15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So he told them this parable:
"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? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And 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.'
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.
"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? When 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.'
Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
As we enter this story, the tax collectors and sinners are gathering around Jesus. If we look back a bit, we see that Jesus had just set up the sick and sinners with tremendously good news and he had just let down the rich and powerful.
On his way to the home of a powerful relgious leader he stops and finds it a more important use of his time to heal a sick man. They say, politely, that he had "abnormal swelling". What this means is that this man looks like a freak. His body is proportioned differently and everyone can see his sickness and disease. He is cast out from society, and yet Jesus chooses to stop and help him.
At their outrage, he tells them that at a wedding banquet they shouldn't take the most honorable place - but instead they should sit at the lowliest place and be surprised when they are invited to the head table.
And Jesus isn't even done turning their worlds upside down: he then tells them an epic parable about the heavenly banquet feast.
In one chapter, Jesus puts aside the elite, wealthy, and powerful. He chooses the sick over the healthy, he heals on the holy day and shames them for not doing the same, he tells them that every rule governing social events for high society are wrong, and then he tells them that the great heavenly banquet is open to everyone - but that some who felt they were worthy for an invitation may have already rejected their chance to get in.
In one chapter, Jesus changes everything. And it is after these sentences that we find the tax collectors and sinners gathering around Jesus to hear more. And as these crowds of undesirable people crowd into the house of this powerful, wealthy religious leader; the pharisees are trapped. In their own house, in their own party that they are throwing to try and trap Jesus.
It's like being invited to the mayor's house for a fancy cocktail party and then inviting the residents of every dormitory and homeless shelter to come in for some free wine. Jesus is tremendously good at wrecking a party and throwing an even better one than before.
And so the pharisees, terrified by the crowds and seeing no solution, they begin to shame and judge Jesus for eating with sinners. But, Jesus isn't through with them yet.
What if one of your sheep is lost?
It's a poignant question. What's interesting is that Jesus asks this question to the wrong people. I've heard many people go on and on about the shepherds of Jesus day and their lifestyle - but Jesus isn't asking this question to any shepherds. Jesus is asking this question to a group of people who live in a large town. The people he is specifically targeting with this question is a group of religious leaders who wouldn't dare to even be seen with shepherds. His hosts have never had blisters on their hands. The tax collectors are wealthy and privileged men. There might not have been a shepherd in sight for all we know. What we do know is that these men perceived shepherds as low class, trashy Гопніки.
It's like this: I went to a lecture given by Mayor Sadovy a few months ago. It was sponsored by a business and government coalition and was a requirement for many business majors at the University. He would give a short lecture on business and government working cooperatively and then entertain questions from young professionals.
I wore my nicest clothes, and I was clearly underdressed. These young professionals with their too big suits that make them look like 9 year olds playing dress up. And the lecture was great. And at the end, people lined up to ask questions. After an hour of questions, not one young business professional had found their way to the microphone. Everyone who lined up for the microphone was an older person looking for assistance or help. My favorite was an old man who gave a twenty minute lecture about how dirty the trams are.
The thought process doesn't line up with the people in the room. It's like Jesus looking around the room of young professionals and asking, "If the carborator of a 1957 Chevy is acting up, what would you check first?"
The question doesn't line up with the audience who are being asked the question.
Jesus is speaking about God, and he is reminding them that God is a shepherd. These people that they think so little of?... God is one of them.
This might be an update to the story. For us it is a little bit funny when men work at a preschool.
If you are working at your day care and you notice that one of the kids is missing, wouldn't you leave all the other kids inside and go out into the street yelling and screaming for the lost child to return. And when he is found, wouldn't you put him on your shoulders and parade him around the classroom for all to see that he is safely back.
Because the religious leaders they spend all of their energy portraying that God is so far removed from the people that they can't even connect directly with God. And Jesus portrays God as someone so close that he is just like us.
Our God isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He's willing to do whatever it takes to find the lost sheep.
Because the religious leaders they spend all of their energy portraying that God is so far removed from the people that they can't even connect directly with God. And Jesus portrays God as someone so close that he is just like us.
Our God isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He's willing to do whatever it takes to find the lost sheep.
Jesus launches into the next parable. He begins the question with, "And what woman...?" and this is shocking because he is talking about God. He is sharing a parable about the character of God and he begins by describing a woman.
When I was growing up, I really believed that my mom hid things just so after I was finished searching she could saunter in and show me exactly where it was the whole time.
After searching the cupboards for an hour, my mom could brush past and say - "It's right there, third shelf up, fourth from the right." and pick out the necessary object.
Or I woudl be searching my room for a toy for an hour and mom would walk in and move a pile of dirty clothes, lift up the carpet, and retrieve the toy from it's spot.
I really thought that mom hid things so that she could find them later.
This is apparently a universal gift that God has given to women. If you can't find something around here, just ask Erica Tatchyn and she will tell you where it is. Even at my own apartment, I sometimes can't find something and my first thought is which female friend I should call and ask first.
Jesus describes God as a woman who has lost something and searches everywhere to find it.
The ten coins would be worth 10 days worth of work. She lit a lamp to search for the coin. Either this tells us that the search was so important that she couldn't wait until morning, or this tells us that this woman was so poor that her house was actually an internal room of a larger space - she is too poor to even have her own window.
And Jesus looks at this room full of educated, important men and the sinners that they despise and Jesus says, "God is like this woman. This poor woman. This lowly woman."
God is for us.
The Pharisees have been teaching for hundreds of years that God is against us - and we better be good or he is going to get us.
Jesus teaches that God is for us. God supports and loves us. God will search for us when we are lost.
There's something really special in the way Luke tells these stories. Matthew tells the story of the sheep - but he uses a different verb. He says that the sheep have wandered off. We are the sheep and we have wandered off. Luke uses "lost" as in "the shepherd lost the sheep." The woman clearly announces to her neighbors and female friends that she lost her coin.
Sometimes we feel lost. We don't feel connected to God. We feel hurt and betrayed.
And the Gospel of Luke takes the shame and the guilt away from us. It's not God's fault that we are lost - but God takes responsibility. God takes the shame and the guilt away from us.
Just like everything else. We are the ones who sinned - and yet Jesus took the pain and the suffering from us and made it his own. Jesus took it to the cross and left it there.
God is for us.
When we feel lost - there is no shame or judgement from God. There is only welcome and acceptance.
God is searching us out. God is searching that we may be brought back to God.
It's the celebration part that upsets them. They feel that there should be shame for the lost - but God feels that there should be celebration for the found.
