Scripture Text (NRSV)
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow
welcomes sinners and eats with them."
15:3 So he told them this parable:
15:11b "There was a man who had two sons.
15:12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the
property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them.
15:13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant
country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
15:14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country,
and he began to be in need.
15:15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent
him to his fields to feed the pigs.
15:16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and
no one gave him anything.
15:17 But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have
bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
15:18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you;
15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired
hands."'
15:20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father
saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
15:21 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.'
15:22 But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and
put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
15:23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
15:24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And
they began to celebrate.
15:25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the
house, he heard music and dancing.
15:26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
15:27 He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf,
because he has got him back safe and sound.'
15:28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead
with him.
15:29 But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like
a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even
a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with
prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'
15:31 Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine
is yours.
15:32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and
has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"
Comments:
Had Jesus lived in Texas, his parable of the restless God who will not abide the loss of anyone, whether a murmuring multitude or a lone sheep, might have gone somewhat differently. Out on vast rangelands, where individual cattle and horses inevitably stray from their herds, ranchers have always had ways to retrieve lost animals. Today they use aircraft and trucks. Not long ago they employed donkeys for such work.
A healthy, well-fed donkey is smart, stubborn, and strong, and it loves nothing more than being at home. If left some distance away, a donkey will return home no matter the obstacles it faces. To get a wandering critter back, ranchers simply tied one end of a rope to a stray and the other to one of their donkeys, then left the pair to work things out. Sooner or later both animals would show up at the ranch. Upon arrival, they might both look worse for wear, but they'd be home. If retraced, their tracks would likely appear as a sequence of donkey hoofprints and a whole lot of skid marks.
So it is that God gets us back from our meandering, strays that we so often make of ourselves. God's Son takes the pounding, for we never make his journey easy or simple. Indeed, it costs him his life, for the rangeland he must traverse includes the Abyss. But he will not be stopped until each of us rests at home.
God puts the same, persistent Spirit in each of us and into our communities of baptized, gathered ones, and ties around our necks the same sort of harness--the yoke of discipleship that draws us along, always in the footsteps of the eternally restless searcher.
And what a joyous celebration breaks out as we come over the horizon and find ourselves here, and home at last.
Frederick Niedner
What a contrast between the Old Testament texts and the New Testament texts at first glance. Judgment vs. grace. But you can't really have grace without judgment. God never gives up on us even though we deserve to be forgotten when we live for self and not others. Thank God for grace and acceptance and forgiveness and unconditional love. Awesome! Thank God that I can change, right now, right here.
love-john
fredrick, I love the stray story! How many time do events in our lives bring us to screeching halts and whining turns. Nancy-Wi
How does one lose oneself- by mere ignorance as in the sheep or by the carelessness of others as to the coin.
Solomon
We can lose ourselves in many ways. Sometimes by our own sinfulness...other times by the sinfulness of others. However, is it ALWAYS sinfulness? jlbn-WI
Imagine taking a hundred students on a field trip to Rome, and losing one of them. Would you leave ninety-nine students in a city square to go and find the lost one?
This parable also reminds me of business tolerance of loss, shrinkage. For God, ten percent is unacceptable. Even one percent is unacceptable!
LF
WHen I hear this text I always seem to focus on the joy of the shepherd when he returns. That makes the lost sheep the star of the party. I think many of us picture ourselves slung across the shepherd's shoulders.
But, (considering my own walk), this time I'm wondering how the shepherd feels about going out for the ten thousandth time after the same stray. Anxious, yes, but maybe a little irritated too?
I know that even when I am trying hard to go the right way, I will make mistakes and turn the wrong direction. I'll always need the sheherd. But in truth, I probably make him work harder than he ought to. I am too easily distracted from the path. It's only when I learn to love the shepherd in a more mature way that I appreciate the cost of my negligence, and seek to spare the shepherd unnecessary pain.
When I was a teen, I didn't see why it was such a big deal if I was a little late getting home. When I learned how deep love can be, as a parent, I was half out of my skin with worry when my children didn't call. I was more than a little annoyed, even as I was rejoicing at finding them living and breathing instead of being dead in a ditch,(which, by the way, was one of the few acceptable excuses for not being home on time without calling!)
I'm going to be careful this year not to let the searching "Good Shepherd" appear only as a warm fuzzy source of good feeling. The Jeremiah lesson makes clear that our continual wandering pisses God off ...just not enough to forget about us and let us fall prey to the wolves.
I'm glad to find lost money in a dusty corner, but I'm even happier to find it in my pocket where I expected it to be.
On the otherhand, on this "Rally Day" when so many who have been away are back in church, maybe I ought to focus on the attitude of the ninety-nine toward the one who strays. We spare the shepherd, not only when we mind our own path, but when we welcome and encourage others to follow the shepherd faithfully as well.
Early, early thoughts.
ss in PA
I love this story - reminds me of soemthing when I lived in the picturesque northern German countryside: woke up one morning to the sound of loudly baaing sheep; it sounded awfully close. I knew there were sheep around, on the other side of the fence to our backyard. But during the night, the whole big flock of sheep had managed tp break free - and had invaded several beautifully kept backyards, one of them being ours. I could talk a lot about how stubborn those sheep were (a great parallel to our human behavior). Anyway, the shepherd of that particular flock had a great interest in finding even the last of the stray sheep-because of the great damage they were doing to many a manicured lawn or gorgeous flower bed.
Anyhow, the behavior of the sheep owner in the parable is rather un-typical (well, maybe not in Texas?). Who would leave the majority of the flock unprotected and abandon them in order to find the one lost one? What an awesome God who does that for us!
Germanpastor in CA
Concentrating on the lost coin,
What other story about coins, and money does Jesus tell?
Has the woman been looking for the coin long?
If Jesus parables were told from incidents from his life, when did he see a woman looking for a coin?
Realizing this is about repenting sinners, could re also use this to suggest a could look for the lost money in our lives?
shalom
bammamma
I love the feeling of being that lamb around the neck of Jesus which was in the painting my grandparents hung in my room. However, I have also had to realize that I am a mature lamb that has to go out and be a shepherd as well. part of the spiritual maturing process whichi s what I believe all these Lukan texts of the last few weeks have been about Pastor Keg
Actually there are three stories, the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. PH in OH
This story happened when I was in the sixth grade. One evening about supper time I was bored. My dad was starting the grill to cook our supper. I asked if I could go for a bike ride. Dad said yes, but to not be too long. I rode onto the next street where there was a ball field, also a dead end, but looking through a line of trees I could see that the street continued on the other side. I rode my bike through an opening in the trees and found myself in a whole new neighborhood. There I saw a friend from school. I got off my bike and we horsed around for what probably ended up being an hour. As a sixth grader I had lost track of time. I headed for home. Back on my own street I saw my parents at another one of my friend's homes. They saw me and yelled at me to get home. Once home I got the lecture. We were worried. We called the hospital, the police... I told them what happened.
