Lostness Parts 1 & 2

Luke Chapter 15

We’ve come to the well-known “lost chapter” of Luke. Two short parables and one long one, concerning a sheep, a coin, and a son that all need finding.

The context matters again. Luke tells us, just prior to these three parables, that all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to hear what he had to say. And, on point, the religious leaders didn’t like it.

So then, Jesus tells these three parables.

As he does, what stands out is not just that something is lost and then found, but the posture and response of the one doing the finding. There is an attentiveness and an intentionality in noticing what is missing. And then there’s a kind of movement toward it that is costly through time and effort. It’s clear that searching matters.

And then when what was lost is found, the situation is celebratory to the point that invitations are made to others. As much as it is about restoration, it is something communal.

This is what seems to bother the religious leaders. Not simply that Jesus is near the wrong people, but that he is oriented toward them in a way that reflects the very heart of God. It’s inclusive, which is a challenge to our status quo.

This presses in on us a bit. Generally, it’s easy to lament in word something that is lost. The people in need we see at the red light. Kids without parents. News stories that feel distant. We might feel badly. But quite often, we go no further than our feelings because it will cost something.

It is one thing to believe that God seeks and restores. It is another to consider how that shapes the way we live and what we will do about it. Or, it is easy to say we value what God values. It is something much further to reorder our lives around it.

But if these stories tell us anything, it is that what is lost matters. And that the work of God is not distant from it, but moving toward it.

We’ll look at the parable that’s one of Jesus’ best known next.

Luke 15:1-10

All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives.

“Or what woman, if she owns ten silver coins and loses one of them, won’t light a lamp and sweep the house, searching her home carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life.”

Prayer

God,

You notice what is missing and you move toward what is lost. And you don’t do it from a distance. I suppose that’s the whole of the gospel.

Forgive me for the ways I stop at noticing. For the ways I feel something, but do nothing.

Give me the attentiveness of your heart and action, your willingness to move, and your courage to let it cost something.

Shape my life to reflect what matters to you.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.