Scripture
Luke 15:20
Joshua 5:9,10-12; Psalms 34:2-7; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3,11-32
Sermon Week/Year
A pastor seated himself at a coffee shop counter next to a man who immediately noticed his clerical apparel. “Where is your Church?” the man asked. The pastor pointed in the direction of his Church on the corner and the man said, “Why that’s the Church I go to.” “I’ve been pastor there for five years and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you,” said the minister. To which the man replied, “I didn’t say I was a fanatic!”
In today’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus is calling us to fanaticism in the matter of reconciliation, as he continues to evoke harsh criticism from the religious leaders. “If it be true that this Jesus speaks for God, as He claims, He wouldn’t act this way,” they reason. “This man receives sinners. This man sits down at table and eats with sinners. Instead of scorning them, He comforts them. Instead of rejecting them with a show of righteous indignation, He actually welcomes them into His company.”
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