Communion Message
(Can I come home?)
May 25, 2003
Pastor Leighton Sheley

God wants to heal our land, but in order to accomplish that he needs to heal our communities, because our nation is made up of communities. And in order to heal our communities he needs to heal our families, because our communities are made up of families. And in order to heal our families he needs to heal individuals, because our families are made up of individuals. In order to be healed we need to come back to our heavenly Father and Great Physician; and some might ask, is the door open to return?

This story is retold by Alice Gray, who writes, The young man sat alone on the bus and most of the time stared out of the window. He was in his mid-20s, nice looking with a kind face. His dark blue shirt matched the color of his eyes. His hair was short and neat, and occasionally he would look away from the window, and the anxiety on his young face touched the heart of a grandmotherly woman sitting cross the aisle. The bus was just approaching the outskirts of a small town, and she was so drawn to the young man that she scooted across the aisle and asked permission to sit next to him.

After a few moments of small talk about the warm spring weather he blurted out, I've been in prison for two years. I just got out this morning and am going home. His words tumbled out as he told her he was raised in a poor but proud family and how his crime had brought his family shame and heartbreak. In the two years he had not heard from them. He knew they were too poor to travel the distance to where he had been in prison, and his parents probably felt too uneducated to write. He had stopped writing them when no answers came.

Three weeks before he was being released he desperately wrote one more letter to his family. He told them how sorry he was for disappointing them and asked for their forgiveness. He went on to explain about being released from prison and that he would take the bus to his hometown, the bus that goes right by the front yard of the house where he grew and where his parents still lived. In his letters he said that he would understand if they wouldn't forgive him.

He wanted to make it easy for them and so asked them to give him a signal that he could see from the bus. If they had forgiven him and wanted him to come back home, they could put a white ribbon on the old apple tree that stood in the front yard. If the signal wasn't there, he would stay on that bus, leave town and be out of their lives forever. As the bus neared his street the young man became more and more anxious to the point he was afraid to look out the window because he was so sure there would be no ribbon.

After listening to his story the woman asked simply, would it help if we traded seats and I'll sit near the window and look for you? The bus traveled a few more blocks and then she saw the tree. She gently touched the young man's shoulder and choking back tears said, look, O look, the whole tree is covered with white ribbons.

That story has been told in various ways. I think I remember Tony Orlando told that story, only it was yellow ribbons instead of white, it was three years instead of two, it was an oak tree instead of an apple tree, such is artistic license I guess. But the central story, the purpose of that story, was not lost.

The other day I was walking through one of the cities in our community and around every lamppost was a yellow ribbon, and we know what that means. It means come home, and it means welcome home.

That story has been told for many centuries actually. We are familiar with one that was written 2000 years ago when Jesus talked about the prodigal son. The young man who had left his father so that he could go and live a riotous life. He squandered the family's fortune, brought dishonor to the family, and finally came to his senses and wondered if his father would accept him back.

The Scriptures say that his father every day was looking at the horizon waiting for his son's face to appear. We're told that the father of that story represents our heavenly Father. You may have gone to another country; you may have gone to a different county; you may have just stepped over the property line, but you're wondering if the heavenly Father will receive you back. His arms are open.

And perhaps there are some among us this morning who didn't even know they had a Father. They didn't know they had an inheritance, they didn't know that there was somebody who was looking for them, for you, but there is. Because our heavenly Father likes big families and he loves to adopt, and he wants to adopt you as a son or daughter of the King of kings.

The Bible says if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; saved out of meaningless wandering and wondering, saved into an eternal family and eternal hope. Perhaps you'd like to make this the day and say, Lord, adopt me, please. And his arms are open. I'd like to invite you, if you're physically able, to join with me as we kneel in the presence of our Lord and Savior. The Scriptures say at times like these we should examine our self.

Lord we are so thankful that you like large families, that you have chosen to love us, that you have chosen to accept us and receive us as your children. And Lord, there are times when we dishonor the family, and we rebel against our Father, and we thank you Lord for your word that says if we confess our sin you are faithful and just and will forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Forgive us and cleanse us we pray as we now partake of these elements in remembrance of you. Let's partake of the bread and also the cup.

Thank you Lord for hearing our prayer. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, in Jesus' name we pray, and all God's people said, Amen. Let's stand and let's greet one another this morning.