Dad took me in the bedroom, gave me another lecture, made me take my pants down and spanked me. One of the few times he ever did and said, "This is going to hurt me more than you." The shepherd may go in search of the lost sheep, but he also says we are guided by his rod and staff. PH in OH
Rods were for moving the sheep in the direction
the shepherd wanted them to go. The shepherd used them like traffic arms, not to hit the sheep. They could hurl them at wolves or other attackers, but they were not for the purpose of hitting the sheep.
Likewise, staffs were for guidance, also for leaning on, also for pulling sheep out of ravines, not for whacking wayward sheep, lost or otherwise. No thoughtful shepherd would ever hit his sheep to get them to learn to be good followers or to stay close to home.
It is mainly because my mother's version of *teaching right behavior* was to break a yard stick across my butt that I have chosen to remain childless. That is not parenting, that is venting
against the most vulnerable among us. Shepherds do not hit their sheep. My mother did a mostly good job of raising us, but she went to her grave knowing I resented the hell out of her for hitting me and it was the one thing she did that I would never, ever forgive. She should never have done that. There were other options for *teaching*. She just didn't want to look into them. She did what had been done to her. I stopped the cycle.
Jesus the Shepherd does not raise his hand against his sheep. As wayward and stubborn as we are, he
never once takes a swing at us. He prays for us, he weeps over us, he gathers us safely under his wings, he vaults us upon his shoulders and he joyously brings us home even when we deserve to be
put in detention or left out there in the wilderness. His rod and his staff, they comfort us.
They do not come down across our knuckles or our rear ends in frustration.
Anon.
What might have happened if Ph had introduced one neighborhood to another? I'm not sure if the father had instructed what time Ph had to be home. The father in this case could have done right or done wrong.
To go without children for me because my mother was too harsh would have been impossible for me. My mother only hit me once, but she would just look at me and that was punishment enough.
I don't think their is a parent alive (or dead) who has not made a mistake in their "raising" technique.
This passage is saying something more to me about God's action. God goes after everyone, all "sheep" are loved and needed. I know I never can be a perfect follower, even with Jesus' salvation, but I respond to this Shepherd who is always there to lead me. I think sometimes it is easy to think Christian salvation means, when Jesus is accepted, tthe convert become a perfect person. Rather I've experienced it as a close journey with a wonderful Savior.
Shalom
bammamma
can't believe the number of posts already!!!
i'm on vacation this week, gonna clean out my basement. wonder if i'll find any sheep?
God's peace,
christine at the shore
I love that coin's "lost in the house" story. Reminds me of so many sitting in the pews or in our membership records that are "lost". Nothing more difficult than stuff that is lost "right under my nose" like misplaced keys and the like. Could be time to sweep the house!
Storyteller (I'm back! did you miss me? did you notice i was gone? : ) )
I love that coin's "lost in the house" story. Reminds me of so many sitting in the pews or in our membership records that are "lost". Nothing more difficult than stuff that is lost "right under my nose" like misplaced keys and the like. Could be time to sweep the house!
Storyteller (I'm back! did you miss me? did you notice i was gone? : ) )
ss in PA,
I heard once that in the Middle East, when a sheep develops the habit of going astray, the shepherd would actually break its leg, making it dependent on himself. And while the sheep is on the mend, depending on the shepherd, a bond between them develops, and the sheep nurtured back to health would never leave the side of the shepherd again...
This story was told to me by a pastor, as it was my own story, where the Lord brought me back to Himself through adversity, and nutured me back to "spiritual health".
Sheep #100 in Canada
Also ... reminds me of while in doing a bible study on that lost sheep and one of the aborigine christians commented that the sheep was lost because it was not "doing what it was supposed to be doing" which, he went on to explain, was to be the sheshkebab!
fun huh? sometimes a sheep is just a sheep and not a pretend-sheep.
Storyteller
I've heard that breaking sheep story once before and I was so upset i threw up. I guess I could hardly stomach the idea that God would intentionally send adversity upon us so we could bond while on the mend. I dont know that abusive God who says "I am breaking your leg because I love you."
Storyteller
I've heard that breaking sheep story once before and I was so upset i threw up. I guess I could hardly stomach the idea that God would intentionally send adversity upon us so we could bond while on the mend. I dont know that abusive God who says "I am breaking your leg because I love you."
Storyteller
Here is a different kind of sheep story. I understand sheep have very poor eyesight and are therefore dependent on the baaing (sp?) of other sheep to actually know where they are. If there is one sheep the others do not like, they simply go silent and let that one sheep wander off. Perhaps we sometimes do the same thing in the church. Instead of going in search of that one sheep we simply keep silent and let them wander off. We don't seem to always do a lot of thinking about them until a church gets in financial difficulty and then we want the inactives to come back and bail out the church. Not a good reason to go visit them! We should visit because we care! PH in OH
Nancy in WI:
Will you email me, please? I have a question to ask you, but don't want to broadcast it here... and besides it's totally unrelated to the discussion.
Revsallyo@aol.com
Sally in GA
In Kalas' "Parables From the Back Side," I seem to recall his telling of the significance of the woman's coin: it was a coin, he said, that women saved to put on some sort of headband during their marriage ceremony. Once they collected 10, they could be married "properly," and they saved and collected these coins because their very identity in ancient-time society (being married) was involved in having them.
I'm working form home and the copy of the book is in the church, but I wondered ... does anyone else have any commentary that says something like this? It's the one and only time I've ever heard it about this parable - and I even took a class in parables!
Sally in GA
I've also appreciated the comments on shepherding and parenting. I sometimes think my mom is still trying to "break my leg" to make me depend on her so she can bond with someone who'll take care of her.
OK - Too Much Information from me ...
And, yes, SToryteller, we DID notice!!! I'm so glad you're back.
Sally in GA
This is one of the my all time favorite illustrations : a group of tourist from America were in the HOly Land. They were constantly commentig on everytihng and how it related to thier understanding of the gospels. At one point a group of sheep was crossing the road. A woman screamed for the bus driver to stop so they could take a picture of the real middle east shepherds at work. The man at the rear of the sheep was beating and screaming at the sheep to move: really being violent. A woman was so upset: "how can a shepherd do that....Jesus was gentle..etc." The bus driver looked at her and said; Lady, that isn't the shepherd thats the butcher !! who are you following or being led by?
Pastor Keg
have any of you ever searched frantically for a coin? last night i had images of digging through pockets and couch cushions for loose change and it got me thinking. what brings us to the point of searching for money? contrast that to what makes God search for the lost.
and how many of us accidentily drop some change and leave it behind?
just stirring up some thoughts. wish i had this text last week.
peace,
christine at the shore
Bamamama, hitting a child is not a mistake, it is the intentional infliction of misery. That is not a Christian model of teaching. I hit my dog once when he ran out into the street because I was frightened and angry. I didn't know what else to do to let him know that was bad. What I taught him was that his owner who loved him was the source of great pain and sadness. That event broke the trust.
