Losing, Searching, Finding, Celebrating

At St. Alban’s on Sundays, we always share bread and wine as we continually become the Body of Christ. The worship service is called: The Holy Eucharist. Actually, if you look on page 315 of The Book of Common Prayer, the full title of the service is: “The Holy Eucharist: The Liturgy for the Proclamation of the Word of God and the Celebration of the Holy Communion.” What we do each week is a celebration.

In the 15th Chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we hear several stories about losing, searching, finding and celebrating. A shepherd loses one of his sheep; he searches the wilderness until he finds it; then he celebrates. A woman loses a valuable coin; she sweeps the house until she finds it; then she celebrates.

We are the one lost sheep. We are the one lost coin. And God searches for us until God finds us. Then God throws a huge celebration, shouting: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost; I have found my coin that was lost.”

Every Sunday, we gather as the lost who have been found, in a celebration of bread and wine. So rejoice with me that you and I have been found – and let’s celebrate.