The Joy of Being Found

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The 15th chapter of Luke offers us the two parables we just read as well as the parable of the prodigal son and is often referred to as the gospel within the gospel because these three parables are the essence of Jesus’ ministry and message.  In our parables for this morning we see that those who are finding what they are looking for are so filled with joy that they call their neighbors and friends and ask them to rejoice with them.  This joy and sharing it with those around us reminds me of a story when Griffin was born.  My mom made a call to my Uncle Ken to tell him about Griffin arriving.  He didn’t answer the phone so she left him a voicemail.  Once my uncle listened to his voicemail, he knew he had to do something so she could listen to it whenever she wanted to remember the joy she felt on that day.  He went to great lengths to try to figure out a way to get mom’s message off his voicemail but he finally find a person who could help him.  You remember those commercials, I think they were office depot, that had the easy button?  Well he found something similar to that so she could just push the button and listen to her message over and over again.  (Play the message)  As you can tell, my mom was very excited to share the news of her first grandson being born just as the people of these parables were excited to share the news of what they had been looking so hard to find.  When we find what we have been looking for, we all become overjoyed and filled with excitement.  

But have you ever looked at it from another perspective?  Have you ever been lost, like really lost, where you wondered if you were ever going to be found?  I know it is just a sheep, but we have to think that when that lamb from our parable this morning sees the shepherd coming to get it, they too have to be excited to have been found.  When we are lost or confused, there is a calmness, a sigh of relief when we are found or figure out what is going on.  There is joy when we find what we are looking for, but there is also joy when we are found.  I know this is an extreme example but when we think of those women in Ohio who were found after 15 years of being kept in that man’s house as prisoners.  Think of the joy and excitement of the one who finally escaped but when the police showed up to rescue the other two, I am sure they were filled with a joy of being found.  When we search and search for God in the course of our lives, we are so joyous when we finally find Him but think of God’s joy and happiness when He is found by us.    

For us to truly understand the joy God feels when a sinner repents, we must better understand the parable of the lost sheep.  The Pharisees, those who strictly observed the Jewish Law, considered those who were not Jewish and did not keep the Law the lowest of the low.  The Pharisees gave them a general classification of the “People of the Land.”  The Pharisees wanted nothing to do with these people, in fact, they had as little dealings with these people of land as they possibly could.  It was a disgrace for one of the daughters of the Pharisees to marry one of these people and the writings of the Pharisees said this, “ When a man is one of the people of the land, entrust no money to him, take no testimony from him, trust him with no secret, do not appoint him guardian of an orphan, do not make him the custodian of charitable funds, do not accompany him on his journey.”  The Pharisees were forbidden to have one of these people as a guest in their home and vice-versa.  So eating with these sinners, just as Jesus was doing, was completely forbidden in their eyes.  So Jesus goes on to tell them about this parable of the lost sheep and concludes the parable by saying, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  The Pharisees did not know it at the time but they too were sinners.  I am sure they thought they were the righteous to which Jesus was speaking, but they were no better off than those whom Jesus was eating with.  

The job of the shepherd was a thankless one.  They were expected to bring every sheep back that left for pasture.  The sheep were not owned by one person, instead, they were owned by the entire village so when the shepherd lost one of the sheep, he was expected to bring it back, dead or alive to show the village what had happened to it.  These shepherds were experts at their craft, they could track one sheep for miles if they had to.  The pastures in which they roamed were fairly small and dangerous cliffs, desert and wilderness were never far away.  These shepherds risked their lives taking care of these sheep.  If we really understand the job of these shepherds, it is no wonder why this name was so graciously given to Jesus.  Jesus seeks us just as the shepherd does the sheep.  In my personal dealings with sheep, I would have to say they aren’t very smart.  Why would they wander off from the safety of the herd?  But look at people do, we too wander off from the herd, we allow our hearts and minds to stray and it takes Jesus searching and seeking us to bring us back.  Our Shepherd did risk his life so we could live, Jesus dined with sinners and then He died for them.  Many times, there were two or three shepherds in charge of the flock, and when the others returned back to the village they would tell the village that one sheep and one shepherd was still out there.  The village would wait and watch for that one shepherd to return.  And when they finally saw the shepherd approaching in the distance with the sheep across his shoulders the village would celebrate with joy and thanksgiving.  It is this picture of God that Jesus wants us to fully understand what God is like.  God is as glad when a lost sinner is found as the shepherd is when a lost sheep is brought home.  There is an important lesson here for us: humankind is quick to write others off, just as with sinners described earlier but this is not so with God.  We may give up hope for those who are lost, but God is completely joyous when a lost one is found and comes home.  We often times think God does not want us back after we have wandered off but I am here to tell you that this is not the case, God is just like the villagers.  He waits, watches and hopes you will return home to Him no matter what you have done.  

When it comes to the parable of the woman searching for her coin, this too is a matter of perspective.  When someone who has a lot of money, loses a dime, which is about how much the silver was worth that the woman was looking for, they probably won’t waste any time looking for it.  If it falls out of their pocket, they might even pick it up.  But if someone who has very little, loses a dime, they will spend more time looking for it.  That dime may be all they have so it of more importance to them.  But a dime is only worth 10 cents no matter what way you look at it so the dime is worth no more financially for one person than it is another.  Yet the importance from one person to another can vary drastically.  We have all seen pennies and other change on the ground and thought it too much of inconvenience to pick it up but picture God as one who picks every single one of them up.  Our souls are worth no more than anyone else’s and we do not deserve to be loved by God any more than anyone else.  Yet we find God going around and picking each one of us up.  He searches for us just as the woman searches for her silver coin and He is just as joyous as the woman when we are found and give our lives to Him.  

In closing, the Pharisees never dreamed that God would search us out.  One Jewish scholar said he initially believed that if a person turned from their ways and prayed for pity from God that they might find that pity.  The scholar went on to say that Jesus showed them that God seeks us and it is not just pity we find, it is love, mercy and grace.  As Christians we believe in the seeking love of God, because we see that love shown to us by Christ, who was sent to earth to seek and to save that which was lost.  It may be you, sitting here today that may be lost, not knowing that God has actively been searching for you.  But I promise you this, God has been looking for you.  Stop running and embrace God’s love so you too can experience the joy of being found.  Amen