I’m not quite sure which is worse – to be lost, trying to find a way home in wilderness or woods or the labyrinth of a big city – or to have lost something or someone in wilderness or woods or the city. To be lost is an awful thing – to not have any idea how close or how far away safety is, not to have any idea which path to take back to the familiar, to not see anything that we know – and it is also terrible to lose someone else – for a short, anxious period of time or for many years. Yesterday at Shrine Mont, AJ preached on this same text, remembering the time when his son, very young at the time, disappeared at Disney World. His child remembered the lessons a preschool teacher or someone had taught him, to stay in one place and wait to be found. You can imagine the relief and rejoicing when that happened.
In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus responds to those who have criticized him for breaking bread with sinners. He responds, as he is prone to do, with parables, two of which we just heard.
First, the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus asks them:
“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’”
And then he asks:
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’”
Both of these stories are a little puzzling – why would a shepherd put 99 sheep in danger to go after one who is lost? And would someone throw a party just because they found a coin they had lost?
The 10th chapter of Luke does not end with our reading this morning. It goes on to tell a third story, a parable that is familiar to most of us and well-loved, the parable of the Prodigal Son, who took his inheritance, went away, spent it all, and found himself among strangers, sleeping in the mud of a pigsty, hoping to share some of their scraps. Finally, he realizes he has messed up, and he makes his way home again, hoping that at least his father might give him shelter, some mercy, perhaps forgive him in time. As we all know, that’s not how the story ends:
“…while [the prodigal son] was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his [servants], ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.” They rejoiced.
The lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. All stories to remind us of Jesus’ immense love, of God’s never-ending embrace of everyone – and especially for those who are lost, who recognize they are lost and repent and turn back to God.
And note God’s response when they do. These parables don’t talk about anger, or punishment – they don’t even mention the word forgiveness – instead, they talk about celebration, of rejoicing.
Jesus sits at the table with sinners – who are all of us – because of love. God is the shepherd who will find the lost sheep, who will not ever let one beloved child be lost in the wilderness – because of love. No person is less important or less deserving of safe haven and protection than any others.
God is the woman who searches and searches to find the lost coin. God will not stop seeking God’s beloved children. Every person, like the lost coin, is of great value.
And God is the father who runs to meet his son who has run away, who has squandered his money and made poor decisions, who comes back expecting nothing. God is the father welcoming us all back home again, because of love.
This morning’s parables let us know that God’s love is endless, and God’s grace is endless – that this morning and every morning, all we need to do is come to the table, and listen, and love, and and be; to be nourished by the Word and body and blood of Christ, and then go back out into the world to nourish it in turn, seeing the rest of the world as God sees it, loving the rest of the world as God loves it – the neighbors we know, and the neighbors we do not know.
This morning’s parables remind us that God’s love is not conditional, that God not only waits for us but looks for us, walks into the wilderness to find us, to bring us back into the fold of love, gather us to the meal, making the community, the family of humankind, whole again, and then to say, “rejoice with me!”
Amen.