It took a long time of treating him extremely gently
to get him to look at me the same way he had before I hit him. He remained afraid of me. That is not what I had intended, but it is what happened. If I could do that to a dog I adored because I was afraid and angry, I could certainly do that to a child under the same circumstances. It would not be a mistake, it would be an abomination. Hitting is not acceptable no matter what the reason for it.
A general comment---
When search teams are going out to find a lost child, they cheer with delight when that child is found. They leave their own children at home to go search for the lost Jones kid. They don't lecture the child, spank the child for causing all this trouble they've caused, they plop a fireman's hat on the kid's head, and return the child to a loving and responsible party.
I chose to be a Christian because while my wanderings scare and anger Jesus, he comes to find me, picks me up and brings me to safety. He hugs me close and tells me how happy he is that I'm now in his care, out of harm's way. It's not cheap grace. It comes with a price tag of knowing that I have hurt Jesus to the core and that he gave up a lot to be able to come find me to restore me to my heavenly Father.
Anon.
christine, I have been cleaning house today, and so far have unseated 3 spiders, which I promptly took outside to live in peace. No money yet, but there is a favorite diamond earring my cat decided to take for a spin across the dresser and then around the floor that I'm keeping my eyes peeled for. I will rejoice greatly when that is found.
Anon.
True stories:
The love of my heart (now my hubby) and I were in seminary together, & his mom came down to celebrate his birthday, taking us both out to eat. He was soon to write a sermon in his first homiletics class on this very passage from Luke. As we got in the GRAVEL parking lot of the BBQ place, he and mom were horsing around and he accidentally snapped her neck necklace--the one holding a tiny diamond in lieu of the engagement ring his dad couldn't afford her. We were devastated! Mom & I stayed by 'the spot', and Mic pulled around his mom's van to shine the headlamps on the parking lot, and I swear to God, we searched and found that precious diamond pendant.
And yes, I will use this as a sermon illustration!
Sadly, tho, my beloved seminary Bible--the beaten up Harper-Collins NRSV with duct-tape on the binding, the rip at Isaiah 43 from one of my youth group kids (accidental), Mic's first valentine card to me, and all the notes in second Isaiah and the Gospels from beloved profs, is SOMEWHERE in Missouri. I misplaced it as I began my ministry, retraced all logical and illogical steps, and have never found it. I even prayed to St. Joseph--isn't he the saint of lost things?
A hole in my heart.
Blessings on your sermon writing! Pastor K
True stories:
The love of my heart (now my hubby) and I were in seminary together, & his mom came down to celebrate his birthday, taking us both out to eat. He was soon to write a sermon in his first homiletics class on this very passage from Luke. As we got in the GRAVEL parking lot of the BBQ place, he and mom were horsing around and he accidentally snapped her necklace--the one holding a tiny diamond in lieu of the engagement ring his dad couldn't afford her. We were devastated! Mom & I stayed by 'the spot', and Mic pulled around his mom's van to shine the headlamps on the parking lot, and I swear to God, we searched and found that precious diamond pendant.
And yes, I will use this as a sermon illustration!
Sadly, tho, my beloved seminary Bible--the beaten up Harper-Collins NRSV with duct-tape on the binding, the rip at Isaiah 43 from one of my youth group kids (accidental), Mic's first valentine card to me, and all the notes in second Isaiah and the Gospels from beloved profs, is SOMEWHERE in Missouri. I misplaced it as I began my ministry, retraced all logical and illogical steps, and have never found it. I even prayed to St. Joseph--isn't he the saint of lost things?
A hole in my heart.
Blessings on your sermon writing! Pastor K
I was a Girl Scout who took lots of hikes for merit badges. I had clear hard contact lenses and stupidly decided to wear them on a hike in the rain. I lost one in the tall wet grass. It took about 2 hours checking every rain drop on every blade of grass, but we found the lens in perfect shape. Nobody could believe it. Getting it back was worth the effort of all that looking, because I could see to finish the hike and get home.
KHC
pastor k
st anthony is the saint of lost things. sometimes i even pray to him.
i lost a painting of the madonna and child during one of our many moves. it hung on the wall of every childhood bedroom i ever slept in and it was a "treasure" that i wanted to pass onto my daughter.
i mourn it's loss all the time because i remember waking up afraid and seeing her looking at me with such tenderness in her eyes. it was what some might call a tacky late-60's painting; but it was dear to me and irreplacable, just like your bible and its contents.
painting the kitchen bathroom to get ready for the new kitchen floor tomorrow. then... the basement. pray for me. that basement is a MESS.
God's peace,
christine at the shore
I am wondering, I was thinking about 9-11-2001 Three years ago, and here we are at the three year cycle in the lectionary...I feel like I am supposed to use some 9-11 things in this sermon this week...
9-11-2001:
We remember where we were and what we were doing?
I was in the lobby of the Hospital awaiting with a family a mother's heart surgery...not paying attention to TV...saw a crowd come to watch the Today Show...A Tower on fire? What was going on? Katie Curic had no clue? Then in SLOW MOTION the other plane it the other tower. SHOCK! A nation in Shock. Your eyes glued to the TV set.Watching the towers fall. Lots of LOST SHEEP that day...Families frantically searching for husbands, wives, daughters,sons....
My Sermon scripture that sunday was Habakkuk 3. Prayer of Habbakuk is that chapter.
This can tie in with news Florida, lost people and Russian Children killed too...Lost Sheep...precious ones...Are they Lost...to us, maybe, but with the GOOD SHEPHERD.
Just some early wonderings
Clerically Blonde in West Ohio
As we honor our hero's from 9/11 Firefighters going up the stairs in search of people
our Savior not only runs a search and rescue mission but also runs a lost and found department
our churches were full of "found" people
I wonder where they are now?
John Rodriguez
I am using 9/19 lections this week as they seem so much related to 9/11. These I will use next week but I just wanted to agree with Storyteller and Anon. that the shepherd is not violent. Anon., I hope your decisison to remain childless is not out of fear that you will carry down the violence another generation. There are other ways to break the cycle, and one of the best is to raise up loved and loving children. None of my business, sorry.
Also, I loved the story of the donkey dragging the lost cow home. Possible sermon title, "Make an Ass of Yourself", or, "Send More Donkeys" might be less offensive. tom in TN(USA)
I really don't have any sermon shape in my head yet on this. I'm having trouble finding how it relates to my congregation.
The setting of the story is complaint about with whom Jesus is choosing to socialize. My congregation is in an urban, multicultural setting. It would be hard to shock them with any "THEM" - they work with and are neighbours beside every conceivable "THEM".
The stories about the lost sheep and the lost coin are beautiful illustrations of grace. Don't get me wrong, I'm always ready, willing and called to preach grace! But these parables can make it seem like a cheap grace without response. The coin has no control over where it rolls. The sheep will wander away to play with the wolves again, because that seems exciting, and then long for the Shepherd to bind their wounds.
