GOD'S LOVE IN ACTION
Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-6
Rev. Paul Wrightman 11/21/21
THIS IS ANOTHER SERMON THAT PASTOR PAUL
GAVE HERE AT COMMUNITY CHURCH SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
IT CONSIDERS THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:
"IF A SHEPHERD HAS A HUNDRED SHEEP,
AND ONE OF THEM HAS GONE ASTRAY,
DOES HE NOT LEAVE THE NINETY-NINE ON THE MOUNTAINS
AND GO IN SEARCH OF THE ONE THAT WENT ASTRAY?"
(Matthew 18:12)
THIS QUESTION IS REPEATED IN SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FORM
IN LUKE'S GOSPEL.
ON THE FACE OF IT, THIS QUESTION ABOUT A LOST SHEEP IS ABSURD.
NO SELF-RESPECTING SHEPHERD IN ISRAEL,
OR ANYWHERE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER,
WOULD RISK LEAVING NINETY-NINE SHEEP BY THEMSELVES
TO SEARCH FOR ONE THAT WAS LOST.
GIVEN THE PROPENSITY OF SHEEP TO SCATTER
WHEN NOT UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF THE SHEPHERD,
IF HE LEFT THE ENTIRE FLOCK TO LOOK FOR ONE LOST SHEEP,
THE SHEPHERD COULD BE SURE THAT UPON HIS RETURN
HE WOULD HAVE NINETY-NINE LOST SHEEP!
JESUS, OF COURSE, KNOWS THIS,
BEING QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE WAYS OF SHEPHERDS.
HE ASKS THIS INTENTIONALLY CRAZY QUESTION
TO GET THE ATTENTION OF HIS LISTENERS.
THEY WOULD KNOW IMMEDIATELY
THAT HE WAS UP TO SOMETHING.
HIS HEARERS WERE ALREADY WELL-AWARE
THAT ALL HIS PARABLES, ALL HIS TEACHING STORIES,
WERE ABOUT GOD AND GOD'S KINGDOM.
PUTTING TWO AND TWO TOGETHER,
THEY WOULD HAVE REALIZED RIGHT AWAY
THAT JESUS WAS NOT TRYING TO TEACH THEM
ABOUT THE NATURE OF SHEPHERDS,
BUT ABOUT THE NATURE OF GOD.
AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN MORE SURPRISED
THAT GOD WOULD GO CHASING AFTER ONE LOST SHEEP
THAN THAT A SHEPHERD WOULD.
THIS WAS PRECISELY JESUS' INTENT.
HE WANTED TO SHOCK HIS LISTENERS
WITH A PICTURE OF GOD THAT WAS SO OUTRAGEOUS
THAT IT WOULD STOP THEM IN THEIR TRACKS
AND PUSH THEM TO CONSIDER GOD IN NEW WAYS.
IN JESUS' DAY, GOD'S COMPASSION HAD BEEN LARGELY FORGOTTEN,
AT LEAST BY THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT IN JERUSALEM.
MANY OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES TAUGHT
THAT GOD COULD NOT BE APPROACHED BY THOSE
WHOSE OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW WAS LESS THAN PERFECT.
THEY STRESSED THE NECESSITY OF ABSOLUTE FAITHFULNESS
TO THE LAW IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED BY GOD.
THE NOTION OF A GOD WHO TAKES THE INITIATIVE
TO CHASE AFTER LESS-THAN-PERFECT PEOPLE
IN ORDER TO CONNECT WITH THEM AND BRING THEM HOME
WOULD HAVE BEEN SEEN AS NOT ONLY REPUGNANT,
BUT BLASPHEMOUS AS WELL.
GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON ANYONE,
AS IS MADE CLEAR BY JESUS ACTUALLY GOING TO HELL
AND TRYING TO FREE THOSE STUCK THERE. (1 Peter 3:19-20)
EXACTLY THE SAME POINT IS MADE IN TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READING,
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD,
WHERE JESUS PORTRAYS GOD AS NOT WANTING TO LOSE
EVEN A SINGLE SHEEP (AS IN MATTHEW),
OR RELENTLESSLY SEARCHING FOR THAT ONE LOST SHEEP
UNTIL IT IS FOUND (AS IN LUKE).
