SueKA

You have a place at God’s table.  Here.  Now. 

You will always have a place at this table. Always.  No matter how far away you travel.  No matter what you do or why you do it.  God will always welcome you home. And everyone else, too. 

The Pharisees and scribes (and many of us) just can’t understand this.  They (and many of us) are forever dividing the world – who is in and who is out. What’s the right way and the wrong way.  A good way and a bad way.  Our way and their way.  “Us” and  “them.” And the Pharisees and scribes (and many of us) feel certain in the knowledge of who is doing right and who is doing wrong. 

How dare Jesus welcome those sinners to eat at table with him? It’s so intimate! How could he possibly associate with those people? 

Nearly two thousand years later and we are still dividing the world between us and them.  We still have not fully embraced the truth that God. Loves. Everyone.  No exceptions. 

Jesus uses the parable of the Prodigal to try to help the Pharisees and the scribes think differently about who God is and how God loves; to see that God loves with a wide open heart. Free of judgment. 

This story is so rich that there are endless sermons that could be preached. Often much is made of the son who goes off and recklessly spends his inheritance, then seems to repent and be forgiven. 

But, the eyes that Jesus is trying to open, the hearts that Jesus is trying to expand belong to the Pharisees and scribes who judge him for eating with sinners.  

Friends, we need this message today.  We need to find ways to come together around the table with people we may judge as different than ourselves – whether the difference is religious, cultural, racial, economic, political or any other category we use to make distinctions.  Our families, our communities, our country, our world will never heal unless we are willing to receive God’s embrace, drop our judgments, and join together in celebration. 

I’d like to ask you – if you are in the building – to take a risk with me –  to stand up, if you can, so that we can gather as one family,  all warmly welcomed by our God just as we are to the table.

(Please listen carefully,  follow my prompts, and keep your bulletin with you.)

If, like the younger brother you have ever left home for a distant place (for college, a job, or travel), please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the younger brother, you were given resources (perhaps money, or an education, or an opportunity) that you did not use as wisely as you could have, please take two steps towards God’s table. 

If, like the younger brother, you have ever in your life had more to drink than was healthy, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the younger brother, you – or someone in your family – were in need – without enough money, food, or an adequate place to live, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the younger brother, at any time in your life you took a job that turned out to be miserable in some way for you, please take two steps towards God’s table. 

If, like the younger brother, you or someone in your family had to return to living with parents because things didn’t work out as hoped, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the older brother, you ever felt jealous of a family member, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the older brother, for even an instant, you were angry with one of your parents because you thought you were slighted or treated unfairly, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the older brother, you were ever reluctant to attend a family gathering or party because you were unhappy with someone who was going to be there, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the older brother, there is something you have desired for yourself but you struggled or have been unable to ask for it, please take two steps towards God’s table.

If, like the older brother, you have jumped to conclusions about the behavior of someone in your family, please take two steps towards God’s table. 

If, like the older brother, you have ever felt judgmental of others, please take two steps towards God’s table. 

Friends…rejoice! No matter where you’ve been or what you have done or failed to do; no matter the choices you have made, you are beloved of God just as you are! 

Submitted by Rev. Sue Koehler-Arsenault, Annisquam Village Church, Gloucester, MA