Luke 15:1-10
Do we think like Pharisees or sinners? In the opening verses of this reading there are those two groups: one
the tax collectors and sinners, and the other, Pharisees.
The sinners were outcasts, culturally and morally. Tax collectors cheated and collaborated with the pagan Romans. The rest could have been prostitutes, drunks, philanderers, and who knows who else?
It’s they who were drawing near to Jesus; they were intent on hearing what Jesus had to say. They left whatever they were doing to come and be in Jesus’ presence.
It doesn’t make sense in one way – they were like moths drawn to an open flame. They understood Jesus was holy. They understood they were sinners and should have been hiding in shame from this holy man yet they were drawn to him. It is evident that they had desperate need, and Jesus was meeting it.
Whatever their circumstance, Jesus was reaching into the dark places of their lives and pulling them into the light of God’s redeeming love, lifting them up into a completely new life where their thinking, behaviors, attitudes were changed. They wanted to leave what they were doing to be with Jesus. That was what Jesus did.
The other group was not drawing near, probably remaining at a respectable distance and they were griping, criticizing, complaining about Jesus. These were the Pharisees.
These were not bad people, not much different probably from many of us. They were serious about their religion. They work hard to be right with God. They passionately study the Scriptures; they are scrupulous in trying to know what God revealed in the law and doing it. They know right from wrong and try to be exemplars for others to follow. They are sincere, serious religious people.
And they can’t for the life of them figure out why Jesus, this extraordinary teacher, would consistently be hanging out with these outcasts and moral reprobates. And so he is under suspicion, and their complaining is described as murmuring.
Now, that is a very significant word for Luke to use because it looks back to the Old Testament, to the Hebrews after they were led by Moses from Egypt into the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. And as much as God was doing for them, it was never enough, so they murmured, grumbled, complained. It carries with it a sense of rebellion, of dissatisfaction, of pride and self-centeredness.
But Jesus doesn’t hate the Pharisees. He wants the Pharisees to understand so he uses a couple of parables to help these sincerely religious leaders understand what he is about.
Both revolve around the themes of finding something valuable that is lost.
We can all relate to that concept. It’s is a part of life that we lose things that are important, that cause us to drop everything to look for it.
Ever lost your car keys when you are ate for a meeting? Ever lost a paycheck? Ladies, ever misplace your diamond ring? I remember a couple of groggy Saturday mornings when I was in college when I couldn’t find my car but that’s probably another sermon for another time.
Maybe the best example, parents: ever lose a kid in the store? Everything else comes to a stop until you find that which is lost because it is precious to you; nothing else matters. Your world, your life is given over to one thing: seeking, finding the lost one. Remember the feeling of relief when you found that precious lost one. Did you want to rejoice?
Jesus uses two stories to communicate this truth to the Pharisees, that God is always seeking the lost. God’s heart is to find the sinner – the one who, through his own decisions or circumstances, is not where he should be.
When we speak of something being lost, we mean that is it is alone, out of place, separated from its owner, separated from the place it is intended to be, what it is created to do.
That’s what sin is: separation and alone-ness; selfishness. A person sees himself as the focal point of existence, doing his own thing. He is separated from his owner and creator, and is in a place where it was never intended by its owner to be; where its inherent value is demeaned.
Like the sheep in the first story who wanders off by itself. Sheep, being neither very intelligent nor very
self-sufficient critters, are pretty near the bottom of the four legged food chain.
Apart from the flock they are quickly disoriented and agitated. They don’t know how nor are they equipped to get back to the flock on their own. They have no self- defense mechanism. They must be found if they are to survive.
Thus the shepherd leaves the 99 to find the one. The 99 are safe, the one is lost and he seeks and finds the lost one and carries it back to the safety of his flock, where he celebrates this restoration of the lost one.
Jesus concludes the story “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.” God’s heart is for the lost.
To the Pharisees this illustration might have a more significant meaning. Many years prior, God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, warning the leaders of Israel that they were like shepherds who did not care for their flock, leaving them scattered, vulnerable, without anyone looking after them. Because of that, Ezekiel prophesied, God himself would seek out his sheep and rescue them, and care for them. God would be their shepherd.
Jesus then tells the story of a poor woman who loses a denarius, a coin worth about a day’s wages. She lights a lamp, meticulously sweeps the floor, and searches persistently until the precious coin is found. She lifts it up out of the dirt, cleans it off, and restores it to where it should properly be, and she rejoices that she found her coin.
Jesus concludes this story saying “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” God’s heart is for the lost.
Do we think like sinners, do we recognize our “lostness” and come to be near Jesus? That is what repentance is all about; leaving what is behind us, turning away from other things to be near Jesus, trusting him to rescue us, find us, restore us. And, do we have a heart for others who are lost, to bring them to Jesus that they might likewise be found?
Or do we think like Pharisees? ‘I’m good. I might be a sinner but not a big one I have never broken any of the big commandments. I go to church. I read my bible. I do the right things. I am comfortable with the way our church is. I’m not really lost, why do I need Jesus to find me? And if I don’t need Jesus, why would anybody else need him? Just be like me, us.’
This church does a remarkable job of drawing others near to Jesus: Day of Hope, LOGOS, VBS, our outreach and evangelism ministries, our men’s ministry, our community outreaches. These are venues where others, outsiders, are welcomed in Jesus name, where we get to share Jesus love, to give to others what we have received from him; where we get to be part of Jesus’ heart, like one of his sheep dogs, or a member of his search party, as it were. It is where we are thinking like sinners.
When we sing one particular song, we always seem to sing these words with amazing passion:
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
was blind but now I see.
if when we sing these words we are singing what is true about us: I once was lost but now am found, if we are honest about our found-ness in Jesus, his forgiveness, his grace, his direction and strength to live life for him, and our desire to be ever nearer to him, I think we will be a whole lot more likely to have the desire to bring others into his presence, to be a part of seeking that which was lost so they may be found.
This morning we hear St. Paul say: “The saying is true and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the greatest, but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the greatest sinner, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” Paul had God’s heart for the lost.
Paul was trained to be a Pharisee, but here he thought like a sinner. He knew that Jesus rescued him found him and he wanted others to know the joy of being found, of being picked up out of the dirt, restored to where God desired him to be, restored to the flock, carried to safety by the loving shepherd. And history testifies he never lost that passion for the lost, to bring people nearer to Jesus.
In his life, Paul stirred the occasions for much rejoicing in heaven. And so I would hope, may it be for us. May we pray for those we know who do not know Jesus, may we look for occasions to bring others to be near Jesus. May we be aware of occasions where we can share our experiences of God’s amazing grace in our lives with others who need that grace. May we have God’s heart for the lost.
To the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sermon preached by the Reverend Richard C. Marsden
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
17th Sunday after Pentecost
15 September 2013