Maybe I should go over to the Jeremiah page!
LF
One thing I don't see us noticing is Jesus' audience given in verses 1 and 2.
The tax collectors and sinners were "coming near to listen." The Pharisees and scribes were "grumbling." Someone's listening - someone's grumbling.
The people of Jesus' day did not believe at all in retrieving the lost. If you are born bad, you die bad. If you are born good, you have to stay good or you become bad and cannot be reclaimed. The place of grace and repentance was almost unknonwn to these people. This is why there is the grumbling - Jesus receives bad people.
Some listened - some grumbled. Whom do we really want to attract to our churches? People who will listen to Jesus (sinners), or people who will grumble (righteous). Sometimes, for us as pastors, it can be a difficult call. For Jesus, it seems to be no problem at all.
JG in WI
Sally in GA. William Barclay speaks to the 10 coin headband in his commentary on Luke. While speculative, I like the romanticism of it. Sitting through the soggy end of hurricane Frances. Pastor Rick in FL
Firemen wear a monitor on their person that starts to wail out a loud noise if the motion of the firemen ceases for too long (it signifies that the person is down and it trouble). The monitor will sound for hours so that the crew can find the person or body.
It’s my understanding that a multitude of those alarms added to the tragic sights and sounds of 9-11.
What kind of noises do the lost of society make?
Pr.del in Ia
I've had little experience of sheep, but I ran a search and rescue outfit many years ago. Peole always get lost in lousy weather and others don't report the loss until it is just about nightfall. the lost endanger the searchers because the terrain is usually awful and the weather terrible. People make the same stupid mistakes over and over again. What kind of patience does God have?
I wonder about the lost coin in terms of lost or broken relationships or the parts of oneself that become lost in the fractures of life. John in IL
I used to run a serach and rescue outfit many years ago. People get lost in the worst terrain and the worst weather. Their friends and relatives don't report the loss untilit is almost nightfall so putting at risk those who search over bad ground in poor conditions. Peole repeat the same mistakes time and time again. I wonder how much patience God has to put up with our repetitions.
the lost coin story reminds me of the fragments of ourselves that get lost in fractured relationships as well as those relationships themselves. Perhaps we are pushed back to what we have lost time after time to reclaim what we are missing.
Pr Del--
How did you find out about the alarms? is there a news story I could reference? just want to make sure it is true, no offense to you. Our pastors' group was discussing things we said while preaching which were factually inaccurate and I don't want to be another one of them. :)
Peace,
Beth in Ga
Beth in Ga
I'm the chaplain for the Davenport Fire department and early last summer I went through a "Citizen's Fire Academy”.
The instructor related the story of the sounding alarms at ground zero as he was showing us the monitor they all wear going into a fire or disaster scene.
Pr.del in Ia
Fred Craddock writes:
Before moving to the parables themselves, the reader will want to take a moment to consider where he or she is sitting while receiving the stories. Is it beside Jesus, as though joining Jesus in addressing these parables to critics, or is it among those being addressed by Jesus? In texts in which Jesus is facing opponents, we who deal with these texts can so easily, but certainly not intentionally, preach and teach them as the voice of Jesus rather than those who need to hear the voice of Jesus. This does not mean we must label ourselves Pharisees and scribes, but it does not mean we realize that these texts were written not simply out of historical interest in the religious community surrounding Jesus but primarily because these texts addressed a church with the problems herein associated with Pharisees and scribes. There is no room to say, "Lord, I thank thee I am not as they were." In addition, locating ourselves in the stories will tend to make us more understanding of those who disagreed with Jesus. Their position reflects a warning firmly stated in the Old Testament (Prov 1.15; Ps 1; Isa 52.11) about associating with evil persons, a warning Paul found useful in dealing with moral issues in the Corinthian church (2 Cor 6.14-18). And what parent has not said to a teenaged son or daughter, "Birds of a feather flock together"? The Pharisees are not alone in believing that the separation of good and bad people preserves a community's sense of righteousness and is essential for the moral instruction of the young. Jesus' failure to observe such distinctions seemed to some dangerous to the moral and religious fiber of the community and disturbingly radical. It still is so regarded by some, even within the church. Perhaps the most fitting location for us, then, is not with Jesus or with the Pharisees but among tax collectors and sinners, who find ourselves welcomed and forgiven in his presence.
By the use of the conjunction "or" at verse 8 Luke joins these two parables which are obviously twins: "What man," "What woman." Matthew sets the story of the sheep that was found in the context of instructions to church leaders to restore the erring (18.1-14). Matthew's sheep "goes astray," is sought, and IF IT IS FOUND (18.13), there is rejoicing. In Luke the sheep is lost, as are the sinners who come to hear Jesus, and it is sought UNTIL IT IS FOUND (v. 4). Back of Luke's image of the tender shepherd lie Ezek 34.12; Isa 40.11; and 49.22, passages in which God is portrayed as the shepherd who seeks and gently restores the lost sheep. So strong is the love for the lost sheep that the ninety-nine are left in the wilderness (desert) while the search goes on. It is in an old gospel song, not in Luke, that the ninety-nine safely lay sheltered in the fold. If the ninety-nine are safe in a fold, then the search for one lost sheep is but an act of frugality, and exercise in common sense. It is foolish not to act when there is a possibile gain with no possibility of loss. But how is one to assess the search by a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine in the wilderness? Either the shepherd is foolish or the shepherd loves the lost sheep and will risk everything, including his own life, until he finds it.
That Luke parallels the parable of a man with one about a woman is not surprising; we have met his inclusiveness many times before. The woman's ten silver coins (drachmas) represented about ten days' wages and many months of saving. Like the shepherd, she seeks "until she finds it" (v. 8); there is no giving up in either story. The joy of finding is so abundant that it cannot be contained; one person alone cannot adequately celebrate it; there must be a party to which others are invited. Jesus invites even his critics to join him and all of heaven in celebration of finding the lost. This joy, elaborated more fully in the party for the returned son in the next parable, is the heart of the gospel. Finding and restoring the lost gives pleasure to God as well as to all who are about God's business. But this joy is also the offense of the gospel. Celebrating the recovery of a lost sheep? Yes. Celebrating the recovery of a lost coin? Yes. But throwing a party for a prodigal? Would it not be better for him, a better witness to the neighbors, and a better demonstration of the righteousness of God if her were taught a lesson he would never forget?
The Pharisees and scribes grumble at the mere sight of Jesus being at table with "tax collectors and sinners." Jesus should know better than to associate with this band of the legally unrighteous (cf. Psalm 1). "Grumbling" is an expression (and here, it is audible sarcasm) of dissatisfaction and disapproval. But that kind of expression is not simply limited to the religious elite. Even the most adamant sinner among us grumbles.
