Luke 15:1-10
It’s interesting the “people” Jesus hangs with. In Luke 14:1, he’s headed to the home of a leader of the Pharisees. In 14:25, large crowds are traveling with him. Now in 15:1, tax collectors and sinners are coming near. Regardless of who it is, Jesus eats with them, journeys with them, talks with them, teaches them lessons appropriate to what they need to hear. Jesus is an equal opportunity Savior.
The three parables of Luke 15, two of which are included in this Gospel reading, help us understand God’s unconditional all-encompassing grace. Ninety per cent, ninety-nine per cent, not good enough. Jesus came for all. Each and every one of us is important to God. God knows us by name. He longs for us. Each and every one of us is being sought after, searched for, and called by the Creator.
In a world where we can feel misunderstood, unheard, and lonely, this is amazing news, made even more amazing by what we have to do to be part of the story. Nothing. Not a thing. We are part of the story, part of the creation, whether we acknowledge it or not. And God is there, looking for us, sweeping in the dark corners of our lost places, whispering into the depths of our pain, peering into the valleys of our despair, to find us and bring us home.
When all of these lost things in Chapter 15 are found – the sheep, the coin, and the son – the Finder wants to rejoice and calls others to join in the celebration. And that, in a nutshell, is Holy Communion – being called to a big celebration because of what Jesus has done and being invited to the table to celebrate being found. We haven’t done a thing to deserve all this hoopla, and yet God has prepared a feast for us. God has come and found us wherever we are this week – wandering in the wilds, buried under a layer of dust in a far corner, or dying in a foreign land where we’re not deemed worthy of hog slop. And He has brought us safely home.
So there is the individual aspect of the story and the communal side. Each and every one of us is a unique individual, a one-off creation of the Prodigal Father who lavishes love, forgiveness, and redemption upon us. And yet, being rescued in that individuality, we come together in community to rejoice. It’s one of those great mysteries that remind us that God’s ways are not our ways. I am a really precious, remarkable, amazing individual – God knit me together in my mother’s womb. And so are you. And you. And you. There is enough in God’s economy for all of us to be special – and, yet in that specialness, we become one.
So if you find yourself in a place of worship on a Sunday morning or Saturday evening or any day or hour, remember that God has brought you to this place. His mercy and grace are working in you. You have been called here to rejoice. It is a celebration for all. And next week, if you see a new face, rejoice anew. A fellow sheep brought into the fold. Another treasure plucked from the darkness. A long-lost brother or sister restored to family.
When that happens, when we welcome one another to the celebration of the lost-now-found, we get a little glimpse of heaven right here and now. The joy of the angels of God is in our midst as we rejoice together.
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