“THE CHOICE TO REJOICE”

LUKE 15:1-10

15:1  Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.

2  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3  Then Jesus told them this parable:

4  “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

5  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders

6  and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

7  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

8  “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

9  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

10  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Rejoice with me.  That’s the theme that ties these two parables together.  It’s also the theme for the Parable of the Prodigal Son which is what comes next in Luke’s gospel. 

Rejoice with me for my sheep that was lost has been found.

Rejoice with me for my coin that was lost has been found.
Rejoice with me for my son who was lost has been found.

When Jesus sat down to share a meal with those tax collectors and sinners he wanted everyone to rejoice.  He wanted everyone to rejoice because through him God was reaching out to people who needed to be loved. Unfortunately, his call to rejoice fell on some deaf ears.  Just look at the Pharisees. Instead of rejoicing the Pharisees stood there full of resentment.  Instead of celebrating the Pharisees stood there and sulked.

The Pharisees did the same thing Samuel Beckett’s wife did one day when she answered the phone in their Paris apartment.  Now Samuel Beckett was a famous writer back in the 1960’s.  For some reason his wife Suzanne always resented the fame and the accolades that her husband received.  So, when she answered their telephone in the fall of 1969, it wasn’t long before a look of horror appeared on her face.  When she hung the phone up her husband asked her what was wrong.  “Quel catastrophe!” she exclaimed in French.  “What a catastrophe…you’ve just been award the Nobel Prize for literature!”

Are you a person who rejoices when someone else is blessed?

Or are you a person who sometimes gets a little resentful when someone else is blessed?

In some ways I guess it depends on what the blessing is and who the person is on the receiving end of that blessing.  For example…

It’s easy to rejoice when someone you know has successful surgery.

It’s easy to rejoice when someone’s son isn’t seriously injured in a car accident.

It’s easy to rejoice when someone who’s adopted is is reunited with hers birthmother.

On the other hand… …

When someone at work gets a promotion that you wanted, it can be hard to rejoice.

When someone at school get an A on a test and you get a B-, it can be hard to rejoice.

When your neighbor’s child gets to play first base while your child has to sit on the bench, it can be hard to rejoice.

These days, instead of a lot of rejoicing what you see is a lot of resentment.  That’s something that a Little League coach had to deal with one day.  Early on in the game the coach called one of his players over for a heart to heart talk.   The coach put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, “Look son.  Do you understand what it means to be a team?”  The boy nodded his head.  The coach went on.  “Do you understand that what matters most is that we work together and we always show good sportsmanship?”  Once again the boy nodded his head.  “That’s good,” the coach said. “So, when the umpire calls you out, you don’t rant and rave. You don’t kick the dirt and throw things and call him all kinds of names.  Do you understand that?”  Once again the boy nodded his head.  “Okay,” the coach said. “Now would you please go over there and explain all of that to your mother?”

Why is it so hard sometimes to rejoice when someone else is blessed?  Why couldn’t the Pharisees rejoice when Jesus reached out to those tax collectors and sinners?

I really don’t have an answer to that question.   Maybe it has something to do with low self-esteem.  Maybe it has something to do with the way society encourages us to be selfish and self-centered.   Maybe it has to do with the dog eat dog mentality that is so prevalent these days.

What I do know is what happens when someone else is blessed and you don’t rejoice.  You end up becoming more and more bitter.  You go through life  always counting who got what and feeling that you somehow got the short end of the stick.  You end up feeling that life isn’t fair and that you didn’t get all the love that you deserved.  Many years ago when I was a young minister I had a conversation with a woman who knew someone like that.  I listened to her describe how this person she knew was always comparing what he got with what everyone else got.  “Oh,” I finally said, “you mean he always has to have the biggest piece of the pie.”  “No,” she replied.  “He doesn’t want anyone else to have any pie.”

That’s what happens when someone else is blessed and instead of rejoicing your heart is full of resentment.  That resentment actually leads you father away from God. On the other hand when someone else is blessed and you rejoice with that person it brings you closer to God.  You begin to see and appreciate more and more the blessings that God has given to you.  You begin to feel God’s love in ways that you never felt it before.  You begin to realize that when it comes to God’s love and God’s blessings it isn’t an either or situation.  It’s a both and situation.  In other words God loves both the sheep that was lost and the ninety-nine sheep that didn’t need to be rescued.  God loves the mother who lost the coin that she may have needed to buy food for her children and all the mothers who have all the coins that she needs to feed her children.  God loves the prodigal son who finally came to his senses and God loves the dutiful son who always faithfully served his father.  God loves the person who got the blessing that you wanted and God loves you and probably has another blessing in mind for you.

A young 38 year-old woman by the name of Phyllis discovered one day what happens when you move beyond resentment.  Her life wasn’t exciting by any stretch of the imagination.  She worked long hard hours scrubbing floors.  Every now and then she would escape her hum drum life by going to the movies.  As she sat there in the theater she would look at the actresses on the screen and sigh, “If only I had her looks.  If only I had her voice.”  Then one day a friend gave her a book called “The Magic Of Believing.”  Phyllis read it and realized that it wasn’t doing her any good by focusing on what others had that she didn’t have.  So, she sat down and took a good look at herself and what she did have.  She remembered that when she was in high school she had a reputation for having a wonderful sense of humor and being able to make people laugh.  So, she went to work and began to put that God given talent to work.  Her jokes often mentioned her husband.  His name was Fang and if that name sounds familiar it’s because the comedian’s name was Phyllis Diller.

Jesus wants us to do what she did.  Jesus wants us to move beyond resentment and to go a step further. Jesus wants us to rejoice when someone else is blessed.  There’s a prayer that can help you do that.  It’s a prayer for people you know but you can also use it for people you don’t know.  It goes like this:

This morning when I woke up and saw the sun above,

            I softly said, "Good morning, Lord, bless everyone I love.

I thought of all the happiness a day could hold in store,

            I wished it all for you because no one deserves it more.

I felt so warm and good inside, my heart was all aglow.

            I know God hear my prayers for you,

He hears them all You know.            

When you make the choice to rejoice with those who are rejoicing something wonderful will happen.  You’ll find yourself sitting at that banquet table with the risen Christ and those tax collectors and those sinners and in your heart you’ll know that God is great and life is good. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

September 16, 2007