PREACHERS OFTEN MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT HOW THIS LITTLE WORD
"UNTIL" IMPLIES THAT GOD CONTINUES TO SEARCH FOR THOSE
WHO HAVE CHOSEN THEIR OWN SELF-MADE HELL
EVEN AFTER DEATH.
I'VE PREACHED THIS WAY MYSELF, AND THINK IT'S TRUE:
ACCORDING TO JESUS, GOD NEVER, EVER GIVES UP ON ANYONE.
BUT THIS DOESN'T JUST APPLY TO GOD CONTINUING
TO LOOK FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS CHOSEN HELL
FOR THEIR AFTERLIFE,
BUT JUST AS MUCH TO THE PERSON WHO HAS CHOSEN HELL
IN THIS LIFE.
WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE TO SEE GOD, THE GOOD SHEPHERD,
NOT GIVING UP ON SOMEONE AS THEY LIVED A LIFE
FULL OF BAD CHOICES, FULL OF REJECTING GOD AND NEIGHBOR?
THERE'S A FAMOUS POEM WRITTEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
CALLED THE HOUND OF HEAVEN.
IN THIS POEM GOD ASSUMES THE FORM OF A DOG
AND GENTLY BUT RELENTLESSLY PURSUES THE AUTHOR
THROUGH VARIOUS BAD CHOICES.
EVEN WHEN THE AUTHOR TRIES TO SHAKE OFF
THIS HOUND FROM HEAVEN BY DRAMATICALLY REJECTING
GOD AND NEIGHBOR, THE HOUND DOES NOT RELENT.
FINALLY, AFTER YEARS OF TRYING TO OUTRUN
GOD'S HOUND FROM HEAVEN,
THE AUTHOR CHOOSES TO MOVE FROM LOST TO FOUND.
I'D LIKE TO FLESH OUT THIS NOTION OF A GOD-SENT
HOUND OF HEAVEN
IN THE FORM OF AN EXTENDED ILLUSTRATION.
THIS TRUE STORY OF GOD'S RELENTLESS LOVE
IS WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PERSON BY JOHNNY LEE CLARY:
"I FIRST MET REVEREND WADE WATTS WHEN WE WERE BOTH ASKED
TO SPEAK ON A TULSA RADIO PROGRAM.
HE PUT OUT HIS HAND AND I STEPPED BACK, OFFENDED.
I WAS THE GRAND DRAGON OF THE KU KLUX KLAN IN OKLAHOMA
AND HE WAS THE STATE PRESIDENT OF THE NAACP.
THERE WAS NO WAY YOU WOULD CATCH ME
SHAKING HANDS WITH HIM."
MR. CLARY GOES ON TO SHARE SOME DETAILS
FROM HIS CHILDHOOD:
"MY TRAINING IN HATE BEGAN EARLY.
I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD WHEN MY FATHER ENCOURAGED ME
TO LEAN OUT OUR CAR WINDOW
AND SHOUT RACIAL SLURS AS WE PASSED A BUS STOP.
DADDY GRINNED AND PATTED ME ON THE BACK.
'THAT'S MY BOY,' HE SAID.
WHEN I WAS OLDER I SAT UP LATE AT NIGHT
LISTENING TO STORIES MY UNCLE HAROLD
TOLD ABOUT SHOOTING AT BLACK MEN
WHO CROSSED HIS PROPERTY.
DADDY AND UNCLE HAROLD WOULD HOWL WITH LAUGHTER.
MY GRANDMOTHER, THOUGH, READ TO ME FROM THE BIBLE
AND PRAYED FOR ME.
ONCE I CAME HOME FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL
SINGING A SONG I HAD LEARNED:
'JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN,
ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD;
RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE,
THEY ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT…'
'DON'T EVER LET ME CATCH YOU SINGING WORDS LIKE THAT AGAIN!'
