Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C

“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.”
~Luke 15:6
 
Let this be engraved for a generation to come,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Wisdom of the Ages:
19 that she looked down from her holy height,
from heaven the Creator of All beheld the earth,
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to set free those who were condemned to die;
~Psalm 102:18-20
 
Rejoice with me!
 
Do you imagine these to the be the easiest and quickest words to come out of the mouth of the Holy? Rejoice! What is lost is found— a sheep, a coin, a child, a prisoner, a slave, a worshipper. Rejoice in the good creation! Rejoice in restoration! Rejoice in new life!
 
Let’s repeat what we noted last week: If the Christian story is anything, it is a story of liberation. Lost sheep are found. Prisoners are liberated. Asylees find safety and belonging. New friendships are formed. Our homes become places of joy. And when we take a look back, we might be astonished and what has transpired.
 
This Sunday we will do a little of this—in worship, and in our congregational meeting afterward. “Rejoice with me,” God the Shepherd says, “I have found my lost sheep.” “Rejoice with me,” she says, “I have found my lost coin.” There is no more joy in heaven, or perhaps on earth, than when what was lost is found. Let us rejoice together for this too is the good work of Easter!
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: Acts 16:13-22, 40 † Psalm 102:17-21, 25-28 † Colossians 4:10-17 † Luke 15:1-10
 
About the Art: Swanson, John August. Celebration, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56538 [retrieved May 12, 2025]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
 
About the Artist: John Swanson studied with Corita Kent at Immaculate Heart College. His unique style is influenced by the imagery of Islamic and medieval miniatures, Russian iconography, the color of Latin American folk art, and the tradition of Mexican muralists.
 
His art is in no way "naïve." It is detailed, complex, and elaborate. Unlike many contemporary artists, John Swanson works directly on all phases in producing his original prints. His serigraphs (limited-edition screen prints) have from 40 to 89 colors printed, using transparent and opaque inks creating rich and detailed imagery. For each color printed the artist must draw a stencil on Mylar film. This stencil is transferred to the silk screen for printing the color ink on the serigraph edition. The resulting serigraph is a matrix of richly overlaid colors visually striking and technically masterful.
 
Mr. Swanson’s art is represented in the permanent collections of many museums, including three museums of the Smithsonian Institution: The National Museum of American History, The National Museum of American Art and The National Air and Space Museum. He is also included in the print collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Harvard University’s Fogg Museum, the Tate Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. His painting THE PROCESSION is one of relatively few works by contemporary artists to be selected for the Vatican Museums’ Collection of Modern Religious Art. [from the artist's website]

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