(Self-righteous/Arrogant) The internal presupposition for such grumbling is coined in Jesus' own words as those who "need no repentance." The question is not whether that is true (it is). But self- righteousness is certainly in the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees—and in the hearts of all who grumble disapproval or dissatisfaction with an air of superiority. For all we know, that sense that one "needs no repentance" may have also rubbed off on the "tax collectors and sinners," tempting them to think that maybe the "self-righteous" really are superior. That would be their—the known sinners'—unfaith to go along with the unfaith of the scribes and Pharisees.
The ultimate matter that must be considered—maybe the only thing that really matters—is what ruling God makes about all this class conflict. That ruling is not favorable for the "sinners and tax collectors," for they are already characterized in the parables of Jesus in the role of the "lost." But the scribes and Pharisees do not fare any better. They, too, are lost. They can, of course, continue to take their chances with the Law. That alternate soteriology (reason for salvation) is an option; but if Jesus is correct in describing God, that option looks quite bleak.
The ultimately promising truth that cancels out the problem of lostness is that "finding the lost" is precisely why Jesus came. Though he must lose in the process of finding us, that is the supreme victory. Jesus says that God and the angels of heaven rejoice over the finding of such lost ones. God is tickled pink in noticing the lost in every corner, whenever they may be found, whoever they might be—whether tax collector, sinner, scribe or Pharisee. God, in fact, does rejoice in the finding, in the uplifting upon his shoulders, in the scouring every nook and cranny of every dark corner of humanity (searching the house).
That kind of "good news" might cause even the most sinful to perk up his or her ears to tune in to the saving Word. Such "tuning in" is termed by Jesus as "repentance," which means literally "turning around," turning away from any claims to fame or pride and turning toward the only claim we can make—we are unworthy sinners; but with Jesus as our Found-er, we are so much more. We are God's precious find.
That can lead to a whole new outlook on life, leading to a whole new expression. There is more to life than grumbling about what we don't have, especially when we have so much Life to celebrate. God seems interested in partying—and who are we to argue? The world is the showcase for that celebration—and the celebration has an open-ended invitation.
Mike Hoy
To JG in WI: thanks for your post! I'm definitely more of a grumbler than a listener right now. Thanks for unclogging my ears.
LF
Who puts 99 sheep in jeopardy in order to take the risk that one might be found? No one who is trying to run a livestock business! Who turns their whole house upside down, and lights a lamp, using up precious oil, in order to search for a small amount of money and then, when it is found, throws a party? No one! It makes no sense to spend so much for such a small return. But this, Jesus tells his hearers, is how God acts. The focus is not the sheep and the coin but on the "foolish" shepherd and the "ridiculous" woman.
The economy of God is clearly different from that of the Pharisees and the scribes. They are shocked that Jesus would give his time and attention to those they considered worthless. In the economy of God, however, these who are "worth-less" are the very ones who will inherit the kingdom Jesus came to preach (Lk 6.20). This kingdom of God will be an upside-down world where one sheep is worth spending the energy normally reserved for 100, where one coin is worth total domestic disruption and expenditure, and where one sinner receives a royal party normally reserved for VIPs.
The Pharisees and the scribes perhaps understood, in keeping with many in first-century Middle Eastern cultures, that wealth and good fortune were a sign of God's blessing and that poverty was a sign of a person's sin. Not only does Jesus upset this understanding, he tells a story that puts God in the role first of a shepherd, a particularly despised class of labourers within first-century Jewish culture and then, even more shockingly, in the role of one from the least powerful and most inferior class in the contemporary culture, a woman! No wonder the gospel that Jesus proclaimed was seen as good news to the poor (Lk 4.18). It would hardly have been seen as good news for those in power!
"This fellow welcome sinners and eats with them."
Our mission is to reach the lost, but in order to do so we must have people who are ministering like Jesus here so that we can minister to them effectively. We need to focus on having the capability to nurture, to celebrate when the lost returned.
How are we doing at assimilating the lost into our existing community? How many people in the church could welcome sinners and eat with them, while NOT conforming/becoming like sinners?
Right now, the church is polarized on two extremes. On the one hand, some feel like, "we welcoming sinners and eat with them, because WE ARE LIVING JUST LIKE THEM".
On the other hand, some feel like, "we are NO LONGER LIVE LIKE THEM, so it's hard to welcome sinners and eat with them."
Both extremes are wrong. The key of connection between these extremes and balance this creative tensions can be found in one word: Grace. Once we fully grasp the grace of God in our lives, we will be compelled to move forward and not behave like the world, but we will also be filled with compassion to move backward and reach the lost world too.
Coho, Midway City.
A guy in town used to be a regular church goer until his wife died. He turned to drink and forgot about God. He was invited into an evangelical church in town and he recommitted his life to Christ all over again, and he meant it. He is a beacon of Christ for the entire community now. But nobody will forget his past life as a drunk. It follows him like a tattoo on his back. When do you get to be received back into the community as you are now, not as you once were? God receives, but do others ever really let you back in without prejudice?
KHC
I was surprised at the strong emotional level of this week's discussion. Who is God to us? Loving and caring, or chastizing us? I guess it's a very personal question...
Let me tell you, that one time I saw a shepherd retrieve his stray flock, he was using his staff to whack the most stubborn sheep and get them on the right track (and he made good use of the nipping sheep dog as well). it's the old theological controversy: does "God use the law to drive us to Christ" and the gospel (translates: does God break our leg and then makes us dependent on God's love), which is Martin Luther's understanding? Or does the message of love and grace and forgiveness come first and prepare us to face God's law (Karl Barth)? Though I am a Lutheran, I like Barth's theology more. However, God's law is still a reality (and the law can be summarized in: love God and your neighbor...)
Germanpastor in CA
KHC - your comment echoes the great scandal that grace is. By grace, this man's past does not exist and his new life is all that matters. Too often, we focus on the past.
There was a man who was a hated miser who despised all charity and Christmas especially.
There was a man who knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.
They are both called Ebenezer Scrooge.
When we speak of Scrooge, what image first comes to mind? The hateful miser, or the man whose charity saved the life of Tiny Tim?
Does it help us to remember that "Ebenezer" means "stone of help"? (1 Samuel 7:12)
Yeah, I know it's September - the illustration fits anyway.
JG in WI
Germanpastor, that person was no shepherd, but a
businessman getting his inventory in place.
For KHC. when a young kitten had to be removed from his mother to spend a week at the vet's, the mother was very upset at his return. He smelled funny and didn't seem right to her. She wouldn't nurse him until he started to lose his medicine smell. We want to check people out too to ensure they belong where they are and that they pass all our criteria for acceptance. Until then they can hang around but not get too close. They can watch from afar, but we won't feed them what they are hungry for.
Anon.
