14th Day After Pentecost

By Dan Carew, Lay Preacher
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We find ourselves at the beginning of the 15th chapter of Luke but it seems we’re jumping into the middle of something. Prior to this, Jesus had dinner at a religious leader’s home, and then moved along with a large crowd traveling with him. However it is hard to tell if he was having a meal and the large crowds followed him or if he was traveling somewhere after the meal. 

Regardless, Jesus’ revolutionary actions and teachings continue to grate against the social norms, rituals and laws held by the religious leaders. Here those leaders are scoffing at Jesus’s hospitality towards tax collectors and sinners who were drawing near to him. Again, all the norm for Jesus. Luke documents four instances of Jesus eating with or in the company of “sinners and tax collectors”.1 His actions and words continually call for the changing of one’s mind - not only in those ancient times, but they are still speaking today. 

In these instances where the religious leaders are being… you fill in the blank because what is running through your head and what is running through mine is probably not appropriate for the pulpit, even if they are the best descriptive nouns. In these instances, Jesus always seems to have a savvy way of responding, sometimes cryptic, sometimes scaffolded and sometimes explicitly clear. It is here that he tells them a 3-part parable, two parts found in our gospel selection this morning and one that appeared during Lent this year that we need to consider in the bigger picture of Jesus’s response. 

He starts with a hypothetical mindset of a shepherd, who with 100 sheep loses one, and leaves the 99 other sheep in the wilderness to seek after the missing one. We know nothing about this sheep other than it went missing and the shepherd looked for it. What we can know is that the sheep most likely wandered away from the flock due to its own instinctual needs like thirst and hunger. Did the sheep sin? No, it’s operating on its instincts to meet its needs. Did it say to itself “I’m leaving the flock and going over here”? Mostly likely not based upon what research has told us of livestock intellectual capacities. 

So, the shepherd sets out to find this one lost sheep. When he finds the sheep he doesn’t drive it back to where it belongs and there’s no mention of a sheep dog to guide it back to the flock. This shepherd lays it on his shoulders. Let’s think about this for a moment. I don’t know about you, but I have had some interactions with sheep in my lifetime. First, there is no easy way to wrangle a sheep so one might put it on their shoulders. This I know from the few times that my son and I have spent helping a friend shear sheep. Our job was to escort the sheep from the pen to the shearer - a distance of maybe 15 or 20 feet. Needless to say they don’t move willingly and they don’t come when called - they avoid and run away at every opportunity. Second, sheep are not small animals, on average they are between 100 and 200 pounds. The energy it took to move a sheep laterally is one thing, to pick it up and hoist it onto one’s shoulders - that’s a whole different level. This shepherd is exerting an extraordinary amount of effort, he had to navigate the wilderness in order to find this sheep and then the physical effort in getting it and carrying it. Once he has the sheep in his possession he rejoices personally and then returns home, where he calls “friends and neighbors” to rejoice with him. We’ll get to the celebration in just a moment but first let’s look at the lost coin.


In the second part of Jesus’s parable he talks of a woman who has ten coins and loses one of them. Historical research indicates that the coins were likely drachmas which were worth a day’s wages and about the size of a modern day nickel. So, something quite valuable but also relatively small in size. She, like the shepherd, takes great effort to find the lost coin. She lights a lamp. She sweeps the house. When the coin is found she calls together “friends and neighbors” to rejoice with her. 

The third part of this parable is about the lost son, or the prodigal son. As you might recall, a son asks his father for his share of the inheritance, leaves the family and squanders his wealth. He is “lost”. The son has some humbling experiences and returns back home, where he is “found”. The father rejoices by clothing the son with luxurious items and hosting a feast. 

Each of these parts ends with a communal celebration, which is implied with the lost sheep and the lost coin in the words “Rejoice with me for I have found…”. Each of these celebrations include friends and neighbors, or those that are near to the celebrant, but the celebrations are in excess. I mean, 1% of your flock is found and you’re throwing a party? And you are slaughtering another animal to supply the party with a meal! 

