On his deathbed Francis said, “I have done what is mine to do; may Christ teach you what is yours!”  

His words and works are a special invitation to us all to participate in God’s Kingdom with the unique gifts we’ve been given.
 
In the gospel of Luke, the disciples doubt they have what it takes to accept such an invitation. They feel like it will take more faith than what they have. You might feel the same way – wondering how in the heck anyone can live like Christ, or love as he called us to do? 
 
Even though I ask myself that all the time, it doesn’t invalidate the job of the church or her members. In addressing their concerns Jesus gives us this answer in Luke 17:5-10:

This might seem like two idea’s crammed into one reading. First Jesus talks of faith, and then jumps into something about being a slave. It feels like one of those incomprehensible tweets we get on a daily basis. How are we to read into this? By simply remembering that  we follow Jesus. And not some rambling stooge on Twitter.  
 
A few years ago I was struck by something I read from Richard Rohr who wrote, “After two thousand years of studying to be like Jesus Christ we’ve managed to avoid everything that he taught to do.”  

His words echo something G.K. Chesterton famously said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
 
Both men’s views on Christianity, suggest Christ followers have never really put our faith into action, at least not like Jesus did. Yet I think even Rohr and Chesterton would agree there was at least one notable exception beside Christ – Francis of Assisi.
 
The son of a wealthy textile merchant, Francis always dreamed of earning glory in battle. His first time at war, Assisi was defeated, and Francis was taken prisoner and nearly died from an illness while in captivity. 

Through a series of divine interventions, Francis found new glory in answering a unique call to repair God’s church which had fallen away from what Jesus intended it to be.
 
By the 13th century, the church was waging its own wars in Europe and in the Middle East. Priest were giving special privileges to the wealthy while forgetting the poor completely. Some leaders at the top were even selling positions of power to those who could afford it.

While all this was going on, Francis was leading a revolutionary new interpretation of the gospel life – one based more on the works of Christ than the doctrines of man. 
 
This quiet revolution started after Francis met a stranger on a pilgrimage to Rome. Outside of St. Peter’s Church Francis saw a beggar calling out to him. Moved by the Holy Spirit, Francis did something unthinkable. He traded clothes with the man. And Francis himself spent the rest of the day begging for alms in his place. That experience shook him to the core causing him to renounce his family’s wealth and to take on the garb of the poor.

Following closely to the example set by Christ, Francis cared for those who were forgotten or pushed away by the church. And soon others followed suit, and a monastic movement was born.

watch the entire service here

What can Francis teach the Christian churches today? 
 
In some respects many churches have gone back in time — supporting war-like leaders, favoring the rich over the poor, and being more concerned with defending politics and doctrine than loving people. They preach a new life in Christ but they themselves are unwilling to live it.

Perhaps Chesterton was correct to suggests that the Christian ideal is just too difficult and thus left untried.  Not so with Francis. His approach to imitating Christ and living a life of service fits with what Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel reading. 
 
In response to the disciple’s plea, Jesus tells them that they can accomplish great things for God with just the tiniest amount of faith. This is important to us because Jesus goes on to describe the thankless task of serving God.

​But a careful read of this passage suggests there is a connection between these two seemingly different points: it’s in serving God that our faith is strengthened. 
 
Francis took great effort to see Christ in every living thing...not just in people but in animals and in plants. He knew he could faithfully embrace a servant life because in every task he did he was actually serving the Lord in the process.

The challenge for us today is to see the Divine in all things, especially in the people we serve. In doing so, we can approach even the most thankless task with joy and grace. 
 
I have to keep this in mind when I’m wiping up muddy paw prints off the couch or cleaning dried up toothpaste out of the sink. My dog doesn’t thank me for picking up her poop, but it still has to be done. 
 
In his understanding of who Jesus was and what Jesus taught us to do, Francis knew he had all the faith he needed to give of himself completely to do the will of God because through Jesus God had given him complete and unconditional love. As he engaged with this divine love, Francis watched his faith grow stronger and stronger with every person he served. 
 
I believe the same can be true with us. As Rev. Frank Logue points out, Jesus reminds us that "when we come in from doing something for God, don’t expect a reward, expect more work." You see, it wasn’t accolades that motivated Francis to see and do what Jesus does, it was love.

We are called to serve others with love, mercy and grace as if we are serving Jesus himself. Because to love thy neighbor requires us to constantly care for the needs of one another (including animals and our environment). With each step we take in this direction, our faith increases as does our love, our health, our peace, and our security. 
 
Francis took his mustard seed of faith and used it to exchange clothes with a beggar. In the process, he found all he needed to work among the poorest of the poor. The very place where God needed him the most. 
 
