Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 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.”
After reading today's scripture, I've arrived at a conclusion that will probably not sit well with some folk. It is this: by human measurements, God is nuts. Seriously. That seems to be one of the implications of today's scripture.
I mean, haven't you ever heard the saying, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?” Well, these parables seem to flip that saying on it's head. Looking at the sheep parable, it seems to be saying a bird in the bush is worth 99 in the hand. Well, I hardly think that saying is going to catch on.
No reasonable shepherd, more-or-less reasonable person, would have left 99 sheep to go find one. And also, don't miss the fact that the unwatched sheep were left in the "wilderness.” They weren't in a protected area or fenced in – they were left in the wilderness.
It would seem that the shepherd is willing to risk loosing everything for the sake of the one. It would also seem that God, as the shepherd, often acts in ways that just make no sense...at least to us. As I said, it would seem that (by human standards) God is nuts. And if we believe we were made in the image of God, it would seem that sometimes, we (like God) have to be a little bit nuts, have to be willing to give up the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be the most important us.
The point is, God is radical. And at some point, we've managed to begin believing that being a good Christian means not rocking the boat, not making waves, rolling with the ebb and flow of the dominate cultural tide. Essentially, being so 'nice' that we render ourselves irrelevant.
This is particularly true for those who see themselves as liberals or progressives. We've taken the idea of passiveness so literally that we don't actually do anything but point out the flaws in other people's logic. (The whole thing's a bit funny, because passivity seems to be the only thing we actually do take literally).
We need to learn to recognize that God is not passive to the point of irrelevance, rather God is willing to to go to the point of acting out radically if it could mean the difference for one soul.
I've always favored the quiet rational approach to problems.
Think it through.
Talk it out.
Wait and see.
But today's scripture has inspired me to find a new path. It's not really new, people like Martin Luther King and Ghandi have all walked this path, but all too frequently, it is no longer the path that we Christians chose.
We need to learn to recognize that God is not passive to the point of irrelevance, rather God is willing to to go to the point of acting out radically if it could mean the difference for one soul.
OK, if the first parable in our scripture is about the radicalness of following God, the second parable seems to be about re-enforcing what it is that is worth being that radical about. In the parable of The Lost Coin we have a fairly straight forward story: a woman has 10 coins, loses one, and set about to find it.
Sandwiched between the richness of the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable that follows (The Lost Son or the Prodigal Son), the parable of The Lost Coin is very easy to overlook, but as it sits in the center of the three parables, it serves the purpose of centering us on what is so important that it is worth giving up the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be the most important us. It reminds us of what it is that God believes is so valuable that it is worth doing something that seems senseless; of what it is that God believe is so valuable that we should be willing to do something radical to get it.
I actually think that part of why this parable is so easy to overlook is because loses something in translation. There is a beautiful play on words here that would have been hard to overlook if you had been there that day Jesus told this story. You see, the word “coins” in Hebrew (and probably in Aramaic), is “zuzim,” and zuzim also means those who are wandering, lost or roaming.
Make no doubt about it, today's texts are a call to be willing to risk the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be the most important us. And they tell us that for God the thing that is so valuable that we should be willing to do something radical to get it...is those who are wandering, lost or roaming.
I suspect that most of us like the way that sounds, but having to putting into action...well, that might be an all-together different story. So, this week, after studying these text, I did just that. I looked for a sheep that seemed to be lost...honestly, it only took a few seconds.
You may have heard of him, the Rev. Terry Jones – the man down in Florida who had planned to burn Korans. I've taken to calling him the Koran Burning Man or KBM for short. In my book, and as far as I can see by the standards of the Good Book, KBM is a lost man. So, I said to myself, “Self, what can you do that might distract old KBM from his message of hate and radically jar him into God's call to love.”
Realizing, from studying today's scripture, that I might have to give up something dear to me to gain what should be the most important to me, I made a choice. I wrote KBM a letter. I'd like to read it to you:
"Dear Rev. Jones,
Please find the enclosed Bible. It has been with me since 1974. It, as you can see, is well worn – it has served me well.
I am asking you to include it in your book burning on 9/11. I realize your plan is to only burn Korans, but I think this would be a wonderful statement of love.
I know you may have concerns about burning a Bible, but I promise you, God is big enough to handle it and God's love is large enough to stand with those who claim Abraham as a religious relative."
