Over the past few weeks, Jesus has given us a lot to struggle with. Keith and I have struggled mightily dealing with those tough passages about the cost of discipleship. As a church, I think it is safe to say that we have been worn out by the impossible task of following Jesus to the point that last week we had to realize that we can not do it alone. Father Keith so wonderfully pointed out that offering God everything is “too hard,” but by putting God first he “entrusts back into our care everything.” And now, as if Luke can sense our exhaustion we are offered a gift, we are given a glimpse of the reward for the obedient work of those who follow Christ. We get a brief picture of what the kingdom of God is like, though it lies subtly, under the radar, in this passage from Luke 15.
The fifteenth chapter of Luke is probably the most famous chapter in all of Luke. The parables we have here; of the lost sheep and the lost coin, are followed by the parable of the prodigal son; a third story of that which is lost now being found. We see that God is actively seeking us out to be restored into right relationship. We find a God that is persistent in his love for us to the point of focusing annoyingly on one of us while the rest are left seemingly alone for a while. What I see most, however, in today’s gospel lesson is a glimpse into the kingdom of God in the tagline that follows both parables. “I tell you that in the same way there will be much rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.” This unspectacular end to these parables is, for me, a vision into what Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo among others call, “The Party of God.” This party is one open to all the kingdom of heaven; angels and archangels, prophets and martyrs, saints of God, all of heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents.
This rejoicing stands in stark contrast to our world which focuses only on the big and exciting. Imagine if your neighbor came pounding on your door to invite you to rejoice with him at a party to the limits of his wealth because he had found a quarter that had fallen between his couch cushions.[1] [pause] Can you hear the crickets chirping as you stand in stunned silence? “Good for you,” I might offer sheepishly as I closed the door in his face and considered putting my house up for sale. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to us to get excited over the stuff that seems so small. What is one quarter going to do? What difference does it mean to find a single sheep when you have 99 good ones roaming in the pasture?
If you are like me and having a hard time with that, suppose then that your neighbor begins to invite you over for parties daily. Today he’s found a dime, tomorrow, that same quarter, the next day a rouge sock appeared in his dryer, and on, and on. Are you beginning to understand how strange this is? And yet, it happens constantly in the kingdom of God as all of heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents. They rejoice over the teenager who accepts Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior at camp in the same way they rejoice over the aging baby-boomer who, for the ten-thousandth time repents of his prideful way. Each and every time one of us turns from our own way and comes back to God the party begins again. I don’t know about you but what sounds so silly on earth, sounds really great to me in the kingdom. I feel honored to have a party thrown over me. I feel humbled to have one thrown over and over and over and over again as I sin and repent and sin and repent and sin and repent. I like it so much, that I’m beginning to re-evaluate just how silly it might be here in this life. As we pray each Sunday for God’s kingdom to come, I don’t believe we can ignore the lessons we get from Scripture on what that would look like.
A great example of living into the kingdom as the party of God here on earth comes from Tony Campolo. Many of you have probably heard this story, but it is worth another listen as we try to discern together what the party of God might look like in the here and now. Tony was in another time zone and couldn't sleep, so well after midnight he wandered down to a doughnut shop where, it turned out, local hookers also came at the end of a night of turning tricks. There, he overheard a conversation between two of them. One, named Agnes, said, "You know what? Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm gonna be thirty-nine." Her friend snapped back, "So what d'ya want from me? A birthday party? Huh? You want me to get a cake and sing happy birthday to you?" The first woman replied, "Aw, come on, why do you have to be so mean? Why do you have to put me down? I'm just sayin' it's my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?"
When they left, Tony got an idea. He asked the shop owner if Agnes came in every night, and when he replied in the affirmative, Tony invited him into a surprise party conspiracy. The shop owner's wife even got involved. Together they arranged for a cake, candles, and typical party decorations for Agnes, who was, to Tony, a complete stranger. The next night when she came in, they shouted, "Surprise!"-and Agnes couldn't believe her eyes. The doughnut shop patrons sang, and she began to cry so hard she could barely blow out the candles. When the time came to cut the cake, she asked if they'd mind if she didn't cut it, if she could bring it home-just to keep it for a while and savor the moment. So she left, carrying her cake like a treasure.
Tony led the guests in a prayer for Agnes, after which the shop owner told Tony he didn't realize Tony was a preacher. He asked what kind of church Tony came from, and Tony replied, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.” The shop owner couldn't believe him. "No you don't. There ain't no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. Yep, I'd join a church like that."[2]
What if there was a church like that? What if we saw the spark of hope in Agnes’ confession that her birthday was coming up rather than dashed it as her so called friend did in the doughnut shop that night? What if, for just a moment, however fleeting it might be, we were able to enter into the party of God; to see what it feels like to rejoice with the angels as one sinner experiences the love of God?
Unfortunately, this is very difficult for us. Just as the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ motives and actions, it seems as though we are conditioned to live life assuming not that “there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, but instead we assume that there will be much joy in heaven when one sinner gets what’s coming, or as William Barclay says it, “There will be much joy in heaven over one sinner who is obliterated before God.”[3] What would the world be like if we reacted with rejoicing over the little successes of life? What if, instead of looking at how many times something has failed, we tried to build up those times when things have worked right? What if we met the world with joy in our hearts rather than skepticism?
To view the world this way is not easy, especially for me. During my three years in seminary I was a member of a dubious group. We sat in front of the library during our free time and offered what I like to think was “helpful critique” to anything that would listen, mostly the trees above and ground below. We were so famous as to be mentioned in a sermon by the Dean as “the circle of cynics.” I know how it is to approach life with a spirit of skepticism, but I hope that you will join me, and help me, as I attempt to make a change; to repent from my way of cynicism and turn to the path of rejoicing. There will be plenty of starts and stops along the way; plenty of chances for all of heaven to rejoice at my multiple attempts at repentance, but one day, I know that by the grace of God, I too will be able to meet the world with a joyful heart. I may never be in a church that throws parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning, and that’s ok, but I do plan on being a part of this church as it strives to offer the world a vision, however fleeting, of the party of God. Amen.
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