What is your mustard seed of faith? And how will you put it to work for the Lord? What steps are you willing to take as God opens your heart to this call to serve?
 
Francis took small steps of faith, each one emboldened him to trust God more. Likewise, with every step we take our trust strengthens – as does our relationship with our Creator and all of creation. 
 
As we leave here today, let us look to the examples of Francis and strive to see Christ in every living thing. Let us serve one another as if we are personally serving our Lord.

Let us take up the challenge to embrace the Christian ideal by living it as if Christ actually meant what he said. 
 
G.K. Chesterton concluded in his critique of Christianity by stating, “Let religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”

Walking the life of faith is simply an act of love. When we embrace Christ with love, we are able to embrace everyone we see and everything we do with love.

And like Francis we can say that we are merely servants doing what we were called to do…be the mirror of Christ so others can see the Kingdom of God in all its splendor. 
 

 
Special thanks to Fr. Frank S. Logue whose sermon An Act of Love (10/1/2016) inspired this message. (https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/sermon/act-love-pentecost-17-c-october-6-2019).

John tells us Jesus is walking around the Temple. A group notices he’s there and approach him. And ask him directly if he is the Messiah, the one who would be sent by God to save and rescue Israel from their oppressors.  It’s a simple yes, no question. Jesus doesn’t make it easy for them. Instead he said, “You’ve seen what I do. And yet you don’t believe.” And they can’t believe because they are not a part of his flock. 
 
Years ago, I gave a sermon on Jesus calling himself the Good Shepherd, which is at the beginning of John 10. After service someone who owned sheep told me the only way he could get his flock into their pen for the night was to sing to them. 
 
His sheep knew his voice and trusted he had their best interest at heart. They did not fear him because they had a relationship with him. But only if he sang to them would they follow. Similarly, I think Jesus is telling us that it’s in both the hearing and doing that unites the sheep with the shepherd.
 
Like my friends sheep, Jesus’ followers know and trust him, not because they have gone through any rational, or intellectual discernment, but because they’ve watched and witnessed the care he gives.
 
But the ones who challenge him – whose vision of the Messiah is based on trivial power and not sacrificial love – are unable to see the truth right in front of their eyes. They are too busy maintaining the status quo of the Temple instead of being what the Temple represents. The presence of God in the world. They are blind to who Jesus is because they are unable to see that Jesus is a perfect embodiment of God’s character. He and God are one because they share the same vision of life.

watch the message here

Everywhere Jesus goes, and every time he opens his mouth to speak or his hands to help, he reveals who he is.

What does that say to you and me? How do people see you, or how mighty they come to know who you are?Jesus shows his true identity in the way he loves people, and cares to their needs. In the same way, God is calling us to follow Jesus…like a sheep follows the shepherd. Just as God works through Jesus, God also works through us, to bring healing and peace into a broken and hurting world. 
 
Let us remember that the early church didn’t grow because of traditions, dogmas or creeds. It grew because the people were seeing and experiencing the living Lord in one another and receiving a new life that Paul described as “foolishness to the wise” (1 Cor. 1:27). 
 
Those who have been healed and fed and cared for by Jesus have seen and know God on a much more intimate level. They have experienced God’s love through Christ and have been transformed in the process. Therefore it’s not shocking for them when Jesus declares, “the Father and I are one” because they’ve seen how Jesus shares aligns his life with the righteousness of God. 
 
Gail O’Day said, “It is impossible to distinguish Jesus’ work from God’s, because Jesus shares fully in God’s work.” We must keep our eyes on Jesus because he shows us who God is and who God has called us all to be – the very character of God’s heavenly grace and salvation in this part of God’s kingdom.

​To paraphrase Dallas Willard, the point of following Jesus isn’t just to secure a place in the kingdom of God after you die. It’s about how we live in God’s kingdom before we die. 
 
Our Good Shepherd is calling us “follow him.” Which means we are called to follow the way he loves, forgives, heals, and blesses. When we live our life by walking in his footsteps, we stay on the path that leads us and others to God’s loving hands. 
 
Jesus did this by going to the poor and visiting the prisoners. He did it by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. He welcomed the stranger and delivered the oppressed. He touched the untouchable and forgave the unforgiveable. He served the least when no one else would and sacrificed himself for the salvation of all. This is what it means to follow him – to see what he does and do it so others can see God’s glory and do the same. For it’s in both the seeing and doing that unites the sheep with the shepherd. And us to God.
 
Christianity was not supposed to be a religion. It’s just a way of life. The way of the Christ. It’s the way we are called to live God’s righteousness in the world. So people can see God in their midst and find their piece and healing. 

