Make the Angels Work Overtime

 

Read Luke 15

 Listen to the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Why the parable? The religious leaders—Scribes, Pharisees, and Teachers of the law were complaining, obviously loud enough that people heard them, that Jesus was hanging out with sinners way too much. If he wanted to be included in their holier-than-thou club, he would have to cut back on that. OK, that’s a little license taken there, but these men were stuck in their paradigms.

They thought Jesus needed to conform to their ways, but Jesus came to show everyone the ways of the Father.  So, he launched into three parables.

The first was targeted at the men. Men were shepherds. There was no feminist movement to be stuck outdoors with no shower or civilized place to go to the bathroom. There was no good place to shave your legs or a reason to do so. I can’t think of a reason why a woman would want this job.

So, the men gathered might have been more tuned in than the ladies. Enough preface to the story: A shepherd was missing a sheep. Yes, he counted twice, maybe three times, and then he went looking.

He left the ninety-nine in the wilderness and went looking for one lost sheep. How do we know there were ninety-nine remaining? He had surely just counted them, and the scripture says there were ninety-nine.

Did he have an assistant, an under shepherd?  We don’t know.

What we do know is that this one sheep was worth looking for. It mattered to the shepherd.

When he found it, he called all of his friends together and they celebrated. They rejoiced.

Good story. The people understood it, but what relevance did it have to their lives. Most of them were not shepherds.

Jesus then showed them why it was a parable and not just a fun story.  In the same way that this shepherd experienced joy, there is much joy in heaven every time a sinner repents and comes to God.

People matter. All people matter. God will never stop loving us, even when we stray.

He loves us.

He loves the lost.

He loves us so much that he did everything to make us right with him.

His love endures forever.

He loves us so much that he desires none to perish, and he gives us a chance to fulfill the desire of God’s heart every time that we lead someone to Christ.

We may not always see the fruit of our ministry. It might take two or three or three hundred people sharing the good news with someone until they come home, but we keep our eyes on the ball not the scoreboard.

In Tom’s metaphor, the ball is our commission and the new command to love one another as much as Christ loved and loves us. The ball is putting his words into practice.

So, we don’t get wrapped up in whether we are the one who closes the deal with a profession of faith, but we continue to seek the lost. While we are out there, let’s invite the disconnected to come home as well.

For a moment, let’s look at an online bogey. The one where Jesus leaves the 99.

As to this business of Jesus going after the sheep in this parable, realize this is a simplistic—not simplified but simplistic—telling of the story, and makes it something other than a parable.

Jesus told the parable. He wasn’t in it.

But doesn’t Jesus seek the lost? Sure. He, mainly in the Spirit of God that lives within us, goes with us as we seek the lost.

So, why make an issue of this being a parable?

How about because it is a parable and that’s what Jesus intended it to be. He set something that people understood in parallel to something he wanted them to understand, typically about how his Father’s kingdom operates.

What’s the message?

If we know how to celebrate when we lose something of value to us and then find it, how much more do the angels in heaven celebrate?

Why would they have a big celebration?

Because every time a sinner repents and comes home, they are fulfilling the desires of God’s heart, that none should perish.

This parable is less about a sheep or a coin than it is about the love of God.

It’s less about our celebrations and more about what brings celebration in heaven.

It is less about the joy we find in physical and temporal things than it is the joy we know being claimed for eternity by our Father in heaven.

We will talk more about lost and found in the next service, but know this: Found is way better than lost, and it is worth celebrating in heaven and on earth.

Amen.

Luke 15 - Lost and Found

 

Read Luke 15

This chapter is about sheep, coins, and kids, which is true, but it is also about love, repentance, and celebration.

These are parables. They take something familiar and lay it beside something we are trying to understand. Jesus often explained things in heaven using things people knew in their lives here on earth. Sometimes, he just made direct analogies.

If you who are knee deep in sin know how to give your children good gifts, how much better at giving is your Father in heaven?

The first parable seems to have men as the primary target audience. Being a shepherd was a man’s job. You never know when you might have to fight off a wild animal or even thieves. It was a man’s job, possibly because you had to go for days without bathing. You might end up smelling like the sheep or worse than the sheep. For men, that’s not a big thing.

The second parable was likely targeted at the women in the group. Typically, women didn’t tend sheep, but they did handle some money. They surely managed the household purchases.

Both the shepherd and the woman in these parables lost something of value, be it a sheep or a silver coin. All things considered, you don’t want to lose either one.

