Luke 15:1-7
1 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.”
Welcome Back!
“Welcome back!” Sometimes when you hear those words, they make all the sense in the world. For goodness sakes, summer break just ended. School started last week. You could almost set your clock to how many teachers were going to say, “Welcome back!” to their students. Sometimes it just makes all the sense in the world.
Other times, though, those words catch you off guard. Maybe it’ll happen sometime next week when the excitement of syllabus day and seeing your friends again turns into the drudgery of daily classwork. You find yourself daydreaming until your teacher calls your name. “Welcome back,” they might say. You hadn’t gone anywhere, but your thoughts were a million miles away. Or maybe there’s this interaction that you’ve been dreading. The last time you talked to this person it didn’t end well. You’re not sure how you’ll be received. But when you see them, they have a big smile on their face, and you’re relieved to hear those two glorious words: “Welcome back.”
Today is “Back to Church Sunday” here at St. Peter. You might have heard those words as you walked in the door, from people who love you and care about you and missed you or are just glad to get to know you. Better yet, we get to hear those words from our Saviour in a way that speaks directly to our hearts and fills them with a joy we can’t help but share.
That’s one of the major, recurring themes of Jesus’ parable, after all – joy. What does he do when he finds his lost sheep? He joyfully puts it on his shoulders. What does he do when he gets home? He calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” It’s all about joy.
But let me ask you this, if you were that shepherd and one of your hundred sheep wandered away, and you had to leave the 99 out in the open country just to go chase after the 1, what is the emotion you’d feel when you found it? Would it be joy? Or would it be something else?
You’ve probably been in that situation. You realize your dog got out of the yard while you’re making dinner. You have to leave it in the oven and risk it burning to a crisp just to chase after that lousy mutt. How are you going to greet that dog when you finally grab hold of its collar? Your employee goes rogue. You can’t spend time with your good employees doing the good work you want to. You have to go chase down the bad one and do damage control instead. What’s going through your mind as you head to their workstation? Your son or daughter does the exact thing you told them repeatedly not to do and now they’re in trouble, and you have to drop what you’re doing again to bail them out of an entirely avoidable situation. How hard is it going to be not to say, “What did I tell you?”
Which is what makes what Jesus says here so strange. What does the shepherd do when he finds his lost sheep – the one that made his life and the lives of the other 99 so much harder? He joyfully puts it on his shoulders. What does that shepherd do when he gets home? He calls his friends and neighbours and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” He throws a party. That’s ridiculous! Who would do that?
But as strange as those things are, I don’t think they’re the strangest thing Jesus says. There are two words that just blow my mind. Can you guess what they are? “Doesn’t he…?”
To introduce this parable, Jesus poses a question: “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?” (Luke 15:4)
The way Jesus phrases this question assumes that the answer is obviously affirmative, i.e. “Of course, the shepherd would leave the 99 and go after the one! Wouldn’t you?” Would you? What’s one out of a hundred? It’s a penny – a monetary value so small we don’t even have that denomination in circulation anymore; we don’t use pennies because they’re so insignificant. It’s a decimal point, a rounding error. If you are rich enough to have 100 sheep, one is more than an acceptable loss.
But not to Jesus. To him the choice is obvious. Of course he’d drop everything to chase after the one, to go rescue you, because that’s who you are. You are the 1%. You are the lost sheep.
Now, I would imagine that more than one of us here already feels that way. Whether it’s a struggle with alcohol or pornography, whether it’s been years since you’ve darkened the doorsteps of a church, whether you’ve done legitimately despicable things in your life – you have a public record that would make your mother blush – whatever it is, that title of lost sheep just fits like a glove.
For others of us, though, “lost sheep” is the last thing we’d call ourselves. We’re here, after all, aren’t we? We’re where we’re supposed to be, we’re doing the kinds of things we’re supposed to be doing, but some days it’s a classic case of that second week of school syndrome. You may be where you’re supposed to be, but your mind and your heart are a million miles away, and you don’t realize how long you’ve been spiritually sleepwalking through life until the Lord calls your name, until you get that wakeup call. Something bad happens – or even just threatens to happen – and you get angry. You lash out at people who haven’t even done anything bad to you. Something bad happens – or even just threatens to happen – and you get depressed. You withdraw. You feel worthless and helpless and hopeless. Those are symptoms of spiritual sleepwalking. Those are signs that you’re straying from your shepherd.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter which sheep you are – the one that is obviously lost or the one that is obliviously lost. Lost is lost. Sheep aren’t exactly known for their homing mechanisms. They are also notoriously hopelessly defenseless. There’s not much a lost sheep can do to protect itself. And it’s only a matter of time until the wolf comes and turns a lost sheep into a dead sheep. That’s the kind of spiritual danger each of us is in every time we stray – obviously or obliviously – away from our shepherd. That’s also what inspires our Shepherd to chase after us.
Look at the love that shepherd has for his lost sheep. That’s the kind of love Jesus has for you – the kind of love that is willing to drop everything to chase after you. Jesus didn’t leave you to your own devices. He didn’t consider you an acceptable loss. He left the green pastures of heaven and descended into this world of danger and death to redeem you. He put his life on the line and lost it on the cross to forgive you your sinful waywardness and to lead you to life everlasting.
And this wasn’t just something that Jesus did 2,000 years ago. It’s something he continues to do for you. He continues to chase after you. He brought you here, so that you could be like the tax collectors and sinners from Luke 15 who were there to gather around Jesus to listen to him. Someday I’d like to literally ask you this, but think about all the different reasons each of us is here today. For some of you it’s a habit, but one, I pray, that becomes personal when you see how personal God’s love for you in Christ is. Some of you are here because God put that person in your life to inspire you or invite you to worship your God and Saviour. Some of you are here because God gave you a wakeup call – a divorce, a death in the family, a tragedy that’s causing you to ask all the right questions so that you can find your answer in Jesus, in a shepherd who considers it the obvious choice to leave the 99 and pursue you personally.
And what does he do when he finds you? What does God do when he gets you here – either to this place and this worship service, or to this point in your life that you’re willing to listen to him? Does he wag his finger at you? Does he look at you with disappointment in his eyes? Does he lecture you into submission? No. He joyfully lifts you up in his arms and brings you home. And then he shares his joy in finding his lost sheep with all the residents of heaven.
That’s Jesus’ whole point with this parable. 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. (Luke 15:7)
Jesus was not pleased with the Pharisees’ self-righteousness, in the same way that God is not pleased when we try to pretend that we don’t need rescue. But when we repent, God rejoices and the angels with him. When we admit our sinfulness and depend on his grace, heaven erupts in celebration. You were lost, but now you are found. You were sinful, but now you are forgiven. And through it all, every step of the way, you were and are the recipient of God’s relentless, personal, passionate love.
So, welcome back. Sure, welcome back to church after a busy summer. Welcome back to God’s house after however long it’s been since you’ve been here last. But above all, welcome back to God’s forgiving love all you sheep who were lost but now are found, all you sinners saved by God’s grace. You are exactly the kind of people Jesus loves and pursues and welcomes. Continue to listen to him. Amen.
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24,25)