Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Mrs. Suzette Cayless, AHC
BCP - Proper 19 C - Sunday 16 September 2007
Exodus 32:1,7-14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10
Lost Things
Today’s readings speak to us about being lost, in various different ways. It is a familiar experience, one that comes to each of us at some point in life.
My husband is very fond of the GPS system in his car! This “Global Positioning Satellite” enables him to know where he is and where to go next on journeys. It certainly is useful when we go to new places. But, sometimes, the voice in the computer says those dreaded words “Lost satellite communication.” This can happen in the middle of an unknown area where the roads are totally strange. Then one has to revert to the old ways - a road map if such happens to be in the car - guesswork if we didn’t bother to bring one!
The Israelites were in this kind of situation in the passage from Exodus that is today’s first reading. They had become used to relying on Moses for instructions as to what to do and where to go. But Moses had gone up the mountain. They had lost communication with him. They felt insecure and did not know what to do. So they reverted to the old ways. They called on Aaron to make them an idol, something they could see and pay homage to - and he obliged with the construction of a golden calf. The people had not yet learned the ways of God for themselves. While they were having the golden calf made, Moses was on the mountain receiving the “Ten Commandments,” the guidelines designed to shape the day to day conduct of the people he was leading The writer describes God’s anger at their unfaithfulness and how Moses is sent back down to reclaim the people, to “find” them and turn them again in the right direction. Moses bears with him the tablets of stone with the ten commandments graven on them. The next piece of the story tells how Moses was so mad when he reached the foot of the mountain that he threw the tablets down and smashed them, then had the golden calf ground to powder and thrown in the water for the people to drink.
We can be like the Israelites who lost their connection with Moses - they couldn’t see him and didn’t know what to do. Like the Israelites we make wrong choices instead of trusting and patiently looking for the new life that God has prepared for us. We get the feeling that God has deserted us, left us alone; we long for Him and for the awareness of his presence - but it doesn’t come. We long for God like the deer longing for the water-brooks. Our hearts are sad and we look for other things to sustain us. We return to things in our past and find it very difficult to let go of those experiences, desires, security blankets, that we have relied on for so long. Lest we feel self-righteous and critical of these faithless people in the wilderness, let us recall that we have our symbol - the Cross - and we also have tangible resources - the Sacraments - that empower us and enable us in our pilgrimage. Even with these we can make wrong choices.
There are other ways of being lost too. The Gospel today speaks of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In these two stories the lost items are lost inadvertently, accidentally - not a matter of deliberate choice on anyone’s part. This is what happened to my suitcase when I returned from a trip to North Carolina this past week. I left Raleigh/Durham Airport late because of bad weather in Philadelphia where I had to change planes. The connecting flight was also delayed and I just managed to get on board before it took off. But my suitcase did not make it! I checked at the baggage reclaim area in Albany, was given a claim form, and told that the suitcase would hopefully arrive on a later flight and that it would be delivered to me the following day. Thankfully it was - and I was very pleased to get it and find all my stuff intact! My son Hugh, on a journey to England, and Br. Daniel on his trip here from South Africa both had experiences of lost luggage - all in the same week!
In the Gospel stories today, the shepherd realizes a sheep is missing and sets out to find it. Likewise the woman notices a coin missing from her headdress, a valuable item - part of her dowry - and she searches the whole house until it is found and restored. The lost things are not just ignored; their owners take trouble to look for them and find them. These stories remind us that when we are lost in some way we cannot always find ourselves - we may need others to help us. When we are floundering in the mire of bad habits, besetting sins, grief, fear, depression, and other experiences of life, we may need to cry out and seek another’s wisdom to help us back on to the right path.
We may not be actually “lost” in the sense of the sheep or coin but all of us experience feelings of lostness. How can we deal with such times? The first step is being honest about our feelings. We need to take a good look at what it is that we desire. Is it really God that we want above all else? Or is it the good feelings that are sometimes given but cannot successfully be sought for. Are there events and actions that should have been forgiven, left behind? Do we refuse to move on and accept God’s gift of new life?
Then there are all the lost good things that we need to thank God for but which we forget and take for granted. There are lost opportunities to serve others or to say a kind word to someone who is down in spirits. Such lost things are like the fragments that remained after the feeding of the five thousand and which Jesus told his disciples to gather up.
Listen to this story. It is one of Arnold Lobel’s children’s stories from his book “Owl At Home.” The story is called “Tear-water Tea.”
Owl took the kettle out of the cupboard. “Tonight I will make tear-water tea,” he said. He put the kettle on his lap. “Now,” said Owl, “I will begin.”
Owl sat very still. He began to think of things that were sad.
“Chairs with broken legs,” said Owl. His eyes began to water.
“Songs that cannot be sung,” said Owl, “because the words have been forgotten.” Owl began to cry. A large tear rolled down and dropped into the kettle.
“Spoons that have fallen behind the stove and are never seen again,” said Owl. More tears dropped down into the kettle.
“Books that cannot be read,” said Owl, “because some of the pages have been torn out.”
“Clocks that have stopped,” said Owl, “with no one near to wind them up.”
Owl was crying. Many large tears dropped into the kettle.
“Mornings nobody saw because everybody was sleeping,” sobbed Owl.
“Mashed potatoes left on a plate,” he cried, “because no one wanted to eat them. And pencils that are too short to use.” Owl thought about many other sad things. He cried and cried. Soon the kettle was all filled up with tears.
“There,” said Owl. “That does it!” Owl stopped crying. He put the kettle on the stove to boil for tea. Owl felt happy as he filled his cup. “It tastes a little bit salty,” he said, “but tear-water tea is always very good.”
Things done and left undone. So many things that we never even think of. Lost fragments. And the need for deliberate recollection of the lost things in our lives. Not to brood over them - but to recognize them; regret them; and like Owl with his tear-water tea to absorb them, let them go, and move on.
In the Epistle today Paul writes to Timothy of his personal experience. Paul describes himself as “the foremost of sinners.” He had been righteous under the Law but had persecuted those under the new Covenant, under the law of Christ Jesus. But Paul had met the risen Lord and received forgiveness through the Grace of God made available to all through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul had been lost but had been found by the good shepherd who had searched for him.
As we think about lost things today, let us determine to hold fast to the Cross, our reminder of the cost of salvation; let us receive the Body and Blood of Jesus and the grace that can empower us to live according to God’s will. Let us allow ourselves to be found by the good shepherd, and then reach out in the name of Jesus to others we meet who need to be found. And let us thank God for all the good things around us. As Paul wrote: “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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