I FedExed my letter and the Bible I had since I was 6 out to KBM on Wednesday and I wrote a blog about my decision and posted it online. Now I know, it seems a bit radical sending the Bible that was most dear to me to a man who was dead set on burning books, but I couldn't help but feel led by the spirit that this was an appropriately radical response to helping find one of the fold that was lost in the wilderness of hate.
As a friend would later say to me, “See what can start when you stand for something.” I was just making a personal statement about love. Trying to practice what I preached...but something interesting happened. Other people started picking up on it. There were other blogs promoting the idea, a religious radio station out of Charlotte encouraged their listeners to do the same, the Rev. Chuck Currie (a national and leading voice in the United Church of Christ) called it a “thoughtful, respectful and loving response to an act of hate,” a national Christian news organization for the Baptist church picked the story up as well.
I don't know how many Bibles KBM received, but I do know the message of love and acceptance and the repudiation of hate had to ring loud and clear. You see, from what I gather, most people didn't send any old Bible, most sent a Bible that mattered to them. They risked something dear to them in order to gain what is the most important thing to them.
One divinity school student gave up the Bible his brother gave him when he was 15. Shortly after receiving it he decided to become a minister. Another young lady sent the Bible she bought when she converted from Islam to Christianity, she also later became a minister. It was powerful stuff – bold statements of love that seem almost completely nuts...just like today's scripture teaches us.
For the sake of love, God throws what humanity would believe to be sensibility out the window and recklessly peruses the lost. Maybe there's a lesson there. Recklessly perusing the lost. If it makes sense to God...
Well...if it makes sense to God then, it should make sense to us. We must be willing to risk the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be most important to us – finding those who are lost.
Are we, the church, willing to recklessly peruse the lost? What are we willing to risk? Our history? Our money? Our pride? Our comfort? Our traditions?
As a friend would later say to me, “See what can start when you stand for something.” Vandalia Presbyterian Church, what will you stand for? The things that are most dear to us? Or the thing that should be the most important to us? I say, let's trust in God and recklessly peruse the Lost. I can tell you from first hand experience, if you will, you will be surprised by the blessings God will bring.
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 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.”
After reading today's scripture, I've arrived at a conclusion that will probably not sit well with some folk. It is this: by human measurements, God is nuts. Seriously. That seems to be one of the implications of today's scripture.
I mean, haven't you ever heard the saying, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?” Well, these parables seem to flip that saying on it's head. Looking at the sheep parable, it seems to be saying a bird in the bush is worth 99 in the hand. Well, I hardly think that saying is going to catch on.
No reasonable shepherd, more-or-less reasonable person, would have left 99 sheep to go find one. And also, don't miss the fact that the unwatched sheep were left in the "wilderness.” They weren't in a protected area or fenced in – they were left in the wilderness.
It would seem that the shepherd is willing to risk loosing everything for the sake of the one. It would also seem that God, as the shepherd, often acts in ways that just make no sense...at least to us. As I said, it would seem that (by human standards) God is nuts. And if we believe we were made in the image of God, it would seem that sometimes, we (like God) have to be a little bit nuts, have to be willing to give up the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be the most important us.
The point is, God is radical. And at some point, we've managed to begin believing that being a good Christian means not rocking the boat, not making waves, rolling with the ebb and flow of the dominate cultural tide. Essentially, being so 'nice' that we render ourselves irrelevant.
This is particularly true for those who see themselves as liberals or progressives. We've taken the idea of passiveness so literally that we don't actually do anything but point out the flaws in other people's logic. (The whole thing's a bit funny, because passivity seems to be the only thing we actually do take literally).
We need to learn to recognize that God is not passive to the point of irrelevance, rather God is willing to to go to the point of acting out radically if it could mean the difference for one soul.
I've always favored the quiet rational approach to problems.
Think it through.
Talk it out.
Wait and see.
But today's scripture has inspired me to find a new path. It's not really new, people like Martin Luther King and Ghandi have all walked this path, but all too frequently, it is no longer the path that we Christians chose.
We need to learn to recognize that God is not passive to the point of irrelevance, rather God is willing to to go to the point of acting out radically if it could mean the difference for one soul.
OK, if the first parable in our scripture is about the radicalness of following God, the second parable seems to be about re-enforcing what it is that is worth being that radical about. In the parable of The Lost Coin we have a fairly straight forward story: a woman has 10 coins, loses one, and set about to find it.
