Lost, Found, and Valued - A Sermon for Sunday September 11, 2022

GOSPEL: Luke 15:1-10

The holy gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
 3So he told them this parable: 4“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7Just 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.
 8“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

This is a welcome change of tone from last week.

If you missed it:

the cost of discipleship is very high.

Commitment and devotion to God

above all else.

Love for God must be greater

than love for even the most cherished people

in our lives.

You cannot be my disciple

if you do not give away all your possessions,

Jesus said.

Yikes.

Compared to today’s Gospel text,

it’s like night and day.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that Jesus’ tone changes

depending on who Jesus is talking to.

Last week Jesus spoke to the crowds

that were travelling with him.

The diverse crowd

has their own reasons for following.

Some are astounded by Jesus’ teaching.

Some desire healing,

or purpose for their lives,

or connection with God.

The crowds travelled with Jesus for self-interested reasons:

that was the crowd seeking out Jesus.

It’s like this gathering of the faithful,

we are here for various reasons,

and we are seeking out Jesus.

Those who seek out Jesus are warned of the cost of discipleship.

The crowd Jesus speaks with in this lesson is different.

You’ve got sinners and tax collectors

hanging out with Jesus,

who not only welcomes them,

but even eats with them!

Can you imagine???

The religious elite grumble.

Watch the company you keep, Jesus!

So Jesus shares these parables with the Pharisees and Scribes,

but I presume the sinners and tax collectors

are within ear-shot as well.

It is a different kind of diverse crowd

seeking the attention of the Rabbi.

Why is Jesus welcoming and eating with

the tax collectors and sinners?

Partly because they are the outcasts,

and that’s who Jesus likes to be with.

God shows preferential treatment to the poor,

the widow,

the orphan,

the alien,

the outcast.

Also, Jesus is talking about rejoicing,

and God finding joy,

so maybe Jesus just likes their company better.

But the religious elite don’t like their company.

Sinners are not righteous,

as the religious elite think of themselves.

Tax collectors are not devout like the Scribes.

They are not worthy of companionship with a rabbi.

So they grumble.

Many of us religious folk are still grumbling

over the company that others keep.

I attended various charismatic Christian youth events

in my teens and early adulthood,

and I remember a line;

“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”

Youth are impressionable and want to fit in.

If your friends are into baseball and video games,

you’ll probably be into baseball and video games.

If your friends like to wear fine clothing,

so will you.

If your friends are into drugs

or bullying

or any kind of hurtful lifestyle -

chances increase that you will seek that out as well.

Similarly, I am concerned about

the people that my children want to be friends with.

I don’t want them to be led astray.

In adulthood,

we tend to make friends with like-minded people.

people with a similar morality.

But we take this beyond morality:

we grumble when friends welcome sinners and liberals,

or eat with tax collectors and socialists,

Or befriend outcasts and conservatives.

We grumble when we find out

someone is that kind of Christian,

or we grumble when someone keeps company

with people who don’t dress the way we might expect

or want to marry the person we might expect.

It’s an image problem:

we don’t want to be seen with the person

who shops at that store

or enjoys that indulgence,

or who wears that team’s sports jersey,

because it might hurt our image.

Jesus expands the imagination of the Pharisees and Scribes.

God’s welcome is wide.

God wants to be known by a wide inclusion.

So great is the rejoicing in heaven

over one lost sinner returned home.

Just imagine God’s grace in a worldview of radical welcome. 

Imagine if sheep didn’t get lost

because of the other sheep in the fold.

Often today,

sheep leave the flock

because the welcome of the flock

does not match the welcome of the Shepherd.

Knowingly or not,

its often the sheep of the shepherd

that lead others out of the flock.

Yet God in Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd,

is faithful even when we are not.

These parables teach us that

God doesn’t wait for us to have it all figured out.

God doesn’t wait until

we elect the right political party to show up.

This is not about the people’s unfaithfulness,

nor their sin.

It is less about why the coin is lost,

or why the sheep is lost,

but about the faithfulness of the woman,

the faithfulness of the Good Shepherd.

This is about God’s faithfulness.

And this is about repentance,

but Sheep can’t repent.

