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Loving the Prodigal Son - Anne Alexis Harra
Listen to this week's sermon from LIFT Worship from Anne Alexis Harra for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 27, 2022
Learn more about LIFT, Living in Faith Together, at stmartinec.org/lift
Today's Readings:
Joshua 5:9-12 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Psalm 32Today I wanted to share a story with you and this is going to be a lot of story talk because we heard a really cool story from Jesus and I have a story for you so just bear with me.
Anne Alexis's story - this story - takes place in January 2020. Life was a little different back then I was working my very first church gig at Emmanuel Highlands Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware and on the day of these events in history we heard the parable of the Prodigal Son which is the same special story that Jesus taught us today. So friends, picture the scene with me, this was life before the pandemic. My young friends gathered on the carpet in a big circle with me and we told this story. When it was time for the craft we made these (holds up craft) Now they're a little hard to see but I'll explain what they are. They are crafts that my students decorated and they said "welcome home" because our stories today are all about coming home.So things were great. We were hanging out doing the craft and then one of my youngest friends, we'll call him Diego, Diego came up to me and he kind of tugged on me and he said, "Ann Alexis can I write 'welcome home sister' on this? Jesus talks a lot about brothers but I have a sister" and I said, "Well sure Diego of course you can, but can you tell me a little bit about why?" So he kind of looked at me and he made a face and he sighed and then he said, "well my sister Eva ran away from home a couple of months ago . She was gone for a really long time and we didn't know where she was but she came home. My sister is home now and I want to give her this because I'm so happy she's home." Then he paused and he looked at me and he said "Ann Alexis, do you think that god is mad at Eva for running away?"
That's a tough one even for me, so I spoke from my heart. I said, "well Diego I can't speak for God and I'm not gonna try to, but I have a feeling God is so happy that Eva is home now. God loves her and God forgives her." And Diego said, "is that what Jesus wants us to know?" Yep, it sure is my friend, that is what Jesus wants us to know
Now I don't know exactly how I managed to hold back tears while this conversation was occurring. As I was writing this memory down I was crying all over again. I realized Diego had been on such an emotional roller coaster and sometimes I think we all get on these emotional roller coasters, but our stories today - both Jesus's and Diego's and mine - are so deeply connected to one another. Even though Jesus told the story of the prodigal son over 2000 years ago it's still relevant in our lives, and some bible stories really work their way into our hearts the way that this one did for Diego.What Jesus wants us to know even in 2022 is that God loves us unconditionally and God forgives us unconditionally the way that the father in the prodigal son loved his two sons. And what Diego wanted to know was that he loved his sister unconditionally. He was angry that she ran away but his love was so much stronger, and that's how God's love is. Diego taught me so much about love and what it means to be faithful to Jesus's message to us in the gospels. God loves us without question and all God asks of us in return is to love without question. We are so blessed to have such grace, forgiveness, joy and unadulterated love from God even in a season of Lent when we're a little bit more penitential, a little bit more apologetic, and we have to think a lot about how we live our lives. God is so happy to be with us as we journey our own paths and that is some good news for this chilly beautiful fourth Sunday of Lent. Amen.
Permission to podcast/stream music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-701187 and CCLI with license #21234241 and #21234234. All rights reserved.
Video, photographs, and graphics by the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. 215.247.7466. https://www.stmartinec.org
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By St. Martin-in-the-FieldsListen to this week's sermon from LIFT Worship from Anne Alexis Harra for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 27, 2022
Learn more about LIFT, Living in Faith Together, at stmartinec.org/lift
Today's Readings:
Joshua 5:9-12 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Psalm 32Today I wanted to share a story with you and this is going to be a lot of story talk because we heard a really cool story from Jesus and I have a story for you so just bear with me.
Anne Alexis's story - this story - takes place in January 2020. Life was a little different back then I was working my very first church gig at Emmanuel Highlands Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware and on the day of these events in history we heard the parable of the Prodigal Son which is the same special story that Jesus taught us today. So friends, picture the scene with me, this was life before the pandemic. My young friends gathered on the carpet in a big circle with me and we told this story. When it was time for the craft we made these (holds up craft) Now they're a little hard to see but I'll explain what they are. They are crafts that my students decorated and they said "welcome home" because our stories today are all about coming home.So things were great. We were hanging out doing the craft and then one of my youngest friends, we'll call him Diego, Diego came up to me and he kind of tugged on me and he said, "Ann Alexis can I write 'welcome home sister' on this? Jesus talks a lot about brothers but I have a sister" and I said, "Well sure Diego of course you can, but can you tell me a little bit about why?" So he kind of looked at me and he made a face and he sighed and then he said, "well my sister Eva ran away from home a couple of months ago . She was gone for a really long time and we didn't know where she was but she came home. My sister is home now and I want to give her this because I'm so happy she's home." Then he paused and he looked at me and he said "Ann Alexis, do you think that god is mad at Eva for running away?"
That's a tough one even for me, so I spoke from my heart. I said, "well Diego I can't speak for God and I'm not gonna try to, but I have a feeling God is so happy that Eva is home now. God loves her and God forgives her." And Diego said, "is that what Jesus wants us to know?" Yep, it sure is my friend, that is what Jesus wants us to know
Now I don't know exactly how I managed to hold back tears while this conversation was occurring. As I was writing this memory down I was crying all over again. I realized Diego had been on such an emotional roller coaster and sometimes I think we all get on these emotional roller coasters, but our stories today - both Jesus's and Diego's and mine - are so deeply connected to one another. Even though Jesus told the story of the prodigal son over 2000 years ago it's still relevant in our lives, and some bible stories really work their way into our hearts the way that this one did for Diego.What Jesus wants us to know even in 2022 is that God loves us unconditionally and God forgives us unconditionally the way that the father in the prodigal son loved his two sons. And what Diego wanted to know was that he loved his sister unconditionally. He was angry that she ran away but his love was so much stronger, and that's how God's love is. Diego taught me so much about love and what it means to be faithful to Jesus's message to us in the gospels. God loves us without question and all God asks of us in return is to love without question. We are so blessed to have such grace, forgiveness, joy and unadulterated love from God even in a season of Lent when we're a little bit more penitential, a little bit more apologetic, and we have to think a lot about how we live our lives. God is so happy to be with us as we journey our own paths and that is some good news for this chilly beautiful fourth Sunday of Lent. Amen.
Permission to podcast/stream music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-701187 and CCLI with license #21234241 and #21234234. All rights reserved.
Video, photographs, and graphics by the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. 215.247.7466. https://www.stmartinec.org