Proper 19C                R Lundquist                           9/16/07

Exodus 32:1, 7-14          http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=56913136

Psalm 51:1-11               http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=56913163

I Timothy 1:12-17           http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=56913200

Luke 15:1-10                 http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=56913227

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”

John Newton, Anglican priest, wrote those words as he reflected on his time as a slave ship captain.  What an experience of being lost and found he portrayed in that beloved hymn.

LOST & FOUND – it’s the theme of the day.  Our “lostness” vividly portrayed in the scriptures.

In the Gospel, we once again find  Jesus with the sinners, those who were outcasts and ritually impure

They were the tax collectors – in other words, crooks. They made their livings by extorting their fellow Jews on behalf of the Romans, the occupying army.  In addition to the tax collectors, there were…  Well, what’s everyone’s favorite sin?  Sex.  So there were prostitutes with Jesus too.

                        And the Pharisees & scribes grumble…

So Jesus tells 2 humorous parables.

The parable of the 100 sheep.  First off, you’ve got to realize that this is NOT good shepherding advice.  Had Jesus never heard of “acceptable business losses?”  Of shrinkage?  Of write-offs?

And the standard size of a flock was around 12.  So when he asked, “Which of you, having 100 sheep…” it was hilarious!  People laughed – and listened.  Then they heard of God’s joy & grace.

Robert Farrar Capon notes that the shepherd doesn’t return to flock, but goes home for celebration.  The 99 disappear – they are a rhetorical device anyway.  The 1 lost sheep is humanity, is us, you & me.  For Jesus sys, “There is more joy in heaven over 1 repentant sinner than 99 righteous.”  Have you ever meet 1 of those 99?  Nope, because there is not 1 in the world.  No one is completely righteous and not in need of repentance.  God only wants to find the lost – God only wants to find you.  God’s love is more extravagant than you can imagine.

The parable of the 10 coins.  Scholars say the coin was probably a drachma, and probably from wedding array, a dowry.  The woman who only had 10 was probably poor.  She was also exceedingly extravagant – for the oil in the lamp was undoubtedly worth more than the drachma.  But listen to her joy in finding the coin.  She calls her friends to say:  “come on over, I’m having a party.  I found my coin!”  Did she put it back in the box with the others?  No, she’s kind of crazy – in a Good News kind of way.

There are 3 things to consider about “lostness:”

• What is lost is worth finding – God doesn’t give up

• Jesus’ followers are not to avoid “the lost” – we are called to find and care for each

• What is lost must be found, for it doesn’t find itself – self-help is not the answer here…

What does lostness look like?  It looks like powerlessness over:

v      A self-destructive child,

v      an addiction or compulsion,

v      judgmentalism or procrastination,

v      racism or perfectionism,

v      resentments that poison relationships,

v      greed,

v      chronic & life-threatening illness,

v      poverty…

Lostness is the nature of sin.  And so is the denial of lostness

Lostness is nothing new – Moses left the people to meet with God, nad they backslide into idol worship – those stiff-necked people.  They were lost.