September 6, 2020
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Psalm 28:6-9; Matthew 18:12-14[1]
This parable from Matthew is one of several lost-and-found
stories. We can easily identify with searching for something that is lost – our
keys, our phone, our mask, our kids. In this parable, and others about
searching for what is lost, we are meant to be the lost ones, the ones who are
the object of another’s search. We are lost, not necessarily in the sense of
not knowing where we are, but in the sense of being searched for, lost to
someone else. We are the ones for whom someone is searching.
When we are lost, like a child in the store, we can
sometimes forget that someone is looking for us. We start frantically looking
everywhere, and usually getting further and further away from where we started.
If you’re lost in the wilderness, we’re taught that the first thing you should
do is stop, calm down, and make a plan. If you know someone will be looking for
you, you’ll be better able to hear them calling if you remain calm and still.
When we are lost in more metaphorical ways, it can be harder
to remember that we are being looked for, that someone wants to bring us back
into the fold. Like the lost sheep, the one in a hundred who has gone astray,
we are searched for, and when we are found, rejoiced over. We are found, not
because we go seeking, but because we are sought. The good news is that we are
sought for by Christ, and we have always already been found.
Now, our role is not to actively go astray, playing
hide-and-seek with God, saying “catch me if you can!” Nor is our role to be
passive, waiting and waiting to be found, doing nothing to improve our
situation. Our role is to be attentive, recognize that we are lost, and be
open to being found. It is listening for the voice of the one calling out to us
and turning toward the one who seeks us.
As the lost, the ones who have gone astray, we are the
sinners, the ones in need of being found, of being saved. We aren’t the ones
doing the saving; but, in order to be saved, we must listen for the voice that
is calling and turn toward the finder. We must repent, recognizing that we are
lost and need finding, we are sinners in need of saving. In this way, the work
of salvation involves recognizing our sin, and having the willingness to be
saved from it.
We sometimes find ourselves seeking for what we have lost.
Perhaps it is a sense of purpose, belonging, or our faith that there really is
a shepherd seeking us out. It takes a lot more energy to search than it does to
get lost, doesn’t it? At least in searching we feel like we are in control of
things, we’re looking for what we’ve lost, we’re trying to DO something. Maybe
if I just go to church more, or pray more, or listen to the Christian music
station I’ll restore my faith, find my purpose, or feel like I belong again.
In that kind of search, looking for our lost faith or to
fill the emptiness that we feel, we can spend a lot of time and energy on
temporary fill-ups and grabbing hold of anything we find. They fade, because
they were not what we were looking for, and we continue searching. Perhaps what
we need is to allow ourselves to stop searching, to quiet our troubled minds,
and allow ourselves to be found. The Lord has heard the sound of our pleadings.
The shepherd seeks us out. Will we accept that we are lost and allow ourselves
to be found?
Most of the time, we are the ninety-nine sheep, never going
astray. We may feel like the shepherd has abandoned us to go looking for the
one who deserved to get lost, always wandering off like that. We might resent
the attention that the shepherd gives to the lost sheep, even though we are
safe with the herd, surrounded by green pastures and still waters. This is when
it helps to recognize that we have always been found, and to know that if we
were to get lost, the shepherd would look for us too. Then our role becomes the
celebrators of the one who is found.
The parables of the lost and found end with the coming
together of friends and neighbors to celebrate, to rejoice that the one who
went astray has been found. Rejoicing is the goal, the happy moment of finding
and being found. Salvation is more than just being rescued, restored to
community, being reunited with the shepherd and the flock. Salvation is the
celebration, the rejoicing over the return of the lost ones. It is also
rejoicing with the shepherd who is our strength and shield, the one our hearts
trust; who makes our hearts exult, and with our songs we will give thanks to
the Lord.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version
Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the
No comments:
Post a Comment