10% of your money is found, and you’ve called the neighborhood to party with you? How are you funding that party? Oh, right with the ten coins you own. 
With the lost son it makes some sense to be happy, but really? A party after he squandered half of the inheritance? Really? 

No doubt when we hear this parable we liken the characters to God. In the ancient times, in the times of Jesus, those listening may have made the same connections. However, these depictions that Jesus has given are revolutionary. Jesus’s life and teachings continually cut away and open up our understanding of the divine, that is if we let them. 

When Jesus hears the religious leaders grumbling, he uses the parable to further illustrate what Yahweh has been communicating through human history since the covenant with Abraham. They are grumbling because in those times, remaining righteous and clean meant adhering to laws and rituals that divided, excluded, and devalued other human beings who didn’t meet the criteria, were social outcasts, or ceremonially unclean. Humans of ancient times did these things to remain in favor with the gods, which in turn elevated their status among their tribes, their communities, and anyone who was not one of them. Oh, wait. This still occurs… today. Jesus’s life and teachings continually cut away and open up our understanding of the divine, if we let them. 

In the ancient mindset, humans lived in fear of divine punishment. This mindset comes through in much of the Old Testament writings and in the actions of people recorded in the New Testament. In today’s reading from Exodus, the Israelites have become impatient with Yahweh, and have fabricated a new god, a golden calf, in hopes of altering their circumstances. The ancient divine consequence, what should happen, is that the Israelites would fall out of favor with God, then experience divine wrath and eradication. This looks to be the case as Yahweh’s wrath is flaming hot, but what really happens? Moses petitions Yahweh to spare the Israelites and Yahweh is convinced, thereby showing mercy and upholding the Abrahamic covenant. 

In the 51st Psalm, we hear the words of David, a king who has committed adultery and murder. The ancient divine consequence, what should happen, is that David should expect a divine curse, to fall out of favor with god, and potentially be put to death. But what really happens? David asks for Yahweh’s mercy and for spiritual cleansing, thus showing that his relationship with God is intact. And if you weren’t sure, David is a great-, great-, great-, (25 times!) grandfather to Jesus. His lineage leads to Jesus. 

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, we hear of Paul's escapades - a violent pursuer and persecutor of early Jesus followers. Ancient divine consequence, what should happen, is Paul would be condemned and potentially put to death, and while he would eventually die, it was not at the hands of an angry god. What really happened? Paul was shown mercy, and transformed by his encounter with God through Christ. He was “appointed” for God’s service. 

Now returning to our Gospel selection, we have lost items. One of a hundred sheep, one of ten coins, and if we included the third part, one wayward child. Ancient divine consequence would say, abandon the items, they are not worthy of divine attention. Even the child that broke honor codes and brought shame to the family, especially the father. For the dishonor, he is disowned. Now remember we are likening the characters in the parable to God. So what really happens? 

The sheep is chased down. The coin is searched for. The lost son is welcomed with open arms. Excessive celebration is had by all. 

This God that Jesus depicts in the parable is radically different from the god the religious leaders adhered to. It’s one thing for a god of ancient times to potentially change their mind about a matter, but to pursue a lost and wandering human is far outside the norm of ancient beliefs. This God goes to great lengths. Finding takes time and effort. Searching a vast area is difficult. But according to Jesus, those that wander off, those that are lost, those that have strayed, God will seek and search. Whether it’s: 

● a 50% loss, 1 of 2 sons; 
● a 10% loss, 1 of 10 coins; or 
● a 1% loss, 1 of 100 sheep; 

regardless of the loss percentage, God still pursues. God will find, and when necessary God will keep watch for a return. And when they are found there will be a raging celebration! 

Let me end with a quote from Brian McLaren, “to follow Jesus is to change one’s understanding of God. To accept Jesus and to accept the God Jesus loved is to become an atheist in relation to the Supreme Being of violent and dominating power. We are not demoting God to a lower, weaker level; we are rising to a higher and deeper understanding of God as pure light, with no shadow of violence, conquest, exclusion, hostility, or hate at all. … We might say that two thousand years ago, Jesus inserted into the human imagination a radical new vision of God—nondominating, nonviolent, supreme in service, and self-giving…”.


Amen. 

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