With the murder of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday and the anniversary of September 11th on Thursday, this week has been one of deep contemplation and worry. I tend to be a glass-half-full sort of guy, but this week I felt an overwhelming sadness about the state of our country and what our future might hold. Not to mention, it was on Tuesday that I sat down to pick the hymns and text for today’s sermon, along with the sermon title. “Let Us Rejoice” seems a bit out of place now. Oh, it is fitting with the text, with the great parables from Luke 15, but it feels a bit too disjointed from the reality of where we are as the people of God in the United States of America. This does not feel like a time to rejoice but a time for solemn reflection and dedicated prayer for mercy as we search for a way forward.
Decisions are being made, and plans are being put into action based on fear and anger. The desire for revenge or for silencing opposition seems to be the ethos of the day. There are too many who are suffering and hurting, too many who feel unseen and unheard, whose cries for justice or simply for a chance to change their outcome go unnoticed by those in power. Frustration and exhaustion are reaching a tipping point, even as trust in the institutions that built our country erodes beneath us. All this and more seem to be the building blocks for even more unrest and violence. And to be honest, I am not sure what we should expect. The empire seems to be imploding.
Something seems to be deeply broken as division and rage-fueled rhetoric get the best of our fellow citizens. The 24-hour news cycle and our social media feeds exacerbate the situation, creating our own carefully curated echo chambers that keep us separated and make violence appear as a viable option. I think that at times like these, it is important to become a bit disengaged, to intentionally strive to make your world a bit smaller. Instead of filling yourself with the horrors and perversions of the great wide world, torn by sin and evil, it is good to focus on your immediate circle of friends and family. Rather than feeding on the news cycle, prioritize the relationships, struggles, and joys of those around you.
For you, my friends, I am suggesting your brothers and sisters in Christ have never mattered more. In the midst of fear and anger, we gather in the Lord’s presence, coming together with hurting hearts and uncertainty to receive from our Lord His promises and gifts. You may feel helpless to correct the ills of society, but you are not powerless to impact the lives of those sitting around you today. Saint Paul famously said that you are the body of Christ. He says, “God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26). It is here, then, where we find the strength and encouragement to navigate the path forward.
For it is here, among the body of Christ, we find the audacity of joy. It is joy even in the midst of a world that is uncertain, broken, and angry. Yes, there is a reason to rejoice, and we find that reason in the gifts of our Lord, gifts which have brought us together from different walks of life, with varying histories of trials and sorrows. Here we gather as brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, heirs of His eternal Kingdom, pulled from the darkness and given the light of life. And this is a cause to rejoice.
Our Lord says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” Imagine that one lost sheep, the one that perhaps got caught up in some other care or concern and no longer was listening to the voice of the shepherd. Wandering away from the flock, it soon finds itself consumed by the fears and uncertainties of the world, separated from the protection and security of the flock. But the shepherd will not abandon this lost sheep. He begins immediately to search for it, and when he finds the sheep, he lifts it up and places it on his shoulders and carries it triumphantly back to the others.
“Or,” Jesus says, “what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?” And when she does find it, what does she do? She calls up her friends and neighbors and says, “Rejoice with me!” In the same way, the shepherd who returns bearing the burden of the lost sheep on his shoulders says, “Rejoice with me!” Rejoice, for what was lost has been found. Rejoice in the searching compassion of our Lord. Rejoice, for that is what is happening in Heaven, which is what is going on around the throne of God Himself. Jesus says, “There will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” In fact, we are told the angels themselves join in the celebration over the repentance of sinners.
When we pull back from the fear and anger of our fallen world and, instead, look at this fellowship, at these people gathered here today, we find great reason for celebration. For this is a gathering of the lost, this is a fellowship of those who have wandered away, who have been discarded, hurt, and forgotten… but not by our Lord. Though you sinned, though you lived as if God did not matter and as if you mattered most, though you have fallen short over and again, He found you. He bore you up on His shoulders and brought you here to His flock. The angels in Heaven celebrate that you are here. They are rejoicing that you hear the Word and gather around the table of Jesus. Let us join them in this joy.
Perhaps, when we come to church and see one another, we ought to rejoice and celebrate that we are here. In a world which seems out of control, a world mired in sin, just look at who is here. Look at your sister in Christ who has come, once again, to receive the gifts of our Lord, to feed on His body and blood in the fellowship of this altar. Look at the brother who managed to come back again to hear the promise of forgiveness. Jesus says, “Rejoice with Me!” Out of the darkness, out of the corruption of this age, you and I, we have been found and promised something greater, a new Heaven and new Earth, and it will be a place of eternal joy. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