Sandwiched between the richness of the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable that follows (The Lost Son or the Prodigal Son), the parable of The Lost Coin is very easy to overlook, but as it sits in the center of the three parables, it serves the purpose of centering us on what is so important that it is worth giving up the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be the most important us. It reminds us of what it is that God believes is so valuable that it is worth doing something that seems senseless; of what it is that God believe is so valuable that we should be willing to do something radical to get it.
I actually think that part of why this parable is so easy to overlook is because loses something in translation. There is a beautiful play on words here that would have been hard to overlook if you had been there that day Jesus told this story. You see, the word “coins” in Hebrew (and probably in Aramaic), is “zuzim,” and zuzim also means those who are wandering, lost or roaming.
Make no doubt about it, today's texts are a call to be willing to risk the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be the most important us. And they tell us that for God the thing that is so valuable that we should be willing to do something radical to get it...is those who are wandering, lost or roaming.
I suspect that most of us like the way that sounds, but having to putting into action...well, that might be an all-together different story. So, this week, after studying these text, I did just that. I looked for a sheep that seemed to be lost...honestly, it only took a few seconds.
You may have heard of him, the Rev. Terry Jones – the man down in Florida who had planned to burn Korans. I've taken to calling him the Koran Burning Man or KBM for short. In my book, and as far as I can see by the standards of the Good Book, KBM is a lost man. So, I said to myself, “Self, what can you do that might distract old KBM from his message of hate and radically jar him into God's call to love.”
Realizing, from studying today's scripture, that I might have to give up something dear to me to gain what should be the most important to me, I made a choice. I wrote KBM a letter. I'd like to read it to you:
"Dear Rev. Jones,
Please find the enclosed Bible. It has been with me since 1974. It, as you can see, is well worn – it has served me well.
I am asking you to include it in your book burning on 9/11. I realize your plan is to only burn Korans, but I think this would be a wonderful statement of love.
I know you may have concerns about burning a Bible, but I promise you, God is big enough to handle it and God's love is large enough to stand with those who claim Abraham as a religious relative."
I FedExed my letter and the Bible I had since I was 6 out to KBM on Wednesday and I wrote a blog about my decision and posted it online. Now I know, it seems a bit radical sending the Bible that was most dear to me to a man who was dead set on burning books, but I couldn't help but feel led by the spirit that this was an appropriately radical response to helping find one of the fold that was lost in the wilderness of hate.
As a friend would later say to me, “See what can start when you stand for something.” I was just making a personal statement about love. Trying to practice what I preached...but something interesting happened. Other people started picking up on it. There were other blogs promoting the idea, a religious radio station out of Charlotte encouraged their listeners to do the same, the Rev. Chuck Currie (a national and leading voice in the United Church of Christ) called it a “thoughtful, respectful and loving response to an act of hate,” a national Christian news organization for the Baptist church picked the story up as well.
I don't know how many Bibles KBM received, but I do know the message of love and acceptance and the repudiation of hate had to ring loud and clear. You see, from what I gather, most people didn't send any old Bible, most sent a Bible that mattered to them. They risked something dear to them in order to gain what is the most important thing to them.
One divinity school student gave up the Bible his brother gave him when he was 15. Shortly after receiving it he decided to become a minister. Another young lady sent the Bible she bought when she converted from Islam to Christianity, she also later became a minister. It was powerful stuff – bold statements of love that seem almost completely nuts...just like today's scripture teaches us.
For the sake of love, God throws what humanity would believe to be sensibility out the window and recklessly peruses the lost. Maybe there's a lesson there. Recklessly perusing the lost. If it makes sense to God...
Well...if it makes sense to God then, it should make sense to us. We must be willing to risk the things that are most dear to us in order to gain what should be most important to us – finding those who are lost.
Are we, the church, willing to recklessly peruse the lost? What are we willing to risk? Our history? Our money? Our pride? Our comfort? Our traditions?
As a friend would later say to me, “See what can start when you stand for something.” Vandalia Presbyterian Church, what will you stand for? The things that are most dear to us? Or the thing that should be the most important to us? I say, let's trust in God and recklessly peruse the Lost. I can tell you from first hand experience, if you will, you will be surprised by the blessings God will bring.
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