Trinity 3 2004 – Fr. John Hall
Trinity 3
June 7, 2004
by
The Rev. John W. Hall
So far on these Sundays after Trinity Sunday we have learned two essential things about the Christian Faith. First that God has already told us all that we need to know in order to be saved, (Dives is told that if his brothers won’t believe Moses and the prophets, they won’t believe the resurrection) and second that salvation is offered to all people, regardless of their station in life, race, or condition. (The wedding feast is cast open to the people in the streets) Today we add a third basic premise to the our body of knowledge, that conversion is necessary and that it is primarily the work of God himself within us, not something we do for ourselves.
Because of TV evangelists and tent meeting revivalists, we all may think we know something about conversion , but today’s Gospel lesson teaches us that the revivalist concept of conversion is flawed and we must not be misled by smooth talk and emotion.
First, these parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin show us that conversion is just what the word suggests: there is a turning around, but more importantly, that turning is the result of the “finding or bringing back on the part of our finder or saviour. The shepherd goes out and finds the one sheep that strayed, turns it, and brings it back to the fold. The woman searches and sweeps until she finds the lost coin, picks it up, and returns it to a safe place.
So first and foremost conversion is something done to us or for us by God. We certainly have some role to play, in that we must acquiesce or comply with God’s call to us, but we don’t play the primary role in conversion. Even if it wants to, the stray sheep cannot find his way back to the fold by himself ; the lost coin can’t return itself to the security of the purse. The sinner, and we all are sinners, is lost. He cannot find his way back to God without help. Unless someone goes out and finds him and brings him back, he will die.
Second, these parables tell us that conversion is fundamentally restoration, getting back to where we ought to be and where we were originally. Conversion is about returning home, where we belong. And this is where we can have some part in our conversion. In so far as we have some sense of where our home land is, where we came from, we have a sort of homing instinct that urges us to look and long for where we belong.
Thirdly, we can learn that conversion has many forms. The stereotypical conversion that first comes to mind is only one of them. Saint Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus is the prototype for this sudden mind bending turn around sort of conversion, but remember too that Saint Peter’s conversion took some time, it was a while after he began following Jesus before he was able to say “you are the Christ!”. And if we assume that conversion is always of the Road to Damascus sort, a sudden momentous event, we miss some important points: we miss understanding the reality of the conversion of all things, that all creation, is continuously being converted and this includes us as well. And second,, we tend to forget that conversion is a lifelong process. Saint Paul’s conversion didn’t take place on the Road to Damascus, it began there. And third, we fail to understand that our separation from God, our getting lost in the first place, and our struggle with sin and pain and suffering are all part of God’s great plan.
The Epistle lesson for today describes our struggle in this wilderness: the devil walks about like a hunting lion, looking for prey. We suffer and are tempted, but, as Saint Peter concludes, God, who has called us into glory shall restore, establish and strengthen us after this suffering. Struggle in the wilderness followed by restoration through Christ is the pattern for all Christian life.
Our Christian life is much like our natural life. And struggle is a part of both. As we grow up from infants to adults we all experience varieties of suffering and pain. And as any parent knows, growing up involves a certain amount of wandering. Two rules for parents of young children that I love are, if your child’s favorite word is ‘no’ he is either willfully disobedient, or he is two, and if your child lies he either has something to hide, or he is four. It is normal for all children to test parental authority, And a child can never really mature unless it is allowed to learn for itself about pain and disappointment, unless he is given the chance to make decisions for himself, and make his own mistakes. And this a hard thing, both for the parents and the child. But none of us can avoid it in the natural world, and none of us can avoid it in the spiritual world. God has made us beings with free will and we must learn to use that will ourselves, as we wander and struggle with sin. But because God, ultimately is in control, we all must be converted, restored, brought back. And this is the work of God visiting and redeeming his people as the Christ. Through his death Christ came to where we are, in the farthest corner of the wilderness, and from there he brings us back.
He sent his Holy Spirit to do this. So Christ is the Good shepherd who searches out the lost sheep but the Spirit is the Shepherd also who quietly leads humanity back day by day to the Sheepfold.
But, you may ask, if God is a loving God, why must we have strayed in the first place? Does God test us, or enjoy seeing us suffer and struggle? The Gospel lesson gives an answer to that with that phrase, “more joy”. There is more joy over the one sinner who repents, or returns than over the ninety-nine who never sinned, or who never left home. Think of this in the infinite cosmic scale of God. Before anything else existed, God lived complete in himself and infinitely happy. He created everything that is for the sake of ‘more joy’ so that others could share in his happiness. This greater joy is the purpose of creation, and the reason for the free will, pain and suffering of the world, and its conversion. God made all of us so that we can be drawn back to him where this infinity of joy can be found.
When we consider this great master plan for us, why God has made us, sent his son to search us out, find us and bring us home, surely our response must be one of thankful praise. And when, in consideration of all this we are moved to joy and love and thanksgiving, this is true conversion.
We are on our way home, being restored to the place we belong. Let us praise God with our whole beings for having found us and brought us back, through Jesus Christ. Amen