matthew’s Gospel,
giving rise to the view that Matthew and Luke both drew on an earlier
collection of the sayings of Jesus.
The
journey begins … and straightaway they run into conflict – conflict in part of
the disciples’ making as they enter a Samaritan village that refuses to receive
Jesus –
When
the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call
fire down from heaven to destroy them?” Some manuscripts add in Jesus’
response: You don’t know what kind of a Spirit you belong to: for the Son of
Man did not come to destroy people’s lives but to save them.” 9:51-55
Then
it’s on to another village and reflections on what it takes to follow in the
footsteps of Jesus – would-be followers of Jesus.
It’s
almost as if they fan out – the twelve had already gone out and come back and
reported on their mission to preach the kingdom and to bring healing into all
levels of people’s lives. They went out in pairs – maybe each of those pairs
took on another 12 – making a cascade of 72 going out – to preach the kingdom
and bring healing to people’s lives.
Not
all receive the message as there are unbelieving towns. They come back and
report.
A
Rhythm of action and reflection that leads to more reflection.
Luke
notices how much Jesus prays – here he records a wonderful prayer of praise
Jesus makes to his Father.
Then
comes the Parable of the Good Samaritan , the visit Jesus makes to the home of
Mary and Martha – there’s action here that is called for in the Parable of the
Good Samaritan and reflection in the visit of Jesus to Martha and Mary as he
commends the quiet reflection of Mary.
Then
Jesus teaches on prayer – this is an example of the way Matthew and Luke seem
to draw on sayings that had been compiled of Jesus – this teaching appears in
Matthew in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 6. Here there is a
focus on prayer – on the journey to keep going the disciples recognize that
Jesus keeps going by prayer … and they want to know how to pray.
There’s
a tussle going on – a spiritual battle if you like – Jesus and Beelzebul and
the return of the evil spirit.
True
happiness is hearing the word of God and doing it – a recurring theme.
Reflection on the word leads to action which in turn leads to more reflection.
There’s
discussion and debate as people demand a miracle and Jesus speaks of the need
for an inner light to light up the body – and debates with the Pharisees and
the Teachers of the Law –
As
Jesus sits down and eats with he Pharisee – who is critical that Jesus had not
adequately washed.
Jesus
has gone in to eat with Mary and Martha. Here we see him eating at the home of
the pharisee.
He
warns against hypocrisy – fear those who kill the spirit k- how important to
confess Christ and the fear of rejection
Then
another gredat story parable – the parable of the great fool – who puts I, me
at the centre and gets his come-uppance.
How
important to trust in God and seek riches in heaven. Be watchful – the watchful servants at the
feast – the call for action
The
call for decision – can lead to division – are you for Jesus and his way or not
Settle
with your opponent, turn from your sins or die, the parable of the unfruitful
figtree.
As
the journey presses on there is a need to decide for or against, are you with
Jesus or not?
Heals
a crippled woman on the sabbath – and then more stories – the parable of the
mustard seed, of the yeast, of the narrow door.
The
tension mounts in 13:31ff
At
that same time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “You must get out
of here and go somewhere else, because Herod wants to kill you.”
There’s
the determination of Jesus …
32Jesus
answered them, “Go and tell that fox: ‘I am driving out demons and performing
cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall finish my work.’33Yet I
must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day; it is not right for a
prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem.
And
his lament over the Jerusalem he knows he is going to and what lies in store
34“Jerusalem,
Jerusalem! You kill the prophets, you stone the messengers God has sent you!
How many times have I wanted to put my arms round all your people, just as a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!35 And so your
Temple will be abandoned. I assure you that you will not see me until the time
comes when you say, ‘God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Jesus
heals the sick man and again there’s reflection on what happens at a feast as
some guests seek the place of highest honour and Jesus speaks of humility and
hospitality.
Then comes the parable of the Great feast – Jesus reflects on the cost of being a disciple and of the dangers of worthless salt.
The
Journey is pressing forward –
Luke
9:51
Luke
9:53
10:30
13:4
13:22
13:33
13:34
It’s
one of those jaunty modern songs from school and church days … though actually
it is one we are growing older with. At our dementia friendly service one of
Joan’s friends chose the next hymn – a great choice in all sorts of ways,
especially when you remember that Sydney Carter who wrote this and Lord of the
dance and many others himself lived with an increasingly serious dementia. And
it was a struggle.
530
One more step 1,2,3
Right
in the middle of the journey come three of the most wonderful stories of Jesus
and they go to the heart of the Gospel. As we hear of the sheep that was lost
and found, the coin that was sought and saved and the son that was hugged and
held we marvel at God’s grace and see the world in a completely different way.
