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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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Time after
Pentecost – 24 (C) In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May his grace, mercy, and peace be with you! Amen! There is a story my parents have often told - and everyone in my family has heard about it many times - about an incident involving me back when I was only five years old. My younger sister, Patty, who was age 3 at the time, came down with a very serious case of pneumonia. It was only much later that I came to understand just how serious it was. It was a life-threatening illness, and she spent the better part of a month in the hospital because of it. I did not really understand what was going on at the time. All that I knew was that my little sister was gone - AND that at least every other day my parents would buy a small toy for her. I hate to admit it, but as the days passed by, I began to miss my sister less and less...and instead became more and more concerned - and OUTRAGED - that she was getting all of those gifts! My five year old mind conjured up all sorts of visions of Patty having the time of her life - surrounded by a mountain of wonderful toys - while I had nothing! It just didn't seem fair! Finally, the day came when my little sister was able to come home from the hospital. She was so excited - she was even glad to see ME! When she came into the house, she ran toward me with her arms open wide, saying "GEORGIE! GEORGIE!" But I (at least according to the story I've heard) just went past her and went up to my parents who stood there beaming at the heart-warming scene and said; "WHERE ARE THE TOYS?!" "WHERE ARE THE TOYS?!" You know, after hearing stories like this about what I was like as a little youngster, it makes me more tolerant about what children are often like today! But there is a truth here in this story which is also illustrated by Jesus in today's gospel lesson. This truth doesn't really concern me and what I was like - it rather concerns why my parents kept buying my little sister gifts while she was in the hospital. Jesus says that when one sheep out a flock of a hundred is lost, the shepherd will leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and focus all of his love and attention upon the one which is lost. And when he finds it, he celebrates more over it than over the ninety-nine others who had never been lost. Or when a woman having ten silver coins loses one of them, she focuses all of her concern not upon the ones which she still has but upon the one which has been lost. The same thing is true in a family. In a family with children, the special child is the one who is sick or in trouble. That child is the one who receives his or her parents' special love and concern, because he or she is the one who needs it the most. Not that the others are unimportant, but the one who has the greatest need is the one who receives the most attention - just like my little sister did from my parents during her hospital stay. The same thing is also true concerning our relationship with God...or, should I say, concerning God's relationship with US. God is certainly concerned for all of us - He loves each of us more dearly than I could ever express - but our Lord's most SPECIAL concern of all is reserved for those people who are LOST from having a life with Him, because they are the ones who need it the most! How does it happen that people get lost and separated from God? Sometimes, people just bit by little bit wander away from God without even realizing it. They pray a little less often, they come to church a little less regularly...and as time goes on their lack of prayer, worship, and devotional time becomes more and more the rule rather than the exception. Without ever making a conscious decision to leave God, they eventually find themselves lost and separated from having a living and meaningful relationship with Him. Other people, like the coin, are away from God simply because they have no desire to have a life with Him. The lost sheep will at least usually admit their lostness, but people who are like the coin will not even think that they are lost. They think that they are fine just the way they are. Still other people are lost because of conscious choice - that is, they deliberately want to stay away from having a life with God - and that type of "lostness" is explained in the parable of the Prodigal Son which immediately follows today's gospel lesson. Those of us who are parents have certainly experienced with our own children the kind of worry and heartache that God has for His children whenever they become lost from having a life with Him. Sometimes we bleed and hurt inside for them more than we can say, and the same is also true for God. Just as most of us earthly parents want only the best for our children even when they don't care about us or are disobedient to us, so our Heavenly Father will also do almost anything to find us and forgive us and restore us to His kingdom. What a gracious and loving God we have!! But unfortunately, many of us Christians are like I was with my little sister! We get JEALOUS of God lavishing so much time and attention on others instead of upon ourselves. And, like the Pharisees and scribes in today's gospel lesson, we often tend to be much more quick to JUDGE people rather than being concerned for them. Especially when it comes to those who, for various reasons, have stopped coming or feel no need to come, to worship and being in Christian fellowship with God's people. Can we honestly say that we share God's heartache and pain about their lostness? Or do we simply forget about them and soon put them out of our minds? We often fall short in what we should be like in our concern for God's lost people, but God never gives up. His loving heart won't let Him! And, He doesn't give up on US either! We too become "lost" in many ways and in many moments each and every day. We repent of a sin only to repeat it again and again. We often fail to DO things we know we should as Christian people. In a very real way, WE are like the lost sheep, the lost coin, or even the lost "prodigal" son. Yet God still loves us and forgives us and restores us! As Christians, we experience God's blessings in many ways each and every day. But when we have been really lost from a life with Him - when we have really failed "big time" in some area in our lives - and then receive His love and forgiveness in spite of that - THAT is when we truly understand the meaning of GRACE. And THAT is when we truly can feel love and compassion for others who are lost - even if they don't realize or care about it. This is certainly true for me in my own life. In my past I have often been "lost" in a number of ways - yes, often due to my own failings - and yet God kept seeking me out. He has found and forgiven and restored me and filled me with His joy. Over the years, God has been changing me from a "WHERE ARE THE TOYS?!" person into what I am today. And what I do now as a Christian and certainly as a pastor of this congregation, I do in thankfulness because of all that he has done for me. I owe a debt of love to Jesus that can never be repaid. But I can make a small down payment on that debt by sharing my Lord's love with others in their lives...and especially with you. I would hope that the same is true for each of us here as well. As found, redeemed, and forgiven people...we all owe a debt of love to our Lord. We can never, ever fully repay it. But we can share that love and forgiveness with others. And we can rejoice with God and with all of the angels in heaven when even one of those other persons, in response to this love and forgiveness, repents, comes home, and is restored. The words of a very famous hymn that we will be singing in just a moment from now sum this up very well: "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see!" And to that may we say, THANKS BE TO GOD, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD! AMEN!! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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