TRINITY III
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be alway acceptable unto Thee, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
From the Gospel: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
We have all had the distress of losing something; you remember where you thought you put it, but when you go back, it is not there.
As I get older, I find myself having this experience more frequently.
It is distressing because it always eventuates in a major search, often a frantic one if the lost item is something I need right then, (like car keys.)
For me, at least, the unpleasantness is heightened by anger at myself for being irresponsible, the fear I will not find the thing, and a vague unease that losing things is not a good sign.
I have discovered that prayer helps; a few minutes of prayer allows my mind to quiet enough to remember, (or perhaps better, for the Lord to remind me,) where I left the missing thing.
As awful as losing things is, finding them is even more joyous.
When I find the keys, or whatever, tremendous flood of relief, peace, and gratitude sweeps over me.
Even if I am going to be late, I still try to take a minute for a quick “Thank you, Jesus!” prayer.
Luke 15 begins with the Pharisees, reinforced by some scribes in this case, observing Jesus and judging him negatively. 2
(As an aside, the “scribes” are neither a religious sect nor a political party, but rather a profession, clerks, men whose primary occupation was writing or copying documents for others, although they provided other related services, such as serving as witnesses, etc.)
It is possible that the Pharisees brought along the scribes to make a record of Jesus’ doings and teachings, to use that record against him later.
The behavior they commented negatively on was Jesus’ willingness to welcome and even eat with those “publicans (tax collectors) and sinners” who came to hear him speak.
“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” (Luke 15:1-2)
(By the way, “murmuring” is always a very bad thing in the Scriptures; don’t do it.
If you have something negative to say, say it out loud and to the person, in private, and to no one else! But I digress.)
The Pharisees strictly avoided any contact with publicans and sinners and all such people; a good Pharisee would rather go hungry than eat with a tax collector or some other notorious sinner.
Like so many wrong religious ideas, there is a kernel of wisdom in their practice.
As Saint Paul taught us, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners,” which the NASB renders as, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (I Cor. 15:33)
This is no joke.
We are social animals; it is difficult for us not to pick up words, thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes from those with whom we spend time.
If we spend a lot of time with worldly people, we are likely to be influenced negatively.
The old saying about dogs and fleas comes to mind. 3
Of course, the converse is true as well; if we spend time with Christian people, we are likely to be influenced positively, which is one reason God ordained the Church.
So, avoiding sinful people is a good idea, in and of itself.
The problem comes in when we are trying to reach those same people with the Gospel.
Of course, in Jesus’ case, this was not an issue; he was one of those rare people who could walk through a pigsty and come out with clean feet.
Most of us are not so much immune to evil influences.
The important thing, when for the sake of reaching out in love with the Gospel we spend time with people of dubious character, is to remember 1) why we are there and 2) to pray to love them enough to risk being different from them.
The publicans and sinners who spent time with Jesus did not feel put down by him, but they certainly knew he was not going to come down to their level, they were going to have to come up to his; the fact that he loved them made the effort both attractive and possible.
The Pharisee’s judgment of him for spending time with sinful people led Jesus to give a series of teachings based on losing and finding.
In our Gospel Lesson for today we have the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin; the chapter concludes with the ultimate lost and found story, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, of which we will hear on another day.
All these parables are quite short and their point is clear.
The parable of the lost sheep is marvelous in its brevity, “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more 4
than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:4-7)
The parable of the lost coin is even more concise: “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:8-10)
Both these little parables go right to the heart of the Pharisees’ objections.
In essence Jesus is saying, “look, if we get that worked up over a lost sheep or a lost coin, ought we not be more concerned for a lost human being?”
He is telling them they should rejoice, not condemn, when lost people are found.
This theme of rejoicing in heaven emphasizes this same point, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)
If God and his angels rejoice when a sinner repents, the Pharisees, who claim to love God so much, should rejoice with them, not sit looking down their proud noses at the one who seeks the lost.
There is for us, I think, more to take away from this lesson than just another example of Jesus besting the Pharisees, as delightful as that is, in and of itself.
The first take away is what our attitude should be towards the lost.
The examples of the shepherd looking for his lost sheep and the woman her coin give us a model for seeking lost people.
Both seekers are diligent; finding that which is lost is their first priority.
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” 5
Or again,” what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?”
Neither treats finding the lost thing as something they’ll get around to when they have time, nor do their efforts flag until the lost has been found.
They keep looking until it is found.
The point is that they very much value the thing which is lost.
This raises an interesting question.
In recent years, it has become very incorrect, sometimes even in Christian circles to suggest that what men believe determines their eternal destiny.
The notion seems to be that whatever religion or sect a man professes, or even if he professes none, so long as he tries to be nice, God is somehow obliged to grant him an entrance into eternal blessedness.
This is a notion for which I can find absolutely no Scriptural basis and indeed much in Scripture which says the exact opposite.
Now, if we really do believe faith in Christ is essential to salvation, and if we do value those who do not know Christ, should we not be at least as diligent in trying to reach them with the Gospel as a man seeking a sheep or a woman seeking a coin?
Are they not of much more value than a sheep or a coin?
The second takeaway would be when we are the one who are lost.
It is easy, far too easy, to get lost in this big wide world.
There are things which distract us: possessions, entertainments, new ideas, hobbies, family matters, work, and a host of other things, most of them quite good things, but things which compete with God in our lives.
Like the little lost sheep, we don’t set out to get lost, but sometimes we nibble our way lost, a tasty clump of grass here, an interesting plant over there, and soon enough we look around and the flock and the shepherd are out of sight. 6
When we look at our situation, we become fearful.
Perhaps, like Adam and Eve, we try to hide ourselves from God, fearful of his wrath.
Will God forgive me and claim me once again as his own?
This parable speaks to us.
We have nothing to fear; the shepherd is seeking us.
All we need to do is come out of hiding and let ourselves be found.
Nor need we fear his wrath, “for when he hath found [his sheep,] he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
The last take away, for me, is the whole idea of loss and restoration.
Like most of us, I have lost a lot of things I greatly value, things which will not be restored to me in this life: my wife, my cat, my youth, my hair, just to mention a few.
What gets me through the day (and the nights) is the idea that none of these things are really lost, they are just in a place I can’t get to, right now.
But one day, by God’s grace, the Shepherd will tenderly lay me on his shoulders and take me to that place.
Then indeed, there will be rejoicing in Heaven.
Amen.
And now we ascribe, as is most justly due, unto Thee, O Lord, all might, majesty, power, and dominion, both now and forever. Amen.