In his first letter to the churches John wrote, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us… God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 Jn 4:12, 16).  Just as Jesus reminded those guys at the Temple, when you are in God nothing can snatch you away, not even death.
 
Jesus and God are one because they share one goal and one mission, one redemption and one salvation. This ought to be our goal as well. But let us not be like those who tried to trick Jesus or believe that we are the keepers of God’s righteousness. We are simply doers of it.  Our job isn't to save people, but to lead them back to God.
 
But if I’ve learned anything it’s that people aren’t going to follow me if my actions don’t speak louder than my words. We have to show the world God’s love of them by being the love of God for them. ​

It’s a post I saw on Facebook. Here’s a like to the article. A two minute read and worth every second. The moral: be kind because you...well, actually you should just read it.

https://onlineenewz.today/bookstore-employee-writes-this-on-facebook-after-little-old-lady-shocks-everyone-at-the-register/

If you cry, it’s okay. We don’t judge people here. Just love them, and learn.

If anything this weird lifelong quest of mine has led me to meet a lot of different kind of people. Some whom I’ve written about in this blog, like Daniel who was drumming in the park and had no problem taking a break from performing to the squirrels and trees to meet me. Or Amy and her son Owen who I met around a campfire at a hotel in Pismo Beach. Or Sage, who wants the world to know she is a really good listener. There have been so many more who have had to suffer through my intruding kindness. Each one different, and yet strangely the same. Over these years I learned a lot about human nature and myself. I would go so far as to say I’ve changed a little along the way, dare I say transformed. I’m not always so sure about that, but I have come into a new way of seeing and being.

There are days, even long stretches of time where I feel like nothing has changed and it’s all been a colossal waste of time. There are some people you meet that you hope you never run into again. Or people who are just not that into making your day a good one. Those kind of people make me want to throw in the towel and crawl into my own little world. But then I meet someone, that Daniel or Amy or Sage are engaging the divine in me as I search for and welcome the divine in them. It’s in those moments I am reminded how far I’ve come. Practice makes perfect they say. I have yet to reach that goal. But if my practicing Christ-like hospitality has done anything for me, it is that it has kept me from being an asshole a majority of the time.

In those moments where between being present in and forgetting my goal, I both wander and wonder if I‘m in this place because I’m lazy or rebellious, or if because what I am has become so habitual that I don’t actually know I’m doing it. I am hoping the latter but I suspect it’s a little of both.

Intentionally seeing and acknowledging the Divine in people is a good thing for sure. It sets me on a solid course for life; loving people where they’re at and welcoming them without judgment. It takes work to get up the nerve to begin, but once you get started it becomes easier and easier along the way. I’ve discover that the big picture concept of seeing Christ in the other isn’t too hard or difficult when I’m practicing it with strangers, or people I have limited contact with.

Seeing and acknowledging the guy who welcomes me at the gym or the waitress who brings me a plate of food or a fellow dog lover at that park is easy. It doesn’t take much for me to smile, or say a few kind words or have a compassionate ear. The smelly homeless man with a crazy look in his eyes or the woman asking for money at the freeway off-ramp is a little more challenging. They can make me feel uncomfortable, or even a bit guilty for not having anything at the ready to give them. But it’s not too hard to see that they are a part of this world. They too, in all their dirty glory, are made in the imago dei - the image of God. It’s not hard to see and know that God loves them and cares for them just like God loves and cares for you and me. Holding onto that truth has helped me to see the the world through God’s lens and to navigate a pathway of Christ-likeness in their world that removes any shame, guilt, or fear I might have. And believe me when I say, that’s a good thing. It helps keep me humble and grounded 78.6% of the time.

​Today we’re going to sit with Jesus at a dinner party given by a generous man. Because I’m only reading a snippet from a longer story, I want you to imagine you’re coming in fashionably late and sitting at the seat that’s been prepared for you. Between the warm aroma of food and the lively sounds of a good party, you listen to Jesus giving this advice.
 
READ: LUKE 14:12-14  
​
Hearing Jesus’ words in Luke’s gospel, it’s hard to imagine going through life and never having received an invitation, not just to a dinner party but to be closer to our Creator.  Whether it’s to a birthday party, school dance, a sleepover, or a wedding, getting invited to something makes us feel wanted and important.

In my lifetime, I’ve been invited to all sorts of things from dinner parties to sporting events into people’s lives and on more than one occasion, I’ve even been invited to give my opinion. Invitations not only reach out to us, but each one requires from us a response. Often, a simple yes or no will suffice. 

There are all sorts of invitations out there. An old friend of ours specializes in making unique handmade invitations for the very rich. Her artistry has announced some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrity weddings and events. 
 