DADDY'S VOICE THUNDERED.
THAT WAS THE END OF SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR ME.
ONE NIGHT WHEN I WAS ELEVEN, I CAME HOME AND FOUND DADDY
STANDING WITH A GUN TO HIS HEAD.
AS I WATCHED IN HORROR, HE PULLED THE TRIGGER.
AFTER THE FUNERAL, MAMA SENT ME TO CALIFORNIA
TO LIVE WITH MY OLDER SISTER AND HER BOYFRIEND.
LONELY AND CONFUSED, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME STARING AT THE TV,
AND ONE DAY I SAW A TALK-SHOW HOST
INTERVIEWING DAVID DUKE,
THE GRAND WIZARD OF THE KU KLUX KLAN.
FASCINATED, I ASKED AROUND ABOUT HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
WITH THE KLAN, AND BEFORE LONG
A REPRESENTATIVE CAME TO VISIT.
'SON,' HE SAID, 'WHAT YOU NEED IS A REAL FAMILY -- THE KLAN.'
WEEK AFTER WEEK HE SHOWED UP TO TAKE ME TO MEETINGS.
DESPERATE TO BELONG TO SOMETHING,
AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN I JOINED AS A FULL-FLEDGED MEMBER.
EVENTUALLY I BECAME DAVID DUKE'S BODYGUARD,
AND BY THE TIME I WAS TWENTY
I HAD BECOME THE GRAND DRAGON OF OKLAHOMA."
CLARY CONTINUES:
"I WAS A TIRELESS RECRUITER FOR THE KLAN IN OKLAHOMA,
AND IT GREW UNDER MY LEADERSHIP.
I WAS A FIERY SPEAKER, SPREADING THE GOSPEL OF HATE.
THAT'S WHY WHEN I WAS ASKED TO SPEAK
AT THAT PARTICULAR RADIO STATION IN TULSA IN 1979,
I JUMPED AT THE CHANCE.
ONLY SHORTLY BEFORE THE PROGRAM
DID I LEARN IT WOULD BE A DEBATE BETWEEN
THE NAACP'S REVEREND WADE WATTS AND ME.
BUT I WASN'T WORRIED.
I LOOKED FORWARD TO IT --
A CHANCE TO PUT A BLACK MAN IN HIS PLACE.
SO I REFUSED TO SHAKE HANDS WITH THE NICELY DRESSED
OLDER GENTLEMAN CARRYING A WORN BIBLE.
BUT AS I TOOK IN HIS STRONG, KIND FACE AND DIGNIFIED MANNER,
HE REACHED OUT AND SHOOK MY HAND ANYWAY.
'HELLO, MR. CLARY,' HE SAID.
'I'M REVEREND WATTS.
BEFORE WE GO IN, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW
THAT I LOVE YOU AND JESUS LOVES YOU.'
CLARY GOES ON:
"OUR ON-AIR DEBATE WENT BACK AND FORTH,
ME FIRING OFF REASONS THE RACES SHOULD NEVER
HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER,
AND THE REVEREND POLITELY REFUTING EVERYTHING I SAID
AND QUOTING SCRIPTURE.
WHEN HE ZEROED IN ON ME WITH POINTED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE BELIEFS I HELD,
I COULD ONLY MUMBLE THE GENERIC SLOGANS OF THE KLAN.
I BECAME FLUSTERED BY HIS CALM.
'I'M NOT LISTENING TO ANY MORE,' I SNARLED, STORMING OUT.
I GATHERED MY THINGS AND WAS HEADING THROUGH THE LOBBY
WHEN THE REVEREND APPEARED.
I WOULD HAVE GLADLY PUSHED HIM OUT OF MY WAY
EXCEPT THAT HE WAS HOLDING A BABY IN HIS ARMS.
'MR. CLARY, THIS IS MY DAUGHTER TIA,' HE SAID.
'AND I HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION FOR YOU.'
