Luke 15. 1-10
Lost coins and lost sheep do not return.
They’re found.
by Gretchen Shults, deaconess
In the July issue of Living Lutheran, came the article on “What’s Happening in Preaching Courses?” It stated that preaching “always starts with the text … The core of the Christian faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s quite literally one of the greatest stories in all of human history ….” It is the “gospel of grace, forgiveness and love—about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, who loved us all the way to the cross and back again.” The article said that “Research is clear — people want to be in a more conversational and relational preaching.” Less notes. Additional eye contact. Natural presence. New and engaging ways to bring the gospel alive for the 21st century. The only thing I could say was, “God, be merciful to me, a deaconess!”
Now, to the text: Our first parable is, perhaps, one of the best remembered and most loved pictures of God’s grace in action. Helping us hear the greatest story ever told are a few focus words, a picture my mother gave me when I was very young, and a “silver” coin.
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. Why would they interrupt their day and risk ridicule to listen to Jesus? They found in Jesus someone who cared deeply for them. He welcomed them. He ate with them. The Pharisees and scribes drew a line and grumbled (an aside: the word ‘grumble’ is a rumble of superiority). “This Jesus,” they said, “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Yes, Jesus ate with people whose lives were not about keeping the Law. The Pharisees interpreted scripture as rules-to-be-kept. Obedience to the letter-of-the-law was a must. However, Jesus stepped across their line to reclaim the lost!
Jesus did not yell or lash out at the grumblers. instead, he reached for something familiar and told them a parable … or two … or more! He spoke in the language of images in order to address the struggles within them. He said, “What would you do if you had a hundred sheep and one got lost? Frantically, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine alone to go up and down the wilderness seeking the lost one? And when you, finally, find it, wouldn’t you lovingly scoop it up? And bursting with joy, wouldn’t you shout the good news to everyone? Rejoice with me? My lost sheep is found!” (In the middle of the word ‘rejoice’ is the deep joy that cannot be contained or destroyed)
We can see this parable as the good shepherd risking his life to find the one that is lost. (lost sheep do not return; they must be found) Jesus said, ”I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The had that holds our hand has been scarred by the nails of the cross. No matter where our lives might lead, no matter how far off track we might go, Jesus will search us out and love us still!
And we can see this parable as the hilarious shepherd who gets more of a kick out of the one lost sheep than out of the ninety-nine who had the good sense NOT to get lost, in the firs place! (ouch) When I say lost sheep don’t return, they’re found, I’m saying we’re all lost! God’s grace pursues us and find us! “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!” We cannot save ourselves!
The only thing I know about sheep and shepherds comes from scripture and my mother. One of my earliest childhood memories is my mother teaching me to sing …
I am Jesus’ little lamb; ever glad at heart I am;
for my shepherd gently guides me,
knows my needs, and well provides me,
loves me every day the same; even calls me by my name.
My confirmation verse reinforced that promise …
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
But back to the text … Jesus tells another parable. “What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one? Won’t she light up the place and, in a panic, turn the house upside-down, sweeping and searching until she finds it? Still trying to catch her breath, she calls everyone she knows to come and have a party! The lost is found!
Apparently, Jesus did not have our hang-ups about who God is. The story of a frazzled woman sweeping for the lost coin, often gets swept under the rug. Here we see the woman in the “God” position, looking for a valuable coin. Jesus treated women with kindness and respect. In his day, women were considered to be property with no rights or inheritance. Maybe the coin was part of the bride’s necklace or her lifelong savings. Without that coin, she was nothing. Here we see the lifegiving action of our compassionate God, painstakingly removing the debris of our lives to reclaim us. Coins do not return; they are found.
Why is God so determined to find us? To bring us home? To make us his own? God’s costly commitment jumps off the screen at us! Luther explained it this way … “[At great cost,] He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may be his own ….”
When I went to college, my mother sewed name tags in every piece of my clothing. These were handstitched with incredible love. I don’t think she was afraid that my clothing would get lost. I think she knew how lost I was going to feel without here. She wanted me to remember that I was valuable to her. She was reminding me of the good shepherd “who loves me every day the same and even calls me by my name!”
Each of you can remember when you feel like the lost sheep or the overlooked coin carried to safekeeping. It’s good to know, especially now, how totally God is devoted to us! Our baptism assures us that we have a permanent place in God’s heart. We are marked with the cross of Christ, forever. The whole of God’s story comes together as we are gathered around Word and Sacrament. We participate in an event – “given and shed for you.” As this small congregation struggles, we know God has not forgotten us or overlooked us. We are becoming his NEW creation! Therefore, we go on our way rejoicing and trusting God’s grace and love! Amen!