I am a Science-Fiction fan, I was raised to be as the genre was coming of age on screen.  I watched Star-Trek the original when I was a child and saw all the movies in the theater, along with BattleStar Galactica, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Alien, and many more.  I was a fan because Mom was a fan. 

As I read the scriptures between the Sermons this week, I am looking at Matthew’s version of The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matt 18:12-14).  It made me remember Mr. Spock’s line near the end of The Wrath of Khan (1982), “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Captain Kirk answers, “Or the one.”  It was a great line that as Spock was dying and to save him would endanger everyone else.  It also made the audience struggle with this idea of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one.

Moving to a higher authority, Jesus teaches us in The Parable of the Lost Sheep a different lesson.  That God sees the need of the one who is in danger as the priority.  “If a certain man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and look for the one that wandered away?” (vs 12).

In God’s economy, the one that has wandered away is the priority!  Mr. Spock would disagree with that.  But thank God, His values are not Spock’s values.  We who follow Christ are called to value what God values. 

I was recently asked by a fellow pastor to talk about church health and the things that help a church grow, with their congregation.  As I was thinking about this the first place to start is that the congregation must value what God values.  In this parable, the lost one wanders away from the flock. 

13 And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14 In the same way it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

You see God does not want any of those who wander away, to perish.  Who are the wanderers?  The ones outside the church; they have wandered away from the flock and don’t enjoy the safety of numbers or the shepherd. 

One of the ways we value what God values is to be focused on those who are outside.  Churches fall into danger when they turn inward.  When they close ranks to protect themselves and take care of themselves to the exclusion of caring for the widowed and the orphaned, the least and the lost. 

It’s an easy trap.  Now, caring for the hurt and the lost does not mean that the church will necessarily grow.  It does mean that the church is open to and shares God’s heart, the heart of Christ!  And God will prosper those that share his heart and his priorities. 

In a few weeks, we will hold an Easter Egg Hunt. It's a mission event; an opportunity to share some love with those outside.  We have invited the YMCA, Covenant Community Preschool, and others to come.  Some of those who show up may not know Jesus or the story of the empty tomb, but we have the opportunity to love them and to share God’s love with them.  And we have the opportunity to help continue to develop in each of us and our congregation the heart of God!

Peace,

Burt