Luke chapter 15 is nothing less than the Gospel inside the Gospel.
And
it’s all about who you eat with – this gets to the heart of some big issues. It
goes to the heart of the Gospel. Religion is all about keeping the right
company, eating the right things in the right way with the right people. For
Jesus it wasn’t like that – he had a whole different way of thinking of things
and of seeing the world.
It
is the complaint of the ultra religious that leads into these three wonderful
parables:
Lost
and Found - Luke 15:1-7
One
day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, 2the
Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes
outcasts and even eats with them!” 3So Jesus told them this parable:
The
immediate point at issue is – who you eat with
4“Suppose
one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them — what do you do? You
leave the other 99 sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got
lost until you find it.5When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on
your shoulders6and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and
neighbours together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let
us celebrate!’7In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over 99 respectable people who do not need to
repent.
And
it finishes with great feasting.
You
could think of these three parables as parables about our plight and our
salvation - the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost coin, the
parable;e of the Lost Son or the Prodigal son
And
they are wonderful in what they say about that love of God that reaches out to
us and brings us to a safe place, sets us in the right place welcomes us home.
HTC
212 I will sing the wondrous story
You
can think of them as Parables about us, our plight and our salvation: the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of
the Lost Coin, the Parable of the lost or prodigal son.
Or
you can think of them as parables about the nature of God: the parable of the
Good Shepherd, the Seeking Woman, the
Waiting Father
Sought
and Saved
Luke
15:8-10
8“Or
suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them — what does she do?
She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she
finds it.9When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together, and
says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’10In
the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who
repents.”
Jesus
speaks of God as the mother hen who takes us under her wing – this is a
wonderful image – and it invites us into that safe place that is special.
678
Here is the place
There
is a recurring phrase in each of those first two parable – as they come to the
end
7In
the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who
repents than over 99 respectable people who do not need to repent.
0In the same way, I tell you, the angels of
God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”
Repentance
goes to the heart of the gospel – it’s what it is all about.
But
what is repentance? – in a sense the third parable is a parable that is all
about repentance. What it means.
Hugged
and Held
Luke
15:11-24
Jesus
went on to say, “There was once a man who had two sons.12The younger one said
to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the property now.’ So the man divided his
property between his two sons.13After a few days the younger son sold his part
of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away,
where he wasted his money in reckless living.14He spent everything he had. Then
a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing.15So
he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to
his farm to take care of the pigs.16He wished he could fill himself with the
bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat.17At last he came to his senses and
said, ‘All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am
about to starve!18I will get up and go to my father and say, Father, I have
sinned against God and against you.19I am no longer fit to be called your son;
treat me as one of your hired workers.’20So he got up and started back to his
father.
“He
was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled
with pity, and he ran, threw his arms round his son, and kissed him.21‘Father,’
the son said, ‘I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to
be called your son.’22But the father called his servants. ‘Hurry!’ he said.
‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on
his feet.23Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate
with a feast!24For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost,
but now he has been found.’ And so the feasting began.
The
key moment is when he comes to his senses.
He
came to himself
That’s
what repentance amounts to – a whole new way of thinking – a whole new way of
acting – a whole new way of being …
And
it draws us home – hugged and held.
How
easy it is to begrudge those who are brought home – but we’ve been there all
along … the elder brother
Really?
Luke
15:28-32
28“The
elder brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father
came out and begged him to come in.29But he answered his father, ‘Look, all
these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your
orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my
friends!30But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and
when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!’31‘My son,’ the
father answered, ‘you are always here with me, and everything I have is
yours.32But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead,
but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’ ”
Takes
us back to where we began – and that sense that these are parables of feasting
– and the feast is for all – let’s not stay outside!
724
Christ’s is the world
The
Journey goes on
17:11
18:31
19:11
19:28
Look
at the story parables that are coming up –
The
Shrewd manager – 16:1-13 about the scale of forgiveness
The
rich man and Lazarus – 16:19-32
The
servant who ploughs – 17:7-10
The
widow and the judge – 18:1-8
The
pharisee and the tax collector – 18:9-14
The
parable of the gold coins
And
the things Jesus does
Heals
ten men suffering from leprosy 17:11-19
Blesses
little children 18:15-17
Heals
a blind beggar – 18:35-43
Jesus
and Zaccaheus – 19|:1-10
And
then he’s almost there … and when he sees the city he weeps over it
Triumphant
approach to Jerusalem 19:28-40
Jesus
weeps over Jerusalem
41He
came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it, 42saying, “If you
only knew today what is needed for peace! But now you cannot see it!43
530
One more step 1,4,5
Prayers
of Concern
555
Amazing Grace
A
time to share
Hy-Spirit
song
Words
of Blessing
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