Luke 15:1-10
There are three stories in the Gospel of Luke about being lost – the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. We’ve heard two of them today and I’ll bet you know the third about the son who takes his inheritance and squanders it, until destitute he crawls back home and is welcomed.
There’s a strong theme in Christianity about being lost, the remedy for which is being saved. You may be suspicious of me choosing this theme for PRIDE worship, simply because there are plenty of churches where you could hear a sermon about LGBTQ folk needing to get right with God and be saved – and at the same time denying their reality and their joy. Don’t worry – we’re not going there.
First I want you to notice that these stories are not about things or people who are missing. They are about how excited a shepherd, a woman, a father and GOD are to be reunited after a separation. Follow that line of thought and we realize that when lostness ends, it’s not just the “found” one who benefits. GOD rejoices! There is joy and celebration attached to homecoming.
For many years I’ve had a hunch about the theology of being lost. Mostly I’d say it’s not possible. How can anyone be lost from God, who is in all and is all? The idea that we can be separated from God is impossible. I’ll give you that we can feel separated from God, indifferent to God, unaware of God. I think of it like this. At a certain age my grandchildren become very independent. They think they can do things for themselves! Most of them insist that they are grown up and capable. They make me hide my eyes while they draw a picture or pour their own milk. Mostly, I try not to peek. But that doesn’t mean I’m not intensely interested in what they are doing or that if they changed their mind and asked for help I wouldn’t be right on it. How could God care about us any less than a mere grandma? We often think we’re on our own, but that’s an illusion. At any moment we’re willing to accept it, all the help and support in the world is available to us…from God, from the community of God’s people, from those who care about making life better for everyone. He celebration is for us, because we’re connecting, because life is better when we’re in it.
We can never be lost from God. But I chose this scripture for PRIDE because I think all too often we are lost from ourselves. We’re disconnected from who we are, how we want to be. At some point in life this is true for almost everybody. We find ourselves playing the wrong sport or the wrong instrument. We are stuck in the wrong job, doing things we hate because we need the money or somebody told us they thought we’d be good at it. We end up in wrong relationships – romantic relationships we don’t know how to improve or end; friendships that don’t support us; co-workers that treat us badly. When we are lost from the core of our own being, it’s hard to find our way home. Usually it takes someone who cares about us to walk along side us until we can find the way.
The tragic truth about our current world, is that for many folk who identify as gay or lesbian, transgender, nonbinary, or any reality not in the current mainstream, there are often more roadblocks in the path than companions. One reason it’s important to celebrate PRIDE is to change that. We are here to say that we’ll walk with anyone searching for their truth. We’re here to say that every person has value for who they are, not only when they conform to social norms. It’s possible to celebrate everyone. It’s our joy to help each person see their worth and claim their place among us. And if someone is acting out because they’ve been put down and cast aside too long, then we can stick with them while they heal. We can give them the safety they’ve been missing. We can show them true friendship looks like.
The church should be a place where everyone can try identify on for size to see if it fits. A place where we can try out ways to be and things to do. Are you a singer? A quilter? An artist? A runner? Do you love being single? Or connected to a surprising partner? Do you want to do something you’re not very good at. Or never do something you do well again? Life is full of so many possibilities. Let’s claim all of them and hang on to what fits and what builds up community. Let’s rejoice in the way God shows us each time someone comes a little closer to being home with themselves. Let’s say loud and proud that no one deserves to be lost and it’s a celebration every time a person says, “This fits me.”
God rejoices when the lost is found, because finding ourselves is worth celebrating. It makes us proud and whole and holy.