Both sought what was lost and found it. The end result was rejoicing. The shepherd and the woman were ecstatic.

Jesus compared human joy to the joy in heaven. If these two individuals in the parable would celebrate with their coworkers and friends, imagine the celebration in heaven when one sinner repents.

Imagine the celebration in heaven that takes place when someone comes home. It is as if we matter to God and to all those who worship him. Think on that as we continue.

So we come to the third parable in the chapter. It is often called the Lost Son or the Prodigal Son. This youngest son is the focus of much of the pericope, but there is much more here.

You know the story. The youngest son wants his share of the inheritance and he wants it now. What’s the J.G. Wentworth tagline? It’s my money and I want it now. That’s the gist of it.

The young son would receive an inheritance upon his father’s death. Surely, it would not be the same as the older son’s share, but it would be something. Did I mention that the younger son would receive the inheritance after his father died?

Asking for it now was like telling his father, “I wish you were dead.” Teenagers' impulsive and imprudent nature—I’m presuming the age range here, but I think I’m on the money—often blinds them to the spirit of thanksgiving and gratefulness that they should have towards their parents.

So? How does this apply?

The younger son could have been any of us at some point in our lives.

But the father gave the younger son his share of the inheritance, surely knowing his son well enough to know what might be in store for him.

What was in store for him was some wild living, a dwindling bank account, and terrible timing. A famine devastated the area when the son was. Money was running out, jobs were scarce, and he had burned his bridges at home.

The son did not take what was given to him and put it to work to produce income. He squandered it and surely much sooner than the young son had anticipated.

So, the younger son is now in a foreign country, flat broke, and could only find a job feeding pigs. Here’s the kicker. The pigs were eating better than he was. Come on, this kid was surely Hebrew. Jesus is talking to mostly Jews here.

What does that matter? The kid was feeding pigs, something that you didn’t see much of in much of Judea. God said don’t eat them. They are not fit for you. And the pigs were eating better than he was.

This is what the literary world calls the dark night of the soul. This young man hit rock bottom and could not see a way out. The term dark night of the soul originated with a poem by a Sixteenth-Century religious figure named St. John of the Cross. It refers to a crisis of faith.

In any case, this younger son had hit rock bottom and the dark night of his soul. His life had fallen apart, and he had no hope and no one to blame but himself.

But, then he came to an epiphany after watching pigs eat food that he wished he had, but didn’t.

I would be better off as a servant in my father’s household than this mess that I am in now.

The lowest servant in my father’s care is far better off than me. I don’t deserve to go home as a son, but maybe my father would hire me as a servant. I had better prepare a really good speech since I don’t know how to write a resume, and I don’t think my older brother would be good to list as a reference. I think I might have burned that bridge.

So, this young man starts preparing his speech. He had plenty of time to rehearse it as he was walking back from a foreign country.

And then he arrived at home and timidly knocked on the front door. Maybe he should have gone to the back door. That’s where servants should go, right? I should have paid more attention when I was living here.

So, just as he knocked on the door…

Wait one minute! He never knocked on the door. His father saw him while he was still a long way off, and he ran to him. The father crossed the bridge that his younger son had burned and ran to meet him, wrapping his arms around him, embracing him, and kissing him.

The younger son was trying to get his speech out, but only got a few words into it before Dad made it clear that this young man was home. Get a nice robe and a ring and sandals. Somebody get the beef on the spit. We are celebrating this day!

Now, if I had been the father, I might have said get this kid a bath first. Hold him under and scrub like crazy. Whoa! He smells worse than that time at the men’s retreat when we only packed beans for the week.

But like the One who was telling this parable, the odor didn’t get in the way of the joy of having one who was lost come home. Some of you know that I am talking about Lazarus being raised from the dead after four days and Martha warning Jesus that he is going to stink.

But Dad only saw a son who had come home. There was no interrogation, rebuke, or condemnation. His son was lost, and now he was found.

There was a big party at this house, and the sound of celebration was heard all around. Everyone was full of joy—well, almost everyone.

The older son would not attend the party. Why should he?

This younger brother, whom the older brother would only refer to as this son of yours, was angry. His father pleaded with him, but the older son got to make his speech.

All these years, I have worked like a slave for you. I always followed your directions. I never even asked you for a scrawny goat so I could have a little scrawny goat party with my friends.

But when this son of yours comes back after spending everything that you gave him on prostitutes and wild living, you throw the party of the century.

What’s up with that? 

Dad’s reply went to the heart of the matter.