Are these texts really about being lost and found? This is of course the traditional way of reading them and I am sure many a fine sermon has been preached about God’s desire to reach out to those who have yet to be found by God. Yet I wonder. Could not this parable be more Jesus trying to open the eyes of the Pharisees to the inclusiveness of God’s Kingdom? He wants them to see a radical inclusiveness that seeks to bring in those who they have deemed unredeemable (sinners and tax collectors) They would never seek the one sheep hopelessly lost in the wilderness or the one small coin hopelessly lost in the cracks and dirt of the floor, but God and Jesus do We give up on people. God doesn’t. God wants everyone in. In addition, we have a connection between the shepherd and the sheep and the woman and the coin. The sheep is his sheep and the coin is her coin. Jesus is trying to create community and the interconnectedness of all. When we invite others into the community we are not inviting a stranger or an outsider, we are inviting someone who belongs to us. We are the ones who become richer and stronger. It is not maybe what we offer visitors, but what they offer to us that matters the most. Think what would happen if every visitor was seen as your lost sheep that has finally been found or your lost coin that has finally turned up? Would there not be great rejoicing? Just something to think about. revdrdave
As the man was baptized in the river this fall, many of the people on the bank clapped and cheered. Who was the baptized man? He was one whose cigarette started one of the terrible fires in British Columbia that destroyed so many homes and businesses. Who were the people who clapped and cheered? Some of those who had lost everything in that fire?
Not to label this man as a sinner but to show that there can be rejoicing and forgiveness. LGB
Luther said somewhere, "Gold is gold, even if worn on the neck of a harlot." A gold coin that rolls away and gets stuck in dirt is helpless to free itself, and looks like just one more dust bunny. It takes the Searcher to truly see the value in it, tenderly pick it up and clean it off so that it can shine.
The Searcher - both the risk-taking shepherd and the ridiculous woman - make us think, "Nobody would really do that. Nobody would leave 99 sheep for the sake of one. Nobody would have a party just for having found a coin." That is absolutely right: nobody but God would do these things.
I think there's a Lyle Lovett song on this theme. It's hilarious. It starts out sounding like one of those sanctimonious "I'm-faithful-even-though-you're-a-cheater" country songs, then takes a twist:
"Who keeps on trusting you, when you've been cheating, spending your nights on the town?
"Who keeps on saying that he still wants you, when you're through running around?
"Who keeps on loving you, when you've been lying, saying 'things aren't as they seem'?
"Well God does, but I don't! And God will, but I won't! That's the difference between God and me!"
Only God could be so faithful.
LF
Lf wondered what could be the message for a multi-cultural inclusive church here. Mine is also a multi-cultural, and relatively inclusive church. We can always learn to be more inclusive, of different ages, theologies, as well as ethnic backgrounds. But for the truly inclusive church, maybe the message is about how we can help others to feel found, to be welcomed.
DGin NYC
Anon,
God does whip us from time to time as a measure of discipline. History of Israelites in the OT underscored that tenet. Don't let the hard time with your earthly mother effect your understanding of the perfect Eternal Father's image.
Respectably disagree with your view, Coho.
Coho.
I must disrespectfully disagree with your comment to anon. You used the word whip in conjuction with God. Perhaps, you meant God disciplines, God chastized, God instructs, God corrects, even God punishes, all of which can be done without the physical violence that the word 'whip' conjures up.
If anon had a yardstick broken across her butt (if that wasn't an exaggeration) then, her mother was out of control. God is never out of control in God's relationship with us. I had a father like that and I'm sure he thought he was doing me good with the "whuppings" I got. Unlike anon, my spouse and I had children and I never whipped them. I punished them and corrected them, but I never beat them.
But was really amazes me is that some would think the shepherd could whip the sheep in this parable. Think about what connects these so that Christ told them and Luke wrote them down. Something lost was found and not given up for lost--joy over someone lost who is recovered, joy over one sinner who changes.
Contrast that with the attitude of the Pharisees who consider some lost and worthless and didn't lose any sleep over it.
That's what this is about--not whether a shepherd beats the sheep.
Anon, we may be soulmates
Auggie in TN
I wonder how many stay lost because they fear the broken leg or whatever punishment God will impose. These parables are not about our past, but God's future for us-- hence the rejoicing, the glorious reunion and recovery.
Before we can follow biblical precepts and be righteous and all that other good stuff, it seems to me we must be found, we must experience God's saving, finding, recovering, grace-filled love.
Hook
Hook and others,
I like that, God's future for us (and others). With all the cynicism and pessimism in the world today that penetrates many of our churches I would rather find hope in any of these texts.
This coming Sunday is the proverbial "Rally Sunday." The (re)beginning of the program year. Many years ago I lead the congregations I serve(d) into "dumping" rally day and focusing on rather "Renewal." "Renewal Sunday" is so much better, spiritual/theological than "Rally" (sounds like the pre-game warm up, where are the pomp pomp girls?) Plus the dictionary definition fits so well. Also it will not be lost on me that this weekend is the 9/11 anniversary (?). Some time ago, looking at the text I decided along these lines then to use the theme:"Sweeping Joy" I like the image of cleaning out some of the dirt, to find the precious and valuable. Isn't that what we all need to do? We have dirt clinging to us or on the floor and it needs to be swept away but in the process we look for and find that which is worth recovering and saving and CELEBRATING. It can take off from there.
I did an opening "imaging" prayer last week which was on a whim and it surprized me as to how many people said they liked it. I asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine Jesus standing in front of them. I told them to imagine him reaching out to you and touching you, and as he did this you could feel the tension, your burdens, your troubles, worries, fears leaving your body. Then I said as you feel the weight of the world flowing from you to him now you feel in replace of that his strength, love, peace, hope, joy flowing back into you." I forget actually where i went from there but boy did it set the mood for worship! This week with the sweeping joy idea I am thinking of doing something similar but this time I will ask everyone to image being in a house, walking through its rooms. It can be your current house or the house of your youth. Imagine it empty. You are going from room to room but then in one of those rooms you find something that was left behind, something you have forgotten about but is of great worth to you, a memory, a symbol, etc.
Just a few thoughts to see if any of you have similar ones or if it brings other ideas.
OMG
JG in WI - I just had to chuckle on this one: "Someone's Listening, someone's grumbling." It reminded me of "Kum Bah Yah." Someone's grumbling, Lord, Kum Bah Yah ...
We're still getting the Frances drizzles here in South Atlanta. And my home phone is still out.
Sally
True Story (although I am telling it second hand)
We have a church camp in the mountains of central Montana. Along this long gravel road are many cabins and a few ranches and in the high country are some wonderful grazing areas for sheep. The ranchers often drive the sheep up into the grazing areas a couple of times a year. A couple of years ago we were at camp and noticed a lone sheep wandering up and down the road. Knowing where the sheep graze and guessing correctly that the herd had recently been moved up there we decided to do the ranchers a favor and drive up there and let them know where their lost sheep was. The surprising part of the story was the reaction of the ranchers/shepherds. Instead of being grateful for the information and going back for the lost sheep they informed us that the sheep was already dead. It may be physically alive right now, but to them it was dead and within a day or two the coyotes would kill it. They explained that any sheep that falls behind is obviously a weak sheep and would mostly likely continue to get separated in the high country and so it was not worth their effort to go after it. It was already dead.
