Luke introduces a
series of parables that illustrates Jesus' habit of eating with sinners. They contribute to one of the major themes of
Luke, namely, the love and mercy of God toward sinful humanity, as well as the
call to repentance. When we read Chapter 15, Pannenberg[1] says, we are reading of
the reason the Father sent Jesus among us. He came to break down barriers the
people of God had set up between themselves and the lost. The ministry of
Jesus, in extending table fellowship with Jesus to the outcast and lost, shows the
love of God for the lost.
As we reflect upon this passage, Pannenberg says,[2] we find the source
of the message of Jesus in the love of God for the lost individual. Such love
of God for the lost seeks to draw us into the dynamic of the love of God and give
us a share in it. He does not see this emphasis on the individual in
pre-Christian antiquity. All of us in our individuality are now infinitely
precious beings because we are the objects of the eternal love of God. As he
sees it, the root of modern human rights is here.
Perhaps divine genius becomes even
more spendthrift, divine care even more extravagant, as God steadfastly seeks
to restore relationships whenever their covenantal texture unravels.
As they lead up to the parable of
the Prodigal Son, the parables of the Found Sheep and Found Coin in Luke
15:1-10 — plus the setting where Jesus tells them — portray Jesus’
understanding of a certain prodigality operating in the way one tenders grace
according to the protocol of the reign of God.
This is evident in the dynamic of Jesus extending hospitality to sinners
by engaging in table fellowship with them.
The religious authorities correctly assess that sinners put genuine
community at risk. Their religious solution is to reject and exclude from the
community those who sin. This solution is consistent with one way to interpret
the Old Testament. They were to be a holy people, separate from the nations.
They were to be pure. If any in the community transgressed the law, they were
to expel them from the community. Jesus moves down a quite different path of
the Old Testament that shows concern for those outside Israel, whom the Lord
will bring into covenant. Jesus’
righteous solution is to restore and include for the transformation of
sinners. As Pannenberg[3] puts it, for Jesus, the
barriers between the people of God and the world need to come down. God wants
engagement with the world in order to bring transformation. To enact
such hospitality is to initiate a kind of generosity that, in the minds of
Jesus’ critics, is at least wasted on the unrighteous or, even worse, crosses
the line into unacceptable religious behavior with sinners. Jesus enacts a
gracious hospitality that is prodigal. However, his prodigality signals that
religious rituals and rules are a waste of time if they do not edify and
encourage relationships of care among people.
All of this rejoicing may seem
excessive in proportion to the return of just one out of 10, and especially
only one out of 100. Yet, heaven and God’s angels joyfully endorse such ample
rejoicing when it comes to any lost sinner who repents (vv. 7, 10).
Is there really a shepherd out there
who will leave 99 sheep and search all over the countryside for a lost
one? Not really. Yet, this is what God expects of the shepherds
of the spiritual lives of the people of Israel. In Ezekiel 34:4, 16, the
“shepherds of Israel” have failed to make weak sheep strong or to care for the
sick ones or bandage the injured ones. They have failed to bring back strays or
look for the lost. In fact, they have scattered the sheep in a way that makes
them vulnerable to attack from their enemies. This means the Lord will become a
shepherd to the people and look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage
thee injured and make the sick strong. The Lord shall watch over the healthy as
well. The Lord shall be a true shepherd to them. We also learn in Isaiah 40:11
that the Lord is like a shepherd feeding the flock, gathering them, holding
them, and leading them to rest. True, a real shepherd might not leave the 99
sheep at risk. However, the hero of this
story not only does everything possible to find the stray sheep. We do not know
why the sheep is lost. We just know it is, and the shepherd cares enough t find
it. When found, this shepherd invites neighbors over to celebrate because of
the sheep he found. Jesus invites his listeners to identify with the shepherd's
lonely, long, determined search for the lost sheep. Those listening are invited to be the friends
and neighbors of the shepherd and join in the celebration. No, this was not typical behavior in the days
of Jesus. But, do you get the point?
Is there really a woman who will
mess up her home, turn it inside out, in order to find a coin of little
value? She is beneath the status of many
who listened, but Jesus invites them to identify with the determined woman who
searches everywhere in the house until she finds the coin. To recover one coin, she sacrifices
the order of her whole house - tearing it apart in a tireless search for that
which is missing. She is every bit as single-minded and obsessive as is the
shepherd. Finally, when she finds it,
she invites her friends and neighbors to a party that probably cost more than
the coin. No this was not typical
behavior in the days of Jesus. But, do
you get the point?
The recovery of the lost sheep and
coin were of value to the one who discovered them, of course. However, to focus
upon the sheep for a moment, the lost sheep really needed to be found. It was
in danger from many forces. The 99 would also benefit from having the last
sheep back.
When the pursuer has found what was lost, rejoicing and joy
take place. Restoration and rejoicing are important throughout Luke. The
woman's tremendous joy upon finding it causes her, like the shepherd, to call
together her "friends and neighbors" to rejoice with her. It is not
hard to imagine that such rejoicing may actually end up costing the
woman/hostess more than the coin itself is worth. The coin's true value comes
only from its "found-ness."
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