Luke 15:1-10
We
lose stuff all the time. The other day, I dropped the back to one of the
earrings I planned to wear. I heard it hit the laminate floor. I moved, and I
heard the back move on the floor, but when I looked, I couldn’t find it. I
finally shook out the rug I was standing on, and the back fell out of it onto
the floor, so I could find it.
The
earring back was lost, through no fault of its own. It was important to me to
find it. Yes, I had other earring backs but it was my goal to find it. I didn’t
throw a party, but I do plan to wear the earrings soon.
Our
Gospel reading today is about things that get lost and searched for. The sheep
in the story was probably a lamb if it was small enough to put on the shepherd’s
shoulder. Easy enough for it to wander away, following the patches of good
grass. It would have been missing for a while, not noticed until the shepherd did
a head count, maybe as herded them into the stone sheepfold. The shepherd
looked everywhere, over the hill and down the valley and among the rocks and
near the stream.
The
woman noticed a coin was missing. Some say it was 10% of all she owned, part of
her dowry. Others say, look, she has a house, maybe she has lots of coins.
Either way, when she missed one, she went looking for it. She swept the house,
moved beds and storage baskets and purification jars and pottery dishes.
The
missing sheep and the lost coin were eventually found, and the owners
celebrated with their neighbors. Notice that the sheep and the coin, and my
earring, did nothing that would be called sinful. They are simply lost.
… Jesus
makes the connection between being lost and being labeled a sinner. Let’s look
at beginning of the Gospel reading. The audience is a group of Pharisees and
scribes. They noticed that Jesus was talking with tax collectors and others labeled
as sinners. “Why is it you welcome these people, and even eat meals with them?!”
Who
are these sinners? Anyone the Pharisees decided didn’t comply with the rules. They
might be people such as prostitutes or thieves. They might be the folks who
lived on the streets, begging for handouts. They might also be people with
missing limbs or who were deaf or blind. These folks were seen as sinful
because of some inherited sin – something an ancestor did that caused them to
be “defective”. Jesus chooses refers to them as lost, and welcomes them,
instead of keeping himself distant from them.
In our
time, the Pharisees might label thieves and murderers as sinners. Who else? Immigrants?
People who worship God differently? People who are addicted to alcohol or drugs?
Some of these people are our family members and friends. They are more likely
to be lost, not sinners.
The
attitude of the Pharisees seems to say that they (the Pharisees) are not
sinners. But you know, and I know, that it is easy to sin. We all have unkind
thoughts about someone else (You shall not bear false witness). We all want
what we can’t afford (You shall not covet). We all occasionally consider
sleeping in on Sunday morning instead of going to worship (Remember the
Sabbath). We all are sinners in need of grace.
… Jesus
tells us the point of these stories: Just as we rejoice when we find what was
lost, so God rejoices when sinners repent. Yet, let’s notice that there is no
mention of punishment for the sinners, merely a hearty welcome home. This is especially
demonstrated in the next story in Luke, the son who took his inheritance and
ran away. Eventually, he realized he was lost, and he returned home, and his
father threw a party for him.
This
is God’s grace. The Pharisees and the disciples struggled with grace. We today
struggle with grace. We want misdeeds to be punished. We believe we have to be good
enough to receive God’s grace. We want to earn brownie points with God. But
grace doesn’t work that way. I often describe grace this way:
There
is nothing you can do to make God love you more. There is nothing you can do to
make God love you less. God may not like what you do, but your actions don’t affect
the love God has for you.
… Jesus’
parables remind us that God seeks out and welcomes home all who are lost,
whether they are sinners or simply lost. When we are in pain, we feel lost.
When we feel no one cares for or about us, we feel lost. When we are seriously
ill, we feel lost. When someone important to us dies, we feel lost.
The
people of Great Britain and around the world are feeling lost, after the death
of Queen Elizabeth. She has been such a constant leader for so many decades
that it is hard to imagine the world without her. We can trust that God knows
our grief, and sends us to each other for comfort and strength.
Today,
many congregations in the ELCA observe God’s Work Our Hands Sunday as a
united effort to reach out to serve those who feel lost. We find ways to reach
out to assist those who are hungry and thirsty, experiencing homelessness, and
so forth. The food we have gathered today will feed hungry students and others
in the community who are hungry and assure them that we care about them. Perhaps
they will feel less lost because of our efforts.
Through
these parables, Jesus wants us to know that all are welcome in God’s reign. No
one is really lost, because God constantly looks for them and wants them to
come home, back into the fold. Today, we are called to be Jesus, seeking and
welcoming all, those who know they are found, and those who feel lost.
If
you are feeling lost, know that God is looking for you, waiting for you to turn
God’s way. If you know you are found, be on the lookout for those who might be
lost, and guide them to the welcome home Jesus offers. Amen