HE HELD OUT A LITTLE GIRL WITH SHINING DARK EYES AND SKIN,
AND ONE OF THE SWEETEST EXPRESSIONS I HAVE EVER SEEN.
'YOU SAY YOU HATE ALL BLACK PEOPLE, MR. CLARY.
JUST TELL ME -- HOW CAN YOU HATE THIS CHILD?'
STUNNED, I TURNED AND ALMOST RAN.
I HEARD THE REVEREND CALL AFTER ME:
'I'M GOING TO LOVE YOU AND PRAY FOR YOU, MR. CLARY,
WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!'"
LET ME PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT TO OBSERVE:
APPARENTLY GOD HAS CALLED REVEREND WATTS
TO SERVE AS MR. CLARY'S "HOUND OF HEAVEN."
LET'S SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT.
AT FIRST IT DOES NOT PORTEND WELL.
REMEMBER, THE REVEREND WATTS HAS JUST TOLD CLARY
THAT HE WOULD LOVE HIM AND PRAY FOR HIM
WHETHER HE LIKES IT OR NOT.
JOHNNY LEE CLARY WRITES:
"I DIDN'T LIKE IT.
OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS I HAD TWO BURNING GOALS.
ONE WAS TO CLIMB THE KLAN'S NATIONAL RANKS
TO THE POSITION OF IMPERIAL WIZARD.
THE SECOND WAS TO MAKE REVEREND WATTS
PAY FOR WHAT HE HAD DONE.
I WOULD MAKE HIM HATE ME."
GOD'S HEAVEN-SENT HOUND DID NOT GIVE UP:
"BUT AS FEROCIOUSLY AS THE OKLAHOMA KLAN
CONTINUED ITS CAMPAIGN,
JUST AS FIRMLY REVEREND WADE WATTS
WORKED FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY.
KLANSMEN BARRAGED HIS FAMILY
WITH THREATENING PHONE CALLS.
HIS WINDOWS WERE BROKEN;
EFFIGIES WERE BURNED ON HIS LAWN.
HIS CHURCH WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND.
THE THIRTEEN WATTS CHILDREN
-- A NUMBER OF WHOM WERE ADOPTED --
WERE THREATENED AND HAD TO BE ESCORTED TO SCHOOL
BY THE HIGHWAY PATROL.
ONCE OR TWICE I FOUND MYSELF
THINKING ABOUT THAT BABY, LITTLE TIA.
I DROVE THE THOUGHT AWAY WITH HATE.
STILL, NOTHING THE KLAN DID STOPPED THE REVEREND,
NOTHING SHUT HIM UP.
WHEN HE JOINED RANKS WITH AN OKLAHOMA SENATOR
TO OUTLAW THE TELEPHONE HOTLINES WE USED FOR RECRUITING,
WE CALLED AN EMERGENCY MEETING.
KLAN MEMBERS CROWDED AROUND ME
AS I DIALED THE WATTS HOME.
'I WANT YOU TO KNOW WE'RE COMING TO GET YOU,'
I HISSED WHEN THE REVEREND ANSWERED.
'AND THIS TIME WE MAN BUSINESS…'
'HELLO, JOHNNY LEE!' HE SAID,
AS THOUGH HEARING FROM A LONG-LOST RELATIVE.
'YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME FOR ME, I'LL MEET YOU.
HOW ABOUT AT A NICE LITTLE RESTAURANT I KNOW
OUT ON HIGHWAY 270? I'M BUYING.'
'THIS ISN'T A JOKE, OLD MAN.
WE'RE COMING OVER, AND WHEN WE'RE FINISHED,
YOU'LL WISH YOU'D NEVER CROSSED US.'
'THIS PLACE HAS THE BEST HOME COOKING YOU EVER TASTED.
APPLE PIE THAT'LL MAKE YOU LONG FOR MORE.
FLUFFY MASHED POTATOES.
ICED TEA IN MASON JARS…'
I SLAMMED DOWN THE PHONE.