I’m glad God is different!
Steve in Wyoming
hmmmm.... I think what we need to decide is whether these parables are about #1) self-righteousness, #2) the lost, or #3) a little of both.
I'm inclined towards "the lost ..." as the primary theme. Jesus is indicating (and thanks for the Craddock commentary that got me thinking in this direction) that "the lost" are the most important.
While it's true that "those who need no repentance," are those who likely need it the most, I believe Jesus is focusing here on the strays. The lost coin, the stray sheep, and ultimately the persistence of the one who finds the coin or sheep of priceless value.
If we don't view ourselves as "the lost," then where ARE we sitting? Are we the ones who dont' need saving grumbling because Jesus isn't paying enough attention to us? It reminds me of something a church member once told my mom about her preacher (in a grumbling way): "He spends too much time on people in the neighborhood and ignores those of us in the church!"
In other words, "I've been good all along, and you're killing the fatted calf for my errant brother?" or "There are 6 days to heal the six. This one is not one of them!" or "Look at this weirdo; he eats with sinners and tax collectors!" or, to quote a fellow who was in the ministerial association with me, "You're known by the company you keep" (as he took hostile measures to oust the Mormon from our group).
Sally in GA
The sheep got lost because nobody noticed or nobody cared. The coin was dropped by the woman and not searched for until it was well covered by the dirt and straw on the floor. If she had bent over to find it immediately, her chances of finding it easily were vastly improved.
It's important to notice when people begin to leave the fold. Did they wander off without anybody caring, or were they dropped and nobody stopped to pick them up?
We tend to let the bleaters go without much sorrow.
And the people who don't seem so significant to us at the moment are free to be dropped and sit unnoticed. But suddenly, when we need board members or teachers or volunteers in the kitchen, we call them up and tell them how very missed they have been, please come and let us celebrate your importance to what we're doing here. How much better it would be if we kept good contact with our own, watched to see if they are rolling off the edge before they drop out of sight. When we seek them out and bring them back in, they must know it is a sincere welcome, and we must do it immediately upon their disappearance.
This is a job for the congregation as a whole, not just the pastor. We are our brother's and sister's keepers.
Your 9/7 post really hit me and a situation in my own congregation right now. We have a man who joined our congregation who was in prison for 20 years for various bank robberies. While in prison he murdered a man with a knife who tried to have sex with him and make him his woman. While in prison he met Jesus Christ and his life was changed.
He came to our church wanting to share Christ and trying to get our frozen chosen off their butts and out sharing Jesus with others. Many could not accept this "sinner" and the result is that they would not accept/participate in many efforts he put forward trying to get our church to evangelize. They could not past his past to see the good he was doing. The result is that he is leaving our church a very discouraged man. Please pray for our frozen chosen. PH in OH
When Jesus goes looking for the lost sheep, he leaves the 99 TOGETHER while he goes. I like to think about that. Especially when put together with the idea that sheep stay together by listening to each other's bleats. Basically, the only reason we are not ALL lost, is because we have stuck together and stayed close to Jesus. The one who is "lost" might not be bad -- just wandering off somewhere, not paying any attention to what is important. I like to think of Jesus saying "Okay, you 99 stay here together now. I have to go get our friend who has wandered off." Just musing...
Pastor Janel in ND
Do sheep only have one shepherd, or are there several people in charge on a watch? It's just a question, not a comparison to Jesus having any co-Saviors. With whom would Jesus leave us in order to go seek the lost? With the Church, no doubt.
That makes us responsible for each other.
PH in OH, regarding the ex-con. Sometimes the goodness of the people in this community is overwhelming. A man was convicted of child molestation, served his time. Now he's out of prison, is following all the rules of his release and is trying to rebuild his life. The town is letting him do that. He is building a new reputation because the folks around here think he deserves that new chance. Wow. And they say this isn't a community where people are Christians, because so many don't belong to a church. I'll take these unchurched over the hypocritical pew warmers any hour of the day.
Anon.
Sally in GA
I think the parable is about the seeker.
Pr.del in Ia
I think this passage is about "finding" and about "joy." Look how many references there are to joy or "rejoice" - at least 5. Everybody's "lost" at some point - and God takes joy in restoration, reconciliation, new beginnings. In God's eyes, we are all priceless treasure - so that God even does foolish, wasteful things to bring us back.
We in the church refuse to sink to God's level of foolishness to help retrieve the lost. That says something about our view of those "outside" the fold. It also says something about our churches attitudes. What is mainly missing in my church? - JOY, JOY, JOY. If finding and reconciling can do that, maybe we should try it. Not only will heaven rejoice - maybe we will too.
Off subject, I am a little amused (and somewhat troubled) by the parental discipline discussion. There is a great difference between discipline and abuse or violence. Not that all OT standards are appropriate or even theologically sound, but God does discipline those "he" loves (sorry, just quoting the gender biased text). Abuse and violence should not be tolerated and I hurt for those who put up with it (or did in the past). But please don't act self-righteous toward legitimate parental discipline. I am thankful my parents loved me enough to discipline me; and pain, though not necessarily physical, is always involved. The pain and wreckage I witness (and try to deal with in ministry)from homes and families with no loving discipline is astounding. Let us pray for the abused and the undisciplined, both of whom are missing love.
Sorry for the tangent.
Blessings,
RevKinOK
Michelle, this is an excruciatingly long post, and others may not want to read it. Heck, you may not want to either, which I fully understand. I can see we disagree on this subject of how God deals with his anger toward our sinfulness, how he corrects us, and that's OK. But I had to respond anyway.
What exactly did the sheep, oxen and people learn from being hit? Did it change them one iota? Did the sheep know why they were being hit? Did the
moneychangers suddenly realize the folly of thievery in the Temple and vow to never do it again? I bet it taught them nothing that a big tweet on a whistle and a few well-chosen words wouldn't teach. Was teaching a lesson Jesus' point, or was his point to be the baddest guy in Jerusalem who carried the biggest stick? Is drawing blood or leaving marks on the flesh of the people who make you mad the way to teach, even if the Son of God is the teacher? People tend to listen better when they're not assessing their wounds.
I don't have a clue how you would explain a dying child to a grieving parent. This is the will of God? This is how God deals with sinfulness? No, of course not, I don't believe you'd even think that! God does not punish our bodies because we have sinned, or because we have walked away from him and got lost because we liked our own path better. He speaks to our souls and humbles us there when we have sinned. Mother would have got a lot farther with me by talking to me about my hurting her and offending God with my sinfulness than she did with her yard stick. I was listening to the yard stick's whizzing sound as it flew in the air toward my skin. I was not listening to anything my mother had to say at that time, if indeed she was talking at all.
