Come, you devoted,
you grateful,
you faithful friends.
Come to the Table.
Come, and bring 
your priceless gifts
of extravagant love.

Come, you questioning,
you hungry,
you terrified friends.
Come to the Table.
Come, because God
will meet you
with a priceless gift
of extravagant love.

Just As I Am, Without One Plea
Amazing Grace
Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling
There's A Wideness in God's Mercy
Now the Silence
God of the Sparrow
Come, You Sinners, Poor and Needy
What is the World Like When God's Will is Done?
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
The Lord's My Shepherd
Lord Jesus, Think on Me
Servant Song
The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Changes
God's Great Love is So Amazing
O Come Unto the Lord
There is Now a New Creation

Come, you parents 
and parent-figures,
who stand and watch,
waiting with open arms
for the children you love
to come home.
Come and find comfort
in the God-Parent
who is longing to embrace you
and welcome you 
with all-encompassing love.

Come, you wayward children
who have gone off searching
for more
only to find you had it all
before you left
on your journey.
Come and find the extravagant grace
of a God who does not hold
your waywardness 
against you.

Come, you faithful ones
who have stayed true to the path
and followed the rules,
who have shared in the inheritance
all along.
Come and join the celebration 
in a spirit of hospitality
and love.

Come, you neighbors and friends
for the feast has been prepared,
the Table set:
God is welcoming God's 
wayward
home!

Holy Gardener,
Be present, we pray,
with all who are struggling,
whose branches do not bear fruit.
Continue to advocate for us,
to nurture and care for us,
to dig into the soil around us
and make room for us
to grow.
Be present, we pray,
through the church,
which also sometimes struggles
to bear fruit that is good and whole
and unaffected by society's 
changing climate.
Be present, we pray,
when others are impatient
and demanding
and critical,
and faithfully tend to our spirits
with loving kindness,
showing us how to do the same
for others.
You are the God of second chances.
Make us a people of mercy
for a world in need
​of hope.

Degrees of sin are a thing with Christians. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but ... not as much as someone ELSE. Seriously. We do that. And in this passage, Jesus is calling us out on it because apparently it was happening back then as well. (There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)) We still haven't learned that sin is sin. Period. End of sentence. Murder is not worse than forsaking the Sabbath. Adultery is not worse than dishonoring your parents. Idol worship is not worse than coveting your neighbor's ass. And judging someone else's sin is just as sinful as their sin. Dang, I hate it when scriptures convict! 

Thankfully, God is the God of second chances. In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus lets us know that God is the gardener and not the vineyard owner. God continually advocates for us, nurtures us, feeds us, and gives us room to grow and bear fruit. One gets the feeling that were the same conversation to happen again the next year, God would once again advocate for more time. 

I don't remember exactly when I realized God was the gardener and not the vineyard owner in this parable. I feel certain that was acted out in the pastor of my childhood, Rev. John Seibert, affectionately known as Pastor Jack, who officiated our wedding thirty-six years ago and baptized our oldest child. I remember him as a gardener himself. But I think understanding that on an intellectual level came through Rev. Fred Wehrenberg, the pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Waterloo, who lovingly cared for the vineyard of which we were part of in the early years of our marriage and who baptized our daughter. 

But I think I've learned more about the God of second chances most from dear friends who have loved me in spite of my sinfulness, who have lovingly dug around my roots and faithfully fed me with scriptures and encouragement, and have advocated for more time for growth. I am grateful for those pastors and friends who have exhibited the steadfast and unconditional love of God in spite of my propensity for sin, who have helped me grow into a fruit-bearing tree that offers food for those who are hungry and shelter for those who are weary. I still have seasons when my fruit is not as nourishing as I'd like for it to be. Sometimes those seasons last longer than I wish they would, and I'm not proud of that. But I am thankful for God who shows up in a myriad of ways to set an example of what it looks like to show kindness and grace to myself and to others. 

I wonder where God is advocating for second chances in your life.

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy
Just As I Am, Without One Plea
Amazing Grace
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

Welcome, sinners!
This space is for you:
for healing
and hope,
for transformation
and proclamation,
for fertilization
and bearing fruit.
Our God is the God
of second chances.
Let us worship the Lord our God!