Parable of the Lost Sheep

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? And 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 lost sheep.’ 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.

Parable of the Lost Coin

“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? And 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.”

Luke 15:1-10 NRSVUE

It’s easy enough to put ourselves in the shoes of the shepherd who ended up one sheep short, or of the woman who lost her coin, and we take some measure of joy when the lost things are found. I think, though, that these illustrations from a different time don’t hit with quite the desired impact in these times. When I think of loss/relief/rejoicing episodes, I think of

• watching your child at the lake, and she is suddenly not there, then a few seconds later casually swims out from under the pier
• learning that your loved one was not on that particular part of campus when the active shooter appeared
• confirming that the Marine Osprey that crashed in Afghanistan was not piloted by your nephew

That is gratefulness in finding. “Thank God,” we say, but I’m not sure it’s exactly what we mean.

So those situations, the ones just above, along with the original ones from Luke, are fine as far as they go, but in driving home the point Jesus was trying to make, I think they all fall a little short.

The issue for the Pharisees was that Jesus was consorting with sinners and other unsavories. Them, distinct from us. The point to be made is that Jesus doesn’t see any them, he only sees everyone, every single one, as us. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them,” he teaches in Luke 6:32.

Both Christian essayists Max Lucado and James W. Moore arrived at the notion “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it,” and that is charming to think about. The challenge for us, though, is not to take joy only when the various people that are pictured on our refrigerators end up safe and sound, but to view, as Jesus does, each of the messy others out there to be worthy of a spot on our crowded fridge and in our heart. There is no them. Just us.