Coins can’t repent.

If lost, they cannot help themselves be found.

This is about repentance,

which comes about only by God’s work.

God’s Spirit convicts us into repentance.

To repent is to do a 180;

to change your mind;

change your life;

change your direction

away from self and towards God.

Repentance is not about us having upright morality,

but about God bringing us back,

about God’s Spirit gifting us to be faithful,

about God helping you see

where you belong in God’s Kin_dom.

So if you feel that call to repentance,

a call to return to God,

be thankful,

for that is God’s Spirit at work in you.

Perhaps like a lost lamb,

you have been found.

Consequently,

if you don’t feel like you need to turn to God,

maybe like a lost coin

it is time to stop hiding.

So who is God looking for today?

Who is the lost sheep?

Who is the lost coin?

Back in July,

my family went swimming at the leisure centre.

We packed our bags

and I went looking for my lock and key.

I couldn’t find it.

I was frustrated because the lock

would save us a couple dollars on the day lockers.

I looked around for 20 minutes or so,

and then it was time to leave.

I gave up my search.

Not the end of the world,

not worth any more searching,

it’ll only cost us a couple bucks.

It was not like the family vacation about 7 years ago

when my son got lost at the Enchanted Forrest in BC.

He was young,

maybe 3 years old,

and all of a sudden he was gone.

My wife and I searched frantically for our son.

We must have covered the trails twice over.

We notified the staff and they were all on alert.

Our son was found with another family.

Like a sheep gone astray,

he thought he was with his family,

his fold,

and got separated.

Our search for our son was frantic and focused

because he is worth far more to us

than a lock and key.

He’s our child,

he is part of us,

part of our family,

part of me.

He is irreplaceable,

as are all of my children.

That’s who God searches for - God’s children.

God searches lost people out

because we are worth it,

we are valuable to God,

we are loved and cherished by God.

Humanity is made in God’s image:

when a sinner is lost,

that sinner,

made in God’s image,

is part of God’s being

that is separate from the fold

and God has to bring that part of Godself back.

The sheep are of utmost value to the shepherd.

The Good Shepherd is willing to lay down their life

for the sheep.

The woman’s coin would be a drachma,

which is equivalent to one day’s wage.

More than that, in ancient times,

some women would receive a gift 

upon their marriage or engagement -

a gift of ten drachmas.

So this might not be just any coin,

but one coin of ten

with utmost sentimental value

that she might guard with her life.

It matters less why the sheep or coin is lost,

They must be found.

That’s why God searches people

- any and all people -

so fiercely;

the lost are worth finding.

Lost or found,

You are of immeasurable worth in God’s eyes

God finds the lost sheep and rejoices

with friends and neighbours;

God throws a party,

and you can’t party without food.

That’s what sheep are: food.

Not that God wants to serve us for dinner,

to the contrary we feast on the bread of life

at God’s table.

But that’s how reckless God is in searching us out.

God, the woman, finds the lost coin,

worth one days wage,

it might be like losing a $100 bill today,

and upon finding it,

she calls her friends and neighbours to rejoice -

to celebrate,

she throws a party,

and parties cost money,

perhaps costing even more than the found coin;

Not to mention she loses sleep,

turns on the light to search in the dark,

willing to lose another days wage

just looking for it.

That’s how reckless God is:

reckless in forgiveness,

reckless in searching us out.

And those who have been found,

God rejoices over you.

God lifts you up on God’s shoulders and rejoices.

You with ears to listen,

By God’s Spirit you are not lost -

by God’s grace you have been found.

Maybe you feel lost -

like a coin caught between the drawers,

but God knows where you are.

Maybe you feel left out of the flock,

like a sheep gone astray,

or a lamb not welcomed by the other sheep.

God knows where you are.

Do not be afraid to find joy in the presence of our God,

for God finds joy in you,

treasured sinner and saint,

and God will bring you back, lift you up and rejoice.

My blessing for you:

When you are tempted to grumble,

May you instead find joy in God’s presence.

May God find you when you are lost,

and find joy in lifting you up.

May you be known for the company you keep,

and find joy in the presence of all God’s sinners and saints.

Thanks be to God. Amen.