Exodus 32: 7 – 14; Ps. 51: 1 – 11; 1 Tim. 1: 12 – 17; Luke 15: 1 – 10
I wonder if you’ve ever tried singing to sheep? I’ve just been on holiday to the Yorkshire Dales, and one evening, after a long walk and a meal in a pub, I found myself leaning on a gate, singing to some sheep. They came across the field to listen – ears spread wide so as not to miss anything. But after a while they realised that I didn’t know very many of the words to “We all live in a yellow submarine…” The two nearest sheep looked at one another, as if to say ‘This isn’t going to get any better’, and they all started to drift away. Sheep are not as stupid as they look!
Today’s Gospel includes two very familiar stories – the lost sheep and the lost coin. We could interpret them as being about our response to God, about the joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents. And that is an aspect of these stories. But if we look carefully at the context, Luke is also saying something important about what God is like. God is like the owner of the sheep, or the woman. He sends Jesus to look for us because God is a God who searches for us.
At the beginning of the Gospel we’re told that the Pharisees and the scribes were complaining about the way Jesus spent time with tax collectors and sinners. These were people whose lifestyles meant that they were cut off from the people of Israel. They weren’t respectable, or acceptable to the Pharisees and scribes who took their religion seriously. And yet Jesus spent his time with them. And they often responded to him with joy. Like Zacchaeus, the tax collector, for example, who was delighted and who turned his life around when Jesus asked to come to his house. Seen in context, these two stories are invitations to the Jewish religious leaders to see things differently; to rejoice with Jesus when the lost are found.
The Pharisees and scribes need to understand that, in Jesus, God goes out to search for the lost. They need to take on board the extent of God’s love for those who have strayed away. This shepherd looks for the one sheep which has got lost – even if it means leaving the rest of the flock to fend for itself. This goes well beyond what is sensible. He then carries the sheep home on his shoulders like a trophy. Sheep have twice as many legs as human beings, and are not designed to be carried.
In the Old Testament straying sheep are often symbolic of sinners. The Psalmist says “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments” (Ps. 119: 176). In Isaiah we read “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way” (Is. 53: 6a)
Sheep and coins can’t do much for themselves. Coins are inanimate; sheep may not be as stupid as we think, but on the whole they probably don’t know that they’re lost – although we did come across some sheep when we were on holiday who knew they were lost. They were on the road, looking longingly through a gate and clearly wanting to be in the field with the other sheep!
God’s initiative in sending Jesus to look for the lost makes repentance and restoration possible. Where Jesus is, the kingdom is being built. And Jesus goes where He pleases, not necessarily to those who participate in organised religion. The Pharisees and scribes needed to learn this.
During my holiday I visited a friend who was ordained at the same time as me and who is now curate in a church on the edge of Leeds. So I had the privilege of going along to the Tea Cosy Café last Saturday morning. The Café welcomes everyone, but especially those suffering from dementia and mental health issues. It’s truly inclusive, and there’s a wonderful sense of community and support. People just turn up for a good cooked breakfast together. It’s not a church initiative, but the church really wants to be involved with it because they’ve spotted what was apparent to me – that Jesus is already there! God has gone out searching here, and the church is struggling to keep up!
So God goes out to search for the lost. How then do we respond?
Our other readings this morning are helpful here. Paul, the Pharisee, sees himself as one who was once lost, but has been found by Christ. Through the patience of Christ, he has been transformed. There are times when we may also feel lost – that we have wandered off – or walked away from God. In this case, Psalm 51 offers us repentance and restoration as a possibility. “Create in me a new heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51: 10)
Paul also saw himself as clearly appointed to serve God and the church. We’re not sheep or coins, nor are we first century Pharisaic Jews. And it’s very unlikely, although not impossible, that God is calling us to the kind of ministry that Paul was engaged in.
But we are people who are seeking to be disciples of Christ. So I guess that means we want to be where He is – to join in with what He’s doing. But what does that mean for us? My friend has no doubt that her place is at the Tea Cosy Café. But who, for us, are the lost? And what is poverty in an area like Hampstead where most people are financially secure? Perhaps Jesus is standing at the water cooler in an investment bank somewhere hoping for a conversation with a weary intern who’s been up all night working. Maybe we could be there too. Perhaps He’s loitering, hoping someone will buzz Him in to some expensive retirement flats or sheltered accommodation. Maybe He’s rushing from one after school activity to another with a fraught mum who wants the very best for her children…
The possibilities are almost endless.