You have always been with me. Everything that I have is yours. All you had to do was ask, and we would fatten a calf or a goat or ordered DoorDash.

But this younger son of mine was lost. The reason is less important than the fact that it was as if he were dead. That might be what you hoped for, but I never could. He was dead, and now he is alive. He was lost, and now he is found.

So is this parable about the younger son? Sure. Is it about the older son? Absolutely.

But it is mostly about a father’s love. This parable is about the father's loving heart. The father never stopped loving his son, even when he was out doing stupid stuff, even when asking him for his inheritance, which was like saying, "I wish you were dead." Even when he smelled like pigs.

The third of these three parables in this chapter of Luke is about the Father’s love. This time, I am talking about our Father in heaven.

In fact, all three parables are about the love of the Father and the celebration in heaven when a sinner repents and comes home.  How much greater is the celebration in heaven than what we can put together ourselves?

What prompted these parables?  The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were criticizing Jesus for spending so much time with sinners. The Pharisees were to have been the shepherds of Israel until the Good Shepherd arrived.

These religious leaders did a terrible job. They knew the letter of the law but not the spirit. They worshiped God as the Ruler who gave rules but never got to know his heart, his divine heart.

They never got to know the one true God, for if they had, they would have known him as Love. God is love, and God loves his children.

So, were these parables for the Pharisees? Yes.

Were they for those the Pharisees classified as sinners? Yes.

Were they for those gathered who were trying to be righteous? Yes.

Were they for those who struggled with living according to the ways of the world or the ways of God? Yes.

Were they—are they—for us? Yes. Absolutely, yes!

How many more people today are lost? How many are disconnected from a family of faith? How many have just messed up so badly, in reality or in their own minds, that they don’t think they can come home?

How will they know that they are welcome to come home and be received with joy and celebration?

They have Bibles. They can read them. Or, and I’m not talking about a boat paddle. The homophone isn’t what I am talking about, but a much bigger or that is an alternative.

What alternative?

We will tell them! God’s grace goes beyond all of your missteps, mistakes, and misgivings. God’s love is greater than your sin.

Come home. God will never stop loving you.

And neither should we. Love must govern our hearts.

 We may sympathize with the older son. We might even approach empathy for him. He made a good case for being angry.

We may have had experiences along the lines of the younger son: wild living, addiction, and self-gratification in a variety of areas top the list. Perhaps, we can relate in some way.

But for all the transgressions of the younger son and the anger of his older brother, the message to us is about receiving the love of the Father, embracing the love of the Father, and reflecting the love of the Father in all that we do.

It’s all about love, and God's heart is the perfect model of love. We know his heart through the sacrifice of his Son and the Holy Spirit that lives within us.

These three parables are about what every school, church office, or shop floor has—a  Lost and Found. Sing this chorus as you go through the week.

I was once lost but now am found. Was blind but now I see.

What do we see? The love of the Father.

Now, let others see his love in us. Who wants to be a little onery with me? Anyone?

Let’s be the reason the angels in heaven are working overtime planning more celebrations than they can imagine—God is all-knowing, but we could surprise the angels, as more sinners repent and come home.

By the way, that will bring glory to God.

Amen.

Lost and Found

 Read Luke 15

This chapter has three stories given in response to the Pharisees and teachers of the law noting that Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. Did you ever stop to think about those designations?

Sinners—we get that.  Those were the lawless people who couldn’t keep the rules.  They broke God’s rules.

But tax collectors—why not lump them in with the sinners and just label the whole lot as sinners? Perhaps it was not God’s law they were breaking but the human culture of the Jews. These people were helping the Romans.  They were traitors. They were breaking man’s law, at least the unwritten ones by which we condemn others.

In any case, the Pharisees and teachers of the law declared that Jesus was associating with the wrong people. Those people don’t run in the right circles.

Jesus replied with three stories that I would label Lost and Found.

First, a shepherd is missing one of his sheep.  He had one hundred and now has only ninety-nine. He could be content with a one-percent loss, but he is not.

He goes out looking for his lost sheep.  The other sheep are left to themselves momentarily while the shepherd goes looking.

When he finds it, he rejoices in the moment and tells all of his friends.  He found his lost sheep and he is bringing him back home.

Some people substitute Jesus for the shepherd. Don’t do that.  Let Jesus tell the story so that we have a greater understanding.  Jesus says what if one of you had one hundred sheep…

He is giving a human example to make his heavenly point. It’s a parable in this way.  Jesus set the things that we understand in this world alongside those things he wants us to understand about his Father and his kingdom.

