Lost and Found

Roman 12:1-18

Oct. 26, 2014

Every once and a while I’ll wander through the church to do a small bit of picking up. I’m always curious about what’s left behind … which makes me think that perhaps we should have read something from the Book of Revelations this morning. You know, the trumpets sound, the end of times, and we look around to see who’s left behind.

Be that as it may, on this Sunday when we celebrate our Reformation heritage, this text from Romans struck me as particularly appropriate. For me, it captures better than almost anything else in all of scripture what it means – or what it could mean – to be the church.

It also provides an interesting lens through which to look at what we bring to church, and what gets left behind; what we lose, and what we find.

For example, I found this ruler someplace that it didn’t belong, and it got me to wondering how we measure our lives. Lord knows the culture offers us some quick measurements starting with “what’s in your wallet,” but Paul suggests a different set of measurements. To begin with, he says “don’t be conformed to this world” that values affluence and appearance, power and prestige. Instead, “love one another with mutual affection and outdo one another in showing honor.”

That’s no way to win the rat race, but, perhaps, it’s a less rat-like way to measure our lives.

We are not, of course, rats. We’re human beings, created in the image of the divine. Scripture employs various metaphors for the human creature, and this little lamb reminds me that people are often referred to as sheep in scripture. Sheep are stupid animals, so I’ve never been fond of that comparison. There’s a song that the kids sing at camp – I just wanna be a sheep, bah, bah, bah, bah – that I truly loathe, because, on top of being just a horrible piece of “music,” I really don’t want to be a sheep. I think we should strive for more. We have, as Paul indicates, these great gifts: teaching, ministering, leading, and so on.

On the other hand, the humble, stupid sheep does remind me that I cannot make it on my own. I need care from others. I need guidance from others. I need the grace of the good shepherd in my life.

Then there are these gloves … which clearly don’t fit … so you must acquit? Well, never mind that. I got nothing on these – but, if they’re yours, please claim them, otherwise we’ll donate them away.

I’m not sure how long they’ve been sitting out there on a shelf. These items, however, are dated, so it’s easy to guess how long they’ve been around. This newsletter from More Light Presbyterians dated February 2013. In terms of the concerns of MLP, that seems like ages ago. There’s a note in here from the Rev. Debra Peevey, who directed MLP’s campaign on amendment 10-A, which removed restrictions on ordination just a few years ago. She wrote, “Our faith calls us to alleviate suffering. MLP helped make it possible for same-gender partners to take their rightful place among the wider community. That’s exactly what Paul said the Body of Christ was for … the uplifting of the community. Marriage equality is a faith-based proposition.”

It seems like forever ago and just yesterday that we were fighting for ordination equality; marriage equality seemed a still distant goal. When this newsletter was published, same-sex marriage was legal in 9 states. As of last Wednesday, when I signed a Virginia marriage license for Tom and Jerome, same-sex marriage is legal in 32 states holding almost two-thirds of the nation’s population. We rejoice with those who rejoice!

The other publication I found last week is older still – a copy of the Presbyterian journal Church & Society from 2002. It’s a collection of essays reflecting on the then upcoming 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The Presbyterian Church has a long-standing commitment to a woman’s right to choose, and this edition of Church & Society reminds us, on this Reformation Sunday, of Calvin’s emphasis on individual conscience that comes down to us in our Book of Order reminder that “God alone is lord of the conscience.” Moreover, as one essay in this collection insists, God speaks to us and through us often by way of the gifts we have been given as well as ones we may not have, and that the work of individual lives – lived out in a community of faith – is, indeed, the work of discerning what is the will of God, even, and especially in incredibly difficult situations.

In addition to the old journal, I found this blank notebook – an empty journal, if you will. It reminds me that we have the opportunity, as one of my favorite philosophers, Kermit the Frog, put it a long time ago, to write our own endings, to fill our own blank pages with rich and faithful lives, to, as Paul put it,

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

Which leads me to the last item I ran across: this “2-ton clear weld epoxy.” It’s like superglue on steroids. It will hold fast to just about anything, and, if you’ve ever accidentally got some on your fingers, you know that it will also hold fast to just about anyone.

There are a lot of images and metaphors for the grace and love of God, and when I picked up this glue last week it struck me as one more pretty good one. For it is the grace and love of God that bind us together in this place. We are one body, with many members. We’ve been given an incredible abundance of gifts. We use them in gracious response to the love and the grace we’ve been given, and, as we use these gifts – prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Letting love be genuine; hating what is evil, holding fast to what is good; loving one another with mutual affection; outdoing one another in showing honor. Not lagging in zeal, being ardent in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope, being patient in suffering, persevering in prayer. Contributing to the needs of the saints; extending hospitality to strangers – as we use these gifts, what once was lost now is found. Amazing grace, indeed. Amen.