'HE WANTS TO TAKE US OUT TO DINNER,' I SAID IN DISBELIEF.
'TALKED ABOUT APPLE PIE AND ICED TEA.'
'THE OLD MAN'S GONE CRAZY,' SOMEONE SAID.
'LET'S FORGET ABOUT HIM.'
WE LEFT REVEREND WADE WATTS ALONE AFTER THAT.
I TURNED MY ENERGIES TO SOLIDIFYING MY POSITION
IN MY "FAMILY," AND IN 1980 I WAS APPOINTED IMPERIAL WIZARD.
I HAD JUST GONE THROUGH A DIVORCE
AND LOST CUSTODY OF MY BABY DAUGHTER,
AND IN DESPERATION I FOCUSED ON A NEW GOAL.
I WANTED TO UNIFY ALL HATE GROUPS --
FROM SKINHEADS TO NEO-NAZIS --
UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE KLAN.
I ARRANGED A NATIONAL MEETING
WHERE THOSE GROUPS WOULD CONVENE AND,
I HOPED, UNITE IN STRENGTH.
THAT WAS TO BE THE CULMINATION OF MY EFFORTS.
BUT ON THE DAY OF THE GATHERING,
THE KLAN, SKINHEADS AND NEO-NAZIS ALL STARTED FIGHTING,
WITH ACCUSATIONS FLYING ABOUT
OF STEALING MEMBERS AND MAILING LISTS.
BY THE TIME I ARRIVED, MY UNITY MEETING WAS IN SHAMBLES.
AS I LOOKED OUT OVER THE STORMY PROCEEDINGS, I REALIZED:
THESE GROUPS WANTED TO 'PURIFY' THE WORLD
AND HAVE IT ALL BE LIKE THEM --
BUT THEY ALL HATED ONE ANOTHER."
(LET ME PAUSE HERE BRIEFLY TO COMMENT:
SOMETIMES GOD'S HOUND OF HEAVEN
INSPIRES US TO ASK MUCH NEEDED QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHAT THE HELL WE'RE DOING:)
"DID I REALLY WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT?
WERE THOSE THE PEOPLE I WANTED TO BE MY FAMILY?
A FAMILY WHOSE HATE EXTENDED
TO ALL COLORS, BACKGROUNDS, AND AGES?
EVEN BABIES LIKE REVEREND WADE WATTS'S LITTLE DAUGHTER TIA?
'HOW CAN YOU HATE THIS CHILD?' HE HAD ASKED.
HOW FAR I HAD COME FROM THE DAYS
WHEN I SANG THOSE WORDS:
'JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN.
ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD…'"
CLARY CONTINUES:
"SUDDENLY I WAS REPULSED BY THE POISON
THAT SWIRLED AROUND ME.
I FELT SICK TO MY STOMACH.
I TURNED IN DISGUST AND WALKED OUT THE DOOR.
EVENTUALLY I TOLD THE OTHER KLAN OFFICIALS
I WAS GIVING UP MY POSITION
AND LEAVING THE GROUP FOR GOOD.
MY LIFE WAS A WRECK.
AS THE WEEKS PASSED,
FILLED BY A SENSE OF SHAME AND WORTHLESSNESS,
I FELL INTO A DEEP DEPRESSION --
AND THE STULTIFYING NUMBNESS OF ALCOHOL.
THEN CAME THE TERRIBLE DAY I FOUND MYSELF
IN MY SHABBY APARTMENT RAISING A LOADED GUN TO MY HEAD.
DADDY, I'M FOLLOWING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS.
THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO GO…"
BUT GOD'S "HOUND OF HEAVEN" NEVER GIVES UP:
"I WAS ABOUT TO PULL THE TRIGGER
WHEN I SAW SUNLIGHT BREAK THROUGH
THE PARTIALLY CLOSED BLINDS --
AND ONTO A BIBLE THAT LAY GATHERING DUST
ON MY BOOKSHELF, AND OLD BIBLE LIKE THE ONE
REVEREND WADE WATTS CARRIED THAT DAY AT THE RADIO STATION.
