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Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 and Luke 15:1-10
Let me set the scene for our gospel reading: Jesus is walking, preaching, traveling village to village and wearing holes in his sandals. Tax collectors and sinners – also known as, people working with the enemy and people working against God – keep coming to Jesus. And he welcomes them into his company.
The clergy do not approve. It’s like Jesus is giving a blessing on these people who haven’t changed their lives! Do you want to enable and encourage their bad lifestyles?
The religious congregants don’t approve. Jesus, you are the company you keep – and the company you’re keeping is awful. Is it any wonder if people begin to call you awful too?
And Jesus turns to these concerned clergy and congregants and asks them: Imagine you have 100 sheep. And you lose one. Who among you would leave the 99 to go seek the lost one?
We’re conditioned to say ‘seek the lost!’ but… if we consider this parable afresh… would you gamble 99 dollars to win 1 dollar? No! Would you risk your livelihood and savings for a tiny little gain? Most of us would not. It isn’t prudent. It isn’t wise. So, no, we clergy and congregants aren’t going after the one.
Jesus then ups the ante – let’s say instead of 1% of your belongings are lost, it is 10%. Who, if they have 10 coins and loses one, would tear apart their house, invest time and energy and resources, looking for that missing 10%? Who would consider this an acceptable risk? Likely some people in the crowd nod. Likely some of you nod. Yes, if I lost ten dollars out of a hundred, I’d spend a day tearing apart the house. Others still shakes their head no. No – their time is worth more than a missing ten. You’d just go to work as usual and make that back up.
We don’t read it today, but the third part of this parable is the ultimate upped ante – let’s say you lose 50% of your sons. You have only two sons, and one is missing. Would you seek that missing one? Would you give up seeking 50% of your wealth? Would you give up on a child? Who wouldn’t nod! Everyone understands. Everyone around Jesus and today nod – yes – we’d go seeking the lost child.
Jesus then explains… to God, we’re children. Whether we’re God’s only son or one of a hundred, one of a billion, it doesn’t matter. The lost sinner, the lost tax collector, the lost single soul is worth God’s attention. And although we may not see this value, we may have very legitimate limits and calculated risks, God does not have those same limits and same risks. So: God sends Jesus to the ones who have been lost, and celebrates more than we can imagine, when someone is restored to their community and made whole.
AKA – God wants and calls and cares for everyone and everything. Nothing and no one is too small, too sinful, too insignificant. God is seeking, turning over houses, exploring the wild, and watching the horizon for any sign of the lost.
And we – the clergy and the good congregants – must honor that we are dutiful, and following God, and that is good and wonderful. And yet, also, we must not deny that God still cares for the wild child too. And celebrate when that lost one is restored to our community. We must honor we are made in the image of God, with God, but God still loves the sparrows, the lilies, the clouds. And God preaches to them, too.
We’re whole when we’re all together. And that is reason to celebrate! We’re complete, 100 or 10 or all, when we’re united and no one stands alone.
God’s calculated risks are different than our conventional wisdom. God’s wisdom sees each of us as priceless, precious, and irreplicable. All are worthy of being part of the community. And God seeks to restore us to be one.
I’ve been reflecting on this parable in light of Creation Time. To me, it is saying there is nothing too small or insignificant in nature not deserving protection, care, and to thrive. The bacteria and microbes of the soil breaks down the litter, the plants soak up these nutrients, the small creatures eat the plants, the medium animals eat the small. The large eat the medium. And the large die, and feed the soil. We are whole, complete, when all are included. When each part of nature is valued. When we are in harmony with the wisdom God has woven into the world.
So how do we live more in harmony? How do we avoid the visions of Jeremiah?
First! Recall the parable… some people are able to risk 1/100th of their wealth, some risk 1/10th. And some won’t risk fifty for the other fifty. Each of us are in unique situations. There is no one solution fits all. Part of your walk with Jesus is discerning the wisdom of God, the change you can do with the Spirit, and what is outside of your power.
So adopt these suggestions if they make sense for your home, your area, your situation and income. And know of all of them as options for the very most important thing you can do to help the environment is to make a lot of noise for it. Climate deniers exist. Climate knowledge suppressors – lobbyist, politicians, and companies who try to suppress the extent of damage they wrought – are far too common. Don’t let yourself be swayed by faulty science and slick presentations saying we can just technology our way out of this situation. We cannot. We must adapt, we must stop valuing money and economy and GDP over sustainability, quality of life for all creatures, and investing in a future for the world.
So speak. Be loud. Be educated. Educate others. And call out the lies when you encounter them. Too many good meaning people repeat lies told by greedy men and women, unaware they have been taken in by propaganda.
Next, reduce your fossil fuel use.
Reduce it in heating. Here in the West, we are used to heating our houses. But in the East, they are used to heating the person instead. Here we focus on how to heat all the air in the house, and therefore, heat the people in that air. This uses a lot of energy, especially if you have a large or a drafty house. In the East the focus is on how to heat a person up and not worry about the air around them.
So electric blankets, kotatsu tables where everyone sits under this big comforter and their body heat, or a heater built into the table, keeps each other warm while they eat, watch tv, or do puzzles. Waffle print undergarments under your clothes traps more air against your skin and keeps you warmer. You can close off parts of your house for winter and not heat those rooms. Just like your grandparents did when you were little with a summer and winter kitchen, or summer and winter bedroom! Close off the drafty rooms, the large rooms, and consolidate your home to a smaller space over the winter so you have less to heat. Many houses are designed so that a furnace will heat the space. This means the bottom of the doors have large gaps. This lets the house air circulate. If you are heating with a fire place or consolidating, remember those old door draft snakes? These sand-filled bags help keep the cold air our and hot air in. And invest in insulation, widow coverings, and winterization.
But this takes money!
Sure does! And right now you can apply for a Greener Homes Grant. https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-efficiency/homes/canada-greener-homes-grant/23441 This grant – (money you don’t have to pay back) – is for homeowners to hire an energy specialist to come to their home and see where they are losing energy and make recommendations.
With that recommendation you can then apply for a Greener Homes Loan through the government. This loan, up to $40,000, is loaned to you interest free for improvements on your home to make it greener.
Most major banks have additional green grants that have subsidized interest – so you pay 3% or less – on loans used for greening your home, car, or land.
What could you invest in?
Solar panels.
Geothermal heating and cooling.
Insulation.
Timers on your lights to be sure they go out.
Cool new invention like a greywater system. Black water has sewage in it. It must go into a septic system or sewer system. White water is water we can drink. It is filtered and treated or is fresh enough we can bathe and cook with it. Grey water is in-between. So… the water from washing your hands, doing laundry, and taking a shower or bath. In Ontario, Grey water can be reused in the home to flush your toilets and water your garden or yard.
There is a cheap version of a sink and toilet grey water system for about $100. The water you use to wash your hands fills the toilet tank for the next flush. More expensive ones are about $400 and save up extra grey water so the toilet doesn’t ever use white water. Whole grey water systems connecting all grey water sources throughout your house and carrying them into storage tanks for future use cost about $3000.
Grey water does require using salt-free and chemical free soaps if you’re going to use it for your garden or yard. But doesn’t if you’re just using it for flushing. (And 30% of a household’s water use is in flushing the toilet!) That’s 30% less energy needed to clean water for your home.
I’m sorry. This has gone long! But golly… thank you for letting me show my environmental studies side. I’ve loads more and want to hear your tips and tricks too. Together, we can change the economy. We can live as Christians – where we care for the least. We care for that which others may say have no value. We care for our creatures and plants and organisms big and small.
Amen.
Pastor Whitney Bruno Sermons 