For the not so famous and formal, there’s Evite – a company that specializes in sending out online invitations. We happen to have received on of those a few weeks ago and now three times a day I am getting junk mail from them. (I need more celebrity friends.)
 
Of course, there are invitations that are even less formal. They are the simple gestures we make, like a wave of the hand or a quiet look that someone might give you.
 
While walking Cali the other day, my neighbor’s dog Watson was barking up a storm. Some might see this behavior as a warning to intruders. But his body language told a different story. Pressing his front paws against the glass, Watson jumped up and down, wagging his tail with excitement. This wasn’t a warning but an invitation to play. 
 
I imagine God is much more like Watson than us. Jumping up and down with excitement while awaiting our reply to come and celebrate the joys and blessings of life. Judging by the stories Jesus tells, I’m going to take creative liberty and say the Kingdom of God is like one great party. I mean think about how many times Jesus’ parables end in some kind of soirée.
 
A woman finds her lost coin and calls her neighbors to celebrate. The Prodigal Son returns home and they throw such a fantastic party that it causes envy and jealousy. A man invites his friends to dinner, and when they don’t show up, he goes out onto the streets and gathers whoever is nearby to come get their party on! 
 
According to John’s gospel, Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding where the best wine was served after the people were already well lit.

The kingdom of God is one great party. And Jesus is inviting you to attend.

watch message here

​This takes us to today’s reading. Luke doesn’t tell us who is sitting at the man’s table. Most likely it’s his friends and family – the people he’d want to show off his important guest to as well as those who could also reciprocate in kind.  Not much has changed has it? When we throw a party we want to gather with people we know and who are like us.

After 50 years, my parents stopped having their annual New Years Day party because they realized nearly all the people who came never invited them to do anything. My folks didn’t need to have the favor returned, but as my mom put it, “It sure would be nice to be invited to do something once in a while.” After all, we want to feel wanted and important to others.
 
There’s nothing wrong with opening your home to friends and family. But Jesus knows there are some people who never get invited to dinners or parties. They’re the one’s he wants us to remember and be hospitable to. 
 
Jesus tells his host “Next time you gather like this make sure the guest list includes those who could never pay you back.” Today, that would include the single mom on welfare and her children, a young man with autism and his exhausted caretaker, and the down and out whose eyes you often avoid or whose phone calls you no longer return. Jesus’ message, like his ministry, focuses our eyes and adjusts our heart to celebrate self-giving instead of calculating what we can get in return.

Why is this important?
 
Invitations do more than simply gather us together. They give us purpose. They invite us to move out of self toward God and toward others; provoking us to listen to and learn, and eventually growing in the way we love and serve God and one another. Jesus is all about building relationships.
 
A few years back, Kathleen and I accepted an invitation to a dinner party at the home of a woman who I had only met a couple of times. The only thing the guest had in common was the fact that we accepted this crazy invitation to what we aptly called “the forced friendship club.”

​As we passed the potato salad and grilled chicken, amazing things began to happen. Laughter. Joy. Smiles. Fellowship at its simplest and yet most profound. 
 
We were different, yet one, sharing the Spirit of grace and love with fellow strangers. At this table relationships were formed and God’s kingdom blossomed, all because one woman intentionally invited a group of strangers into her home to partake in a great feast in the presence of God.  
 
So, I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say the Kingdom of God is a great party. And Jesus is our host who invites us to bring our hearts, our music, our children, our gifts, and all that we have to celebrate with high spirits and laughter. He wants his joy to be our joy, his peace to be our peace, his love to be ours as well.  He wants us not only to come receive it, but to share it…because like the Kingdom of God, this party never ends.
 
Jesus is an invitation, engraved with his own breath and blood, that calls us to sit at the table of grace. He invites us to bring our troubles and woes to him for redemption and forgiveness. His is an invitation that is pretty much impossible to ever repay. That’s the beautiful part. We don’t have to repay it – we just get to pay it forward. But like all invitations, we can choose to accept or reject him.
 
By accepting Christ, we begin to move into a deeper, more meaningful and purpose driven relationship with God and with others. This is where our hearts are transformed and the wounds of our world are healed. This is why Jesus is inviting us to partake in the greatest party ever thrown.
 
Through Christ, God invites us to celebrate the radical story of grace and redemption; to dance in the joy of love and peace; and to be filled with the bread and wine of eternal life. 
 
You may not believe you are good enough or faithful enough to receive an invitation like this … muchless accept it. But the way I see it, God has never made a person that Christ did not die for. 
 
Jesus said the kingdom of God is here. That means you are in the party now! So, enjoy yourself. Have fun. Meet people. Eat, drink and be merry, or Tom or Jerry or simply your best self. For you are cordially invited to live and thrive with Christ throughout the ages. And I hope to see you there. 
​