A BIBLE LIKE THE ONE I HAD SEEN MY GRANDMOPTHER READ
SO MANY TIMES.
MAYBE THERE IS ANOTHER WAY.
I PUT DOWN THE GUN AND PICKED UP THE BIBLE.
IT FELL OPEN TO LUKE 15 -- THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON.
I READ THE STORY THREE TIMES, THEN FELL ON MY KNEES AND WEPT.
I QUIETLY JOINED A CHURCH --
WHOSE CONGREGATION WAS MULTIRACIAL --
AND KEPT A LOW PROFILE, STUDYING THE SCRIPTURE,
GETTING GROUNDED IN GOD'S WORD.
TWO YEARS PASSED.
AND FINALLY IN 1991 I MADE A PHONE CALL I HAD TO MAKE.
'REVEREND WATTS?' I ASKED WHEN HE PICKED UP.
HE KNEW MY VOICE RIGHT AWAY.
'HELLO, JOHNNY LEE,' HE SAID WARMLY.
'REVEREND WATTS, I . . . I WANT YOU TO KNOW
THAT I RESIGNED FROM THE KKK TWO YEARS AGO.
I GAVE MY HEART TO JESUS
AND I'M A MEMBER OF AN INTERRACIAL CHURCH.'
'PRAISE THE LORD!' HE SHOUTED.
'I'VE NEVER STOPPED PRAYING FOR YOU!
WOULD YOU DO ME THE HONOR OF SPEAKING AT MY CHURCH?'
HOW CAN HE FORGIVE ME?
HOW COULD HE HAVE CARED ABOUT ME ALL THOSE YEARS?
WHEN I STEPPED TO THE PODIUM AT HIS CHURCH
AND LOOKED OUT OVER THE CONGREGATION
OF MOSTLY BLACK FACES,
I TOLD MY STORY SIMPLY,
NOT HIDING FROM THE PAST
OR SUGARCOATING THE DEPTH AND BITTERNESS
OF MY INVOLVEMENT.
THEN I TOLD THEM HOW GOD HAD CHANGED
ALL THE HATE IN MY HEART TO LOVE.
THERE WAS SILENCE WHEN I FINISHED.
A TEENAGE GIRL GOT TO HER FEET
AND RAN DOWN THE AISLE TOWARD ME, ARMS OPEN.
I STARTED TO MOVE IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR, TO PRAY WITH HER.
AS I PASSED THE REVEREND, I REALIZED HE WAS WEEPING.
'DON'T YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS,' JOHNNY LEE? HE ASKED QUIETLY.
'THAT'S TIA. THAT'S MY BABY.'" (End of Illustration, and just about
the end of this sermon)
(A Closer Walk with Jesus, pp. 40-45)
ALL OF US, INCLUDING MYSELF, SOMETIMES ASK OURSELVES
THE QUESTIONS "IS GOD REAL?
IS JESUS REALLY WHO HE SAYS HE IS?"
SPEAKING PERSONALLY, I'D HAVE TO SAY
THAT HEARING TRUE STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION LIKE THIS ONE
IS JUST WHAT I NEED WHEN I START TO DOUBT.
STORIES LIKE THIS REMIND ME
THAT WHEN JESUS ASKS A QUESTION LIKE
WHICH ONE OF YOU,
HAVING A HUNDRED SHEEP AND LOSING ONE OF THEM,
DOES NOT LEAVE THE NINETY-NINE IN THE WILDERNESS
AND GO AFTER THE ONE THAT IS LOST UNTIL HE FINDS IT?",
JESUS IS NOT ONLY TEACHING ME SOMETHING NEW ABOUT GOD,
JESUS IS REMINDING ME THAT HE IS GOD'S ULTIMATE
"HOUND OF HEAVEN,"
AND THAT HE WILL NOT GIVE UP ON ME -- OR ANYONE --
UNTIL THEY'RE FOUND AND BROUGHT BACK HOME.
AMEN.