Home is where you are welcome. It’s where you belong – where you are always gladly received. And if you’ve been gone a while, then the welcome is even more pronounced.

It’s the father on the front porch, gazing down the driveway, anticipating that any movement he sees could be his son coming home. It’s open arms of acceptance, forgiveness and relief. All is forgiven. Nothing matters anymore except that my boy is home. What was lost has been found. This is the profound message of the gospel of Jesus. It is not a gospel of right and wrong; it is a gospel of lost and found.

There’s been way too much talk about right and wrong when Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost.

The only wrong thing is that you left. The only right thing is that you came home. Imagine causing a party just because you came home. That’s the gospel.

A woman lost a coin and tore her house apart until she found it and rejoiced. That’s the gospel.

A shepherd had a hundred sheep, but one was lost. So he left the 99 and went out after the one that was lost and the joy was in the finding. That’s the gospel.

The Pharisees were all about right and wrong. Jesus is all about lost and found.

The prodigal son was as surprised over his welcome as anyone. He was only coming home to be a servant. He had come to his senses. Better to work for Dad then eat with the pigs. Dad treats his servants better than this. I’ll be a servant.

And what does Dad do? He welcomes home his son.

Time to get over all this right and wrong and start welcoming people home.

The ruby red slippers that Judy Garland wore in the film The Wizard of Oz are the third most visited exhibit in the Smithsonian Institute. Does that surprise you, that with all the incredible historical and scientific artifacts that are in this famous museum, that Dorothy’s ruby slippers are the big deal? What’s all the hubbub? What else could it be? They are the shoes that took her home.