Luke 15:1-10
We join Luke again as he continues his record of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and we arrive at the magnificent and unique chapter 15.
We could call this chapter the ‘gospel of lost things.’ It is a series of three parables beginning with today’s passage on the lost sheep, and the lost coin, and concludes with the parable of the lost (or prodigal) son which we spoke about in Lent.
So today we are looking at the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin and they have much in common.
Firstly, the main concern of both these parables is not so much on what is needed from the individuals or things that are lost, but the priorities and concerns of God. The lost sheep and the lost coin are, in themselves, utterly passive.
The focus in the parables is the joy of the one searching and finding that which was lost; and the rejoicing is ‘in heaven, amongst the angels.’
The focus is on God himself; he is the pursuing shepherd and the anxiously searching woman who longs for us to be found again. It is God who takes all the initiative in today’s two parables.
Secondly, they are both a single thing lost out of a larger group. One Sheep out of a hundred and one coin out of ten. God‘s gaze rests on every individual, even though we are one of many.
God’s concern for the many is actually made up of God’s concern for every single individual – even though one sheep looks very much like another, and one coin looks very much like another.
In the parable it is the single sheep and coin whose importance is underlined by the great effort made to find it.
However, just as in the Kingdom of God, once the lost thing is found – it immediately becomes part of the greater whole. It doesn’t ever loose is unique ‘oneness’, but as part of the greater group it contributes to something of infinitely greater value.
One hundred sheep has greater value than one sheep.
One of the strangest things we see in the mystery and miracle of salvation is that we can only be found by Jesus as a single sheep. Yet when we are found we immediately become part of a larger family group – the body of Christ. This in no way means we lose our individuality.
We are scattered, but one. This is why we say in the Eucharist ‘As this bread was once many grains which have been gathered together and made one bread: so may your church be gathered from the ends of the earth into your kingdom.’
Which brings us to the third thing the two parables have in common. Great effort went into finding them. This would not have happened if the shepherd or the woman had thought – “it’s only one sheep, I have ninety-nine others, or its only one coin, I have nine more.
Our Lord certainly doesn’t think like that. We are so important to him that he literally moves heaven and earth so we may be found.
He came to earth in human form – God himself as shepherd and servant to find us. The shepherd in the parable goes even further into the wilderness, and the woman searches and sweeps the whole house top to bottom.
Everything stops until the lost thing is found – that is the priority over everything else.
Fourthly, they call in their friends and neighbours to celebrate. Having found the lost thing, they are filled with joy and must tell people. When we are bursting with good news, we too, love to tell our friends and neighbours and celebrate with them.
Finally, both parables conclude in a similar way. In the parable of the lost sheep Jesus says, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (v.7).
The parable of the lost coin concludes with “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (v.10). Jesus does this to make it crystal clear that he is not actually talking about animals or bits of metal, but human souls.
Let’s just backtrack a little to the beginning of the passage: who is Jesus talking to here?
Today’s passage begins (vv. 1-2) “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So there are two groups here; “Sinners,” and those who obviously didn’t think they were sinners and were grumbling because this man called Jesus seemed to prefer hanging out with sinners and sharing meals with them.
In other words those who were lost and those who seemed assured that they were not lost at all.
The pointy end of both the parables is the great rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents, which is another way of saying “being found.” Repentance is they key here, which can only come when we know whether we are lost or not.
The English word repentance implies contrition and remorse. The Greek word translated as repentance (metanoia) includes these things but is more to do with a permanent turning away, a change of mind, direction and purpose - a shift in how we perceive and respond to life.
When God finds us when we are lost, our usual ways of perceiving and responding to life are transformed. The Holy Spirit is then given free reign by our repentance to bring us into all fullness.
At issue here are two different types of responses to Jesus and God’s reign. Sinners repent because they know they are lost and thus can avail themselves of the transformation that comes with God’s finding them.
By contrast, the righteous do not need to repent (or change their ways) presumably because they don’t think they are lost. They don’t need God to find them; they are justified either in their own eyes or in the eyes of others.
The purpose of these parables is to place us in a position where we are forced to identify with either of these two positions. Lost or not lost.
When we are lost but then found we are not justified in the eyes of anyone but the Lord God Almighty – who could therefore be against us?
As the writer of Amazing Grace puts it “I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” When our way of perceiving and responding to life are transformed, so are all our senses – we can now truly see.
The thing we now see is how incredibly vast is the love the Father has for us. The extravagance of it. We also finally understand the cost paid by God for us so we could be found. Finally, we get to come to our true home – the Kingdom of God, which is not complete without us. Our only possible response is Hallelujah, Amen and Amen!
Let me pray ....