“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).
Jesus knows his “why.” Throughout the gospel and, particularly throughout Luke’s telling of it, Jesus knows his purpose, his mission, his reason for being. Jesus is sent into the world to save. “Do not be afraid,” announces the angel to the shepherds, “for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Jesus’ “why” is well-illustrated in Luke 15. In response to the grumbling of the religious leaders of his day, Jesus tells three stories. In story one, Jesus explains his “why” as being like a shepherd who leaves behind the 99 to go searching for the one lost sheep. In story two, Jesus’ “why” takes the form of a woman who has 10 coins and will not rest until she finds the one coin she has lost. In story three, Jesus’ “why” is embodied in the arms of a father welcoming home his wayward son. Jesus’ “why” is clear. Jesus’ “why” is to save those who are lost and he does not abandon his “why” all the way to the cross.
Unlike Jesus, it is all too easy for us to lose sight of the “why” to which we have been called through the water and word of baptism. Unlike Jesus, it is all too easy for us in the church to become so focused on keeping the 99 comfortable and preserving the nine coins that we still have that we entirely neglect the ones who are lost. Unlike Jesus, it is all too easy for us in the church to spend so much time and energy trying to keep the elder son happy that we miss the party we could be throwing for all those who are yearning to be welcomed home again.
Let me put it as clearly as I can. If our “why” is not Jesus, we are failing to be the church God calls us to be. If the “why” behind every single sermon we preach is not to lead the lost to Jesus, we are failing. If the “why” behind every single worship service we plan and choir anthem we rehearse is not to lead the lost to Jesus, we are failing. If the “why” behind every single youth activity we plan or church potluck we hold is not to lead the lost to Jesus, we are failing. If the “why” behind every dollar we share, every quilt we make, every can of food we collect is not to lead the lost to Jesus, we are failing. If the “why” behind every social statement we pass, every advocacy effort we undertake, every bold act of inclusion and hospitality we make is not to lead the lost to Jesus, we are failing. If our “why” is not Jesus, then church, what are we doing?
Several years ago, I visited the St. Marien Church in Wittenberg, Germany, where Martin Luther regularly preached. The altar painting inside St. Marien bears powerful witness to the essential “why” of our existence as Christ’s church. Created by Lucas Cranach the Elder and completed by his son, Lucas Cranach the Younger, around 1547, the bottom panel of the painting depicts Martin Luther in a pulpit on the right. On the left is gathered Luther’s congregation in Wittenberg. Directly in the center of the painting, between Luther on the right and the congregation on the left, stands the image of the crucified Christ. From the pulpit, Luther’s arm is outstretched, intentionally pointing his hearers toward the crucified Christ.
In the image of the crucified Christ to which Luther points, we see the fullness of Jesus’ “why.” Jesus comes to save the lost, including us — all of us. We are the lost ones who Jesus saves. As those who have been saved, we are now the ones who Jesus calls and sends, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to lead other lost ones to him. Who are the lost ones today in your congregation, in your community, in the world around you? How are you pointing them to Jesus? And if you are not, what’s your why?
“Come home, come home!
You are weary, come home.”
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, “O sinner, come home!” (ELW #608)
Centered in Christ +
Bishop Greg