My reaction does speak to the text. Jesus brings back the wayward one without harshness or *teaching it a lesson*. He deals with our sinfulness with love and compassion - because HE took the brunt of it for us - with a heart full of peace, with understanding that we are not perfect, but in need of guidance. You don't get guided very well when you're bending over staring at the floor with your butt in the air (or getting it snapped by a whip) then sent into isolation for hours on top of that, with no chance to talk or make amends. Guidance comes when you are free to look at the teacher in the eyes and know that his heart truly loves you and he wants better for you, to talk it through, to make amends, to be immediately restored to grace. Or is it by grace? True learning comes from being led into what is right by a trusted teacher who will correct rather than punish. My father went to school in a place where an incorrect answer meant a slap on the palm with a leather strap. That is the honest truth. He remembers that more than anything else about his schooling. Being wrong hurt in a very physical way. I thank God teaching has progressed to the point where a teacher will say No, Johnny, that is not the correct answer, but you will find the answer over here. Please study up! (By the way, because of that school experience, my father never once laid a hand on me. He learned as a young child it was not the way to teach a child what you want them to know. I only learned this about him when I was an adult, well beyond spanking age)
This text is about rejoicing at the great love of God for all his children, even the wayward ones, the ones with the wrong answers. He greets our carelessness, wanderings, stubborness,
sinfulness with anger and concern, yes, but does not beat us up about it. In his anger, he looks to the Cross and remembers.... my Son died for that sin, too. We are forgiven even before we recognize we have any need for forgiveness. (my thanks to the United Methodists for that jewel of theological wisdom.) That is the Good News of the Jesus I worship, the Great Shepherd who searches for us in the deepest ravines and reels us in and guides us back home and deals with us with patience and forebearance and does a damn sight better job of it than anybody, better even than God did with his sword of justice in the OT. Even God can change to better methods of dealing with us, immutable as he is. All those prophetic threats and punishments didn't seem to phase the Israelites much, at least for long. They were contrite only as long as the punishment lasted, then went their merry way again. They were not learning by threats and punishments, and it could be said that they often did right only to avoid further punishment, not because they were any more committed to following God. That is not what God is interested in. He wants commitment based on honoring him for who he is and what he has done - honor and thanksgiving, not avoiding the rod. So God turned to another way. Jesus Christ was his perfect and ultimate answer. God wouldn't punish us for our sins, he would punish himself, bear the pain himself. Jesus would bring a new message - God does not blister us, even when we deserve it. God finds us in our state of being lost and celebrates that we are safely brought home. We are loved, gently and fully. And in response, I am more careful to be committed to Jesus, and through him, God. I am more committed to turning sticks into hugs, scoldings into discussions, anger into forgiveness, all because God does the same with me. I am more willing to celebrate when God gives a huge blessing to somebody I don't think deserves it, because I don't deserve one single blessing I have received from God's hand. (That said, I still didn't want to risk ever hitting a person entrusted to my care. It could rear its ugly head even when I tried to push it back down.)
By the way, Sheep may not have good eyesight, but they have great hearing. God provided them with some defense mechanisms so they could detect predators coming into the flock. The noise in that Temple alone would have scared them into a panic mode, scattering them all over the place. And, another thought. Those oxen and sheep were in the Temple as their last stop before being sold and going to the altar as the sacrifice. They were not under the care of any shepherd who cared about them as a flock raised from lambdom. In his anger with the moneychangers, Jesus turned the animals loose from the uncaring, non-attention of the moneychangers. While that was not his main concern, I know, it is probably what happened. Now the moneychangers suddenly cared, and had to go out and corral up those loose sheep and oxen, caring that they got every one of them back. The lost sheep and oxen of the moneychangers, sought by them only to be back in line for sale, were not headed for a restored and redeemed life. The moneychangers cared when their livlihood was threatened. Jesus cares and retrieves his beloved sheep not for his own sake, but for ours. He takes their place on the altar, setting them free for good.
We all see God, the same God, through our own filters. Everyone sees God based on what they know as well as what they need God to be. I see
God through the filter of somebody who needs to feel safe, even in my worst moments of sin. And I feel called to help others feel safe in Jesus because it is a brutal world out there. My ministy will focus upon the knowledge that no matter what we have done, we can face God without fear in our confessions, because he is too busy being joyful to
remember where he left the whip. Actually, he left it at Calvary, and he's not going back to get it.
He has promised us peace, peace that surpasses all understanding, not as the world gives peace, but God's perfect, forgiving, rejoicing at our return,
celebrating us even when we don't deserve it peace.
Anon.
I like the cow illustration, it could illustrate how our time is nibbled away and we end up wanderng far from the barn.
I am using Horton Hears Who for the Childrens sermon. At first only one can hear the Who. Then other do too. But if it were for the one looking for the one small voice, the Who wouldn't be found.
next, this is my own home made groaner joke!
What does the lost sheep have in common with Scrooge?
Give up?
BAA humbug! ( Scrooge too was lost)
Nancy in Wi. ( going on a week retreat next week! I am preaching off lectionary too. God continually blesses me through this forum.)
topofmyheadthinking
Your entry about sheep and coins not really knowing they are lost and the church being full of "shepherds who will not go out looking and sweeping" got me to thinking off the topofmyhead. Is the church so full of shepherds or is it full of lost coins and sheep that don't really know they are lost? Maybe that one lost sheep left the 99 thinking he/she was out to look for lost sheep. Truly topofthehead thinking that probably has not much to do with the point of this parable of a shepherd who when everyone else had packed up and gone home didn't and doesn't give up looking for the lost sheep.
One Lost and Found Sheep
There's good stuff on this site. Thanks to all the contributors. I will be using the image/mataphor of the "Amber Alert" in my sermon to illustrate the importance of finding the one lost sheep. - Victor in Fort Wayne
I am going with the Joy theme. To give a party that seems to be worth more than a straying sheep, a lost coin, or a prodigal son is hard for us to imagine. Certainly the grouches who saw no joy in a sabboth healing or an outreach to sinners would have felt that a party was out of place as did the older brother. I am going with the Title: "You Are Worth A Party". How many do not think themselves worth a party. I want to begin with the sketch that Red Buttons did at Roasts. "Never Got a Dinner". "Some of the greatest people in the history of the world, never got a dinner. Adam who once said to George Burns, Dad I need an increase in my allowance, never got a dinner.... Why are we giving this person a dinner. Does anyone have any more texts from those sketche? jrbnrnc
yes. and there is more than sheep and coins here. Its about RELATIONSHIP. Restoration of relationship. The coin to its owner AND to the other coins on the string, the sheep to its shephered AND to the rest of the herd.
9/11 is so painfully about losses. Loss of life. Loss of livelihood. Loss of relationships. Loss of trust between nations.
Looking at the world today, I wonder if there has been any partying in heaven lately. Heard any stories of reconciled relationships?
nahhhhh. ignore this. its too topofmyheadthinking.