What did Jesus explain about the kingdom of Heaven? That when one lost soul is found or comes home there is much rejoicing in heaven.  In God’s kingdom, those whom the Pharisees labeled sinners are just lost.  They have drifted away.

Their lifestyle is not godly. From God’s perspective, they are not the focus of disdain but souls in need of rescue. God sent his Son to save us not condemn us.

There is rejoicing at the rescue of a single person!

Jesus told the same story but used a woman and her ten coins.  Again when her lost coin was found, there was much celebrating.

‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Sheep and coins are great examples, but the next story—parable if you will—uses a father and son. The younger son is anxious to experience the world.  He doesn’t want to wait for Dad to die to get his share of the estate.  He asked for it now.

Dad obliged and the younger son went out and sold what he had and then spent the money foolishly.  He lived the life for a while but soon was broke.

There was famine in the country where he was living and he was broke.  He got a job feeding pigs but the pigs ate better than he did.  Reality hit him and hit him hard.

If he was working as a servant for his father, he would be better off than he was now. He knew he couldn’t just go home but he might be able to convince his father to hire him as a servant.

He decided that is what he would do. He was rehearsing a speech that he would give his dad about how he had sinned against God and against his own father. Maybe he could convince his own father whom he had declared as good as dead by asking for his part of the estate, to hire him as a servant.

This young man never got the chance to finish his speech and ask for a job.  Dad spotted him while he was still a long way off and ran to him.  He wasn’t running so he could tell him I told you so. He was welcoming his son—his lost son—back home.

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Everyone was happy! Well, not really everyone—the older son was furious.  He had played by the rules all of his life and now his own father welcomes this kid back as family.  That’s unfair!  Why does he care for him?

Did he forget that this no good, prostitute-loving, son of his (not brother of mine but son of his father) squandered all of your money and considered you dead to him.

We see the disdain of the Pharisees clearly in the anger of the older son.

But what was Dad’s answer?

‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

This last parable is not really about the wayward ways of one son and the steadfast ways of the other.  It’s about the unbounded love of the father, a father who would love a son who loved his father’s money more than his father.

This is about how great our Father’s love is. If a human father can show this much love, how much more will your Father in heaven love you—even the you who was once lost.

We can look down upon those who are lost or we can continue our efforts to reach them.

Many in our country, even in our own towns and counties here in the Bible Belt, are still lost. They say they know Jesus. They think they are saved. They don’t want to take on the yoke of the One who should be their Master, but they give lip service to him.

There are people who say that one religion is as good as another. It doesn’t matter Just pick one.  They all get you to heaven or nirvana or you get to come back as a goat in the next life.  What does it matter?

There are plenty of people who just do not believe there is a God. At least they have convinced themselves there isn’t.

Our choice is to view them like the Pharisees as someone outside of our circle and undeserving of God’s love or to see them as souls in need of rescue.

With people, you can’t just throw them over your shoulder like a sheep and bring them home. You can’t just put a person back into the stack of coins.

We must reach out and invite people to know the Lord. We must be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

We must be known by our love.

We must have eyes to see those who do not know the Lord as lost and not as enemies.

There is a whole bunch of celebrating going on in heaven when one sinner repents and comes to the Lord. That is how we should see those who do not know the Lord.

They are opportunities for celebration.

We don’t do this alone. God’s own Spirit goes with us wherever we go and we are told there will be a time when he will pour out his Spirit upon this world.

God desires that none perish and that all come to life in Christ Jesus.

There are very few churches that have not struggled in this century.  The pandemic or plandemic, however, you see it, surely made things worse.

But we must be ready to receive those who will come in response to God’s Spirit leading them to life. We must be ready to celebrate every soul that comes to salvation as a victory for the kingdom of God.

We as the body of Christ must also be ready to disciple them. That means that we say let’s walk together as we grow nearer our Lord.

A football player scores a touchdown and then has a five-minute dance in celebration.  Don’t you think that one lost person who comes to know the Lord is worth a celebration?

We are very welcoming and celebratory when we have a profession of faith or a baptism, but we must be on the lookout for those who are still lost.

We don’t see the lost as targets of our human condemnation but as people in need of rescue.

Many are lost. Some will be found—they will home come.

We will celebrate.

Let’s look down on no one but take the good news and a sincere invitation to know the Lord to everyone.

We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

Many are in need of a relationship with God. Let’s take them the good news and be ready to receive them in fellowship as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each person who comes is cause for celebration.

Amen.