From: "Fr John W Fenton (by way of Rev. Eric J. Stefanski, )" To: Subject: HP: Pentecost IV Sermon (1998) Date: Thursday, November 01, 2001 1:03 PM This sermon is preached on the general theme: "Jesus Welcomes Sinners." The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost St. Luke 15.1-10 In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit Dearly Beloved: Our Blessed Lord receives sinners, welcomes them, and embraces them. He does not turn them away when they cry to Him. He does not ignore their prayer or turn a deaf ear to their plea. Our Lord receives sinners. And Our Blessed Lord eats with them. He feeds on their bread of sorrows, drinks down their cup of suffering, and consumes their grapes of wrath. In other words, Our Lord does not shy away from meeting us where we are. He does not shrink from coming into the filth our natural desires produce. He does not refuse to take into Himself the very thing that kills us. A modern hymn sings it this way: Thou camest to our hall of death, O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air, To drink for us the dark despair That strangled man’s reluctant breath. How beautiful the feet that trod The road that leads us back to God. How beautiful the feet that ran To bring the great good news to man. And because of this—because Our Blessed Lord receives sinners and eats with them, because He both embraces them when they come and goes to them when they wander and stray—because of this, Our Lord is scorned, despised, rejected, mocked, jeered and finally crucified. For what kind of God—what kind of man—does not demand something, some better life or some assurance of payback, before helping or taking in a vile person? And what kind of God—what kind of man—does not first insist that you shape up before He gives you a penny or comes to your aid? And what kind of God—what kind of man—does not first lecture you and try to fix you before He lifts a finger to shoulder your burden and pay your debt? And so Our Lord is scorned and despised. Not by those who cry to Him in time of need, but by those who religiously stand up for God, by those who want others to see their religion, by those who wish to manipulate Jesus by their tears and their hard work for the church. Those who say they’re on Jesus’ side and simply want to make Him into their own Jesus—those are the ones who grumble and complain and murmur when Jesus stands before you and proclaims His Gospel of peace, and opens His tables to sinners, and declares forgiveness for even the ones you don’t think are deserving. Beware, then. For you may think that the lost sheep and the lost coin are someone else—the people you pity, the person you refused to acknowledge, the woman you didn’t want to be bothered with, the man you don’t much like. But actually, as Our Lord tells the parables, the lost are not simply the sinners Jesus receives and eats with. The lost are also those who stray from Our Lord by their grumbling, by their hatred for their brother or sister in Christ, by their refusal to love and forgive as they have been loved and forgiven, by their unwillingness to embrace “sinners” just as Jesus has embraced them. For you must remember that Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and lost coin not simply to let the Pharisees have it, not simply to lay down His own mission for sinners, not simply to remind His disciples and us of His purpose, but also to draw and entice, welcome and invite, gather and sit down with and eat with you. Or do you think yourself to be one of those just persons who needs no repentance? Those are the angels and archangels, the blessed dead, the ones who need not fear Our Lord’s departure and descent into our sinful world. Those ninety-nine sheep that are left behind, those nine coins that are safely tucked away—they represent those who cannot stray or be lost because Christ has wiped away their tears forever; they have that for which we still endeavor. We [however] are still as in a dungeon living, Still oppressed with sorrow and misgiving; Our undertakings Are but toils and troubles and heartbreakings. As such, you and I are represented in Our Lord’s parable by the sheep that goes astray. For we have turned, everyone of us, to his own way, doing as we please, trusting in ourselves and despising others, living as if we deserved God’s mercy and as if His grace had no effect. And you and I are represented by the coin that needs the diligent and fervent prayers of the Church as the Spirit seeks us out, overturning everything and using all means to find us and gather us back at the table where Our Lord receives and eats with sinners. Do you see the grace of Our Lord? Do you understand the constant diligence of the Holy Spirit? Do you take to heart the all-embracing love of the Father? Our God does not teach sinners in the way so that, by scolding and screaming, He might get them to live right. Instead, His instruction is to pour on us His grace, plant into our bodies the Righteousness and Love He gives, speak into our hearts and minds His transforming grace, and supply our life with the true and abundant Life and Living that He is. But none of that is possible if Our Lord does not receive sinners and eat with them. And so Our Blessed Lord comes in our flesh, and willingly drinks from and swallows down and drains our cup of sin and death. He does whatever it takes to seek us out, to shoulder our burdens, to carry our griefs, to endure our sorrows. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquities of us all. So this Jesus is our Jesus only because He comes into our flesh, becomes our sin, is tempted in all points as we are, gets what we deserve, and is sacrificed to appease God for what we are and do. That is how Our Blessed Lord is the tender and gentle shepherd. That is how He carries us back to Himself. He demands nothing in return. He does not make us first prove our faith. He does not require us to do even the smallest part of the sacrifice. He only draws us to Himself. He gives us the confidence and courage to trust Him and what He gives. And He encourages us to give thanks with all we are and all we have. And all this, simply so that He might welcome and receive us back to Himself. All this, simply so that we might return to Him in true repentance—a repentance that does not seek any other self-gratification, a repentance that does not demand others to live as we think. Rather, as sheep rescued by the shepherd and as a coin gathered back among the Faithful, we get to live the true repentance that is wholly satisfied with whatever Our Lord gives, a true repentance that feeds on and lives from His unthinkable kindness, a true repentance that lives for others just as Our Lord has lived for us. God grant us this true repentance—a repentance over which the angels and our sainted loved ones rejoice. For We deserve but grief and shame. Yet His words, rich grace revealing Pardon, peace and life proclaim; Now our ills have perfect healing. So with humble heart, believe— Jesus sinners doth receive. In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit 28 June 1998 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Rev. Fr. John W. Fenton, S.T.M. Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Detroit 4305 N. 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