"Rejoice with me"-Sermon for Proper 19, Luke 15:1-10:
In his commentary on our Gospel reading from Luke this morning, New Testament Scholar, Dr. Richard Culpepper, shares an ancient Jewish parable that reads, “A…story tells of the good fortune of a hardworking farmer. The Lord appeared to this farmer and granted him three wishes, but with the condition that whatever the Lord did for the farmer would be given double to his neighbor. The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune, wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately he received a hundred cattle, and he was overjoyed until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred. So, he wished for a hundred acres of land, and again he was filled with joy until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred acres of land. Rather than celebrating God’s goodness, the farmer could not escape feeling jealous and slighted because his neighbor had received more than he. Finally, he stated his third wish: that God would strike him blind in one eye. And God wept.”
Friends, I will be vulnerable and admit that I have my days when the green-eyed monster of jealousy takes root in my mind. Days when money is tight, when I have to say no to something reasonable that my girls want because it simply cannot be afforded…and though not entirely true…it always feels like all their friends’ parents can afford it…and the ruminations begin. Surely, I work as hard as they do…surely my work is as valuable and meaningful as theirs is. It just doesn’t feel fair. It just doesn’t feel right that I have to say no. And, there are days when I bemoan how hard it is to keep weight off and eat right…when friends seem to relish in a salad for lunch…and I can only think about how badly I would really like to devour a cheeseburger…when friends seem to be fit and trim with little to no work. And, again, even though likely untrue…even though they probably work really hard to care well for themselves…it feels unfair that I got the genes that I got. And, again, the green-eyed monster begins to creep its way into my mind to set up camp and hang out for a while. And, then perhaps unsurprisingly nothing good tends to follow…just things like shame, self-recrimination, and judgement.
And, I share this, in part, to hopefully actually normalize these sorts of very human feelings if you ever struggle with something like them. It is hard not fall into the trap of comparison, at least, on occasion…and the negative emotions, again, like shame and jealously, that often follow. And, I would even say the occasional gripe and moan is likely well deserved…for life, as we all know, is not fair, and sometimes complaining or venting about it in safe places can actually help…so long, of course, that we don’t get stuck. As Brene Brown writes, “I’m a firm believer that complaining is okay as long as we [gripe] and moan with a little perspective.” And, friends, I think perspective is exactly what Jesus is providing in the two parables that sit before us this morning, again, from Luke’s Gospel.
You see, I think the key to unlocking the meaning in these parables is found at the end of each. As I am sure you recall, they both similarly end with, of all things, a party…with rejoicing…with the calling together of friends and neighbors to celebrate that what was lost was now found. And, please note, the friends and neighbors invited to the celebration and to share in the rejoicing actually gained nothing themselves…other than the party invite. Still, the livestock and coin found belonged to the host of the party…and not to them. Thus, the parable is inviting them to see another person’s gain as good news…as worthy of celebration…worthy of their own celebration and joy…even though their own situation has not change…they are seemingly none the richer. I could see one of those friends and neighbors thinking well good for old Jack for finding his lost sheep…he now has 100 instead of 99…but why should I celebrate when I am struggling to keep the 25 I have fed. Or, glad Jill found her 10###sup/sup### silver coin…but how does it help me, why should I rejoice, when I have only two and owe one of them to the bank. I believe I could find some sympathy with just such a response. But, I think Jesus, as he often does, is asking us to have a different perspective…to move through those complaints, even if some venting and hand-wringing is required, and find in ourselves something deeper, something more holy…to find within ourselves the ability to take delight…great delight in our friends’ and neighbors’ blessings…in their victories…in their good fortune.
And, I think Jesus is encouraging us to shift that perspective from begrudging our friends and neighbors to rejoicing alongside them for a number of really important reasons. To begin with, jealousy and resentment can do much harm. As already noted, they lead to things like feeling shameful, feeling like we are not enough. They lead to things like beating ourselves up over what we don’t have in comparison to others…to feeling less than. And, jealously and resentment can lead to making really poor choices like the farmer in the story with which I began. Choices like getting ahead at all costs whoever gets walked on, skipped over, left out or hurt on our way to getting what we feel like we deserve. And, jealously and resentment always cuts off connection and diminishes our relationships. For, when we covet our neighbor, we can begin to see them as unworthy of our love, care and respect. We can begin to see them as something less than human…and distance, fear, enmity and judgement begin creep in…begin to motivate how we live, move and have our being…and like in the story with which I began, God weeps. Friends, there is a reason that envy is among the seven deadly sins that were identified by our early church mothers and fathers. There is a reason God includes coveting in the Ten Commandments…the ten big ones…alongside things like murder and adultery…for the green-eyed monster, a term coined by Shakespeare in the play Othello, which is a tragedy, can consume a person…a monster that grows from within…that then rampages lives and eats souls.
But, beyond the death-dealing nature of jealousy, I believe there are much more life-giving, life-affirming reasons for Jesus’ perspective shifting invitation to celebrate and rejoice alongside friends, neighbors and even strangers in the blessings they experience. For, if we allow it, rejoicing in the blessings of others leads not to envy but to gratitude. For, as we see and rejoice in God’s work as it comes alive in others, we more readily see and rejoice in God’s work as it comes alive in our own…and our hearts quicken and are filled up with thanksgiving. As we see people revel in appreciation for what they have and what they have found, we are more readily able to revel in the abundance we have and find in our own lives…appreciate it more deeply…care for it more responsibly…and, most importantly, appreciate the one from whom it flows more entirely. As that great hymn of the Church begins, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” I believe seeing others count and celebrate blessings…and more so to celebrate and rejoice alongside them…can actually be contagious…a good kind of contagious.
In the “Gifts of Imperfection”, Brene Brown writes of her research, “Without exception, every person I interviewed who described living a joyful life or who described themselves as joyful, actively practiced gratitude….” She continues, “Both joy and gratitude were described as spiritual practices that were bound to a belief in human interconnectedness and a power greater than us.” And, I couldn’t agree more. For, when we choose to lean into each other…into our interconnected life…choose to rejoice with each other…celebrate with each other the blessings that flow from that greater power, God’s own love and grace poured into our lives, our perspectives begin to shift from envy to gratitude…and then on to joy…which is always sure to follow. We begin to see that God is, indeed, alive and active in the world…as healings and blessings and miracles flow into the lives of the people around us. We begin to see that every blessing that flows from God into a human life is really a gift for everyone…that’s just how good God is. For a friend who has found what they are looking for…a neighbor who is overjoyed by the grace, love and blessings they have encountered…are always moved to share them…and, thus, we all benefit…we are all blessed. I really don’t want to miss the party that person throws…cause it’s going to be good.
Perhaps you recall that great line in the beloved story “The Little Prince” which reads, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Friends, Jesus is, of course, not really talking to us today about material things, about live-stock and silver, about the things we accumulate and collect…things we can see and hold. He is, instead, talking to us about seeking and finding what is most essential for living a life full of meaning, purpose and abundance…which is grace alone…God’s never-ending, life-giving, life-saving love, which never has to be rationed. It is never for some and not others. It does not need to be envied…for there is more than enough for each and for all. And, when such great love blesses such humble lives, your life and mine…friends, neighbors and strangers alike…our only response is to rejoice and celebrate…with grateful hearts…alongside each other and alongside the very angels in heaven. And, unlike in the story with which I began, God smiles. Amen.