03272022 – Luke 15
We’ve been traveling with Jesus for a few weeks now.
On Ash Wednesday “he set his face toward Jerusalem” and said, “there is NO TURNING BACK.”
He had invited us – to go WITH HIM to the Jerusalem and beyond.
ALONG THE WAY we are stopping and listening to PARABLES (short stories) that Jesus told that “give us snapshots” of what the Kingdom of God is all about.
At this “specific point in the journey,” tax collectors and “sinners” are following him.
They are listening to him. They are liking WHAT he has to say. He speaks a word that RESONATES with them.
The “religious” crowd DOESN’T LIKE THIS, nope they do not like it one bit… and so they hurl AN ACCUSATION at Jesus. They are ACCUSING HIM of behavior that is wrong, just plain wrong.
“He eats with sinners,” they say.
You have to sense the REACTION and the EMOTION in Jesus’ response.
He shoots back at them with three stories, two SHORT, one a little bit LONGER.
Any time something happens in THREES Biblically speaking it means it’s REALLY BIG. Really important, LISTEN UP. TAKE NOTE! TAKE HEED! The number 3 you will remember is for emphasis sake…so you DO NOT forget.
Each of these stories was meant to be told-together-in-a-group. They are IN RESPONSE to this “accusation.”
Unfortunately, we only get ONE TODAY. But you DO KNOW “the other two.” They are all FAMILIAR. All three.
“OH, REALLY,” Jesus says, “you THINK I HANG OUT with sinners? And you think that is A BAD THING! WORTHY OF YOUR JUDGMENT?
You bet I do, Jesus says. . . Let me tell you how God FEELS about sinners.”
These three stories are really ABOUT God. They tell us about God’s LOVE.
First we have this shepherd who has 100 sheep. One WANDERS OFF, so he leaves 99 of them and goes after the one. Then, when he finds it, he throws a huge party.
Next, we have a woman who loses one of her ten coins. She turns her house UPSIDE DOWN to find it, and when she does, she throws a big party.
Finally we have a father whose son WALKS OUT ON HIM, TOTALLY disgraces his family name, SQUANDERS ALL of his money, and then, has the audacity to SHOW BACK UP AGAIN!
When the father sees him coming he RUNS OUT TO HIM and throws a huge party.
Three pictures of God. Apparently, God likes to Par-TY! (Just Kidding, maybe he does, and maybe he doesn’t) But apparently God’s LOVE is different than OUR love. Way Different!
God’s love seems to be a little bit BIZZARE…and a little bit OUTLANDISH. A little OVER THE TOP. All three stories are OUT THERE.
NO GOOD SHEPHERD would just leave 99 sheep like that. That’s IRRESPONSIBLE. Anything could happen to those 99. It’s crazy. Bizarre. Unheard of…
NO WOMAN would find a coin and then turn around and probably spend MORE THAN THE COIN IS WORTH to throw a party. It doesn’t make sense. It’s crazy. Bizarre, it is unheard of…
No self-respecting father of an ANCIENT NEAR MIDDLE EASTERN descent would RUN after a child who had DISOWNED HIM. That’s downright crazy! According to the law THIS KID should have BEATEN or KILLED, and if he lived to tell about it, he should have been sent away, BANNED, BARRED, DISGRACED forever. But that’s not what happens.
Nope, this guy RUNS TO HIM, doesn’t demand confession, and just throws a another huge party. That’s crazy, bizarre, a little bit out there. NOBODY would do that.
Jesus looks at his accusers and says, “Of course I eat with sinners. God is crazy about sinners.” And you should be TOO!
God’s love. It is not FAIR. It is AGAPE LOVE. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. LOVE WITHOUT ANY CONDITIONS. It is love for ALL, without exception. The Church, the people of God, all their various denominations, their schools of theology, and all of its clergy, need to learn the lesson…
In words reminiscent of the discussion between Nathan and King David, comes the self-same thought: YOU ARE THE SINNER…and God loves YOU with all of his conviction and all of his heart. UNCONDITIONALLY.
Now, should you GO and DO likewise? Amen.