Luke 15:1-10
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
In case you missed it, Thursday was the tenth anniversary of the death of Johnny Cash. And while he may never be sainted by the church, we can at least celebrate a feast day for the man in black. We can celebrate his life and his witness. We can remember the message he shared through his music.
Now, Johnny Cash was not perfect. A look at his early life and career paints the picture of ragged sinner. A broken marriage, the abuse of drugs and alcohol, time in prison all point to a broken man, lost in the wilderness of this world. Cash was far from perfect, and so lifting him up in church can be tricky business. But I think he is a great example of what Luther would name a “simul justus et peccator,” a person who is in the state of being simultaneously a saint and a sinner. And that’s you and me friends, sinners and saints every one of us. And when I think of the table that God sets before us, I have to think that Johnny Cash would be there. And that in the midst of the meal he would get up from his seat, someone would hand him a guitar, and he would start picking music and telling stories, putting a smile on the face of Jesus.
Later in his life Johnny started to recognize his unique place in the world. He understood the place of power he occupied as a performer and he began to speak up for those who could not speak for themselves. And so this morning I would like to listen with you as we experince Johnny Cash’s “Man in Black”
The song “Man in Black” is a litany of the lost of this world, people Cash knew well. The poor, the beaten down, the sick, the lonely, the prisoner, the reckless. People he had met along the way. People he knew were lost in this world.
This litany of folks could have been lifted out of Luke’s Gospel. The folks Cash names in his song are the same folks we have encountered as the dinner guests of Jesus in our journey through the Gospel in the past few weeks; the poor, the cripple, the lame, the blind, the captive, and the oppressed. They are the people that Jesus hangs out with. They are the people Jesus invites to dinner. And it’s scandalous. Had there been a local paper in Jesus’ day I am sure it would be filled with letters to the editor from angry Pharisees and church leaders, publicly shaming Jesus for his table manners. And I am sure Jesus would have kept on doing what he was doing, reaching out to those in need.
The story we have from Luke this morning follows a familiar pattern. Again we find Jesus at the table. Again we find the Pharisees and scribes grumbling at what Jesus is doing. And again we find Jesus teaching and turning the world upside-down. As much as the Pharisees seem not to get what Jesus is trying to say, Jesus does not loose his patience and continues to teach them. Perhaps it will sink in eventually.
Today Jesus tells two parables that follow the same story line. Both a shepherd and a woman realize that they have lost something and drop everything they are doing to go find it, whether it be a sheep or coin. And this act does not make sense to us. Why leave the 99 to find the one? Why turn the house inside out to find one lost coin? We live in a culture of acceptable loss. Things going missing, that’s just the way it is. We just have to look as far as our refrigerators. If you are anything like me you love taking leftovers home from a restaurant. The joy of having another meal and not needing to cook is great. But sometimes the leftovers get pushed to the back and forgotten, only to be tossed when they start to smell or turn colors. On the surface they are just leftovers, extras. But in reality, there may be $3 or $4 worth of food sacrificed to the almighty landfill. There may be a plate of food that could have feed a hungry soul. And as simple as this may seem, as innocent as this may seen, it is an acceptable loss. And 9 times out of 10 we don’t even think about it. But this is not how our God works.
Jesus starts both of these parables with a clever word play. Basically he is asking, “which of you would not do this,” assuming that leaving the 99 to find the one, or turning the house inside out to find one coin is an accepted practice. That it is the norm. But you and I know that it is not. No one does this. No one leaves the 99 for the sake of the 1. No one takes all day cleaning the house to find the lost coin, regardless of its value. Our culture does not teach us to put everything on hold to find what is lost. No one. Except God.
Perhaps that’s why the Pharisees are grumbling. The Pharisees, the ultimate rule keepers and the ones who exhaust themselves to fit into the culture and the power structure of the world, do not fully understand a God who will give up everything to find the lost. They do not understand the shepherd who is right in front of them who has been wandering in the wilderness of this world, finding those who are broken and alone and in need of being found. Jesus, the love of God incarnate in the world, has been sent to find the lost, and to remind them that they are loved by God. And upon finding the lost, God throws a party. Our God does not understand acceptable loss. Our God puts it all on the line for those who are lost.
I would imagine that some of you are probably feeling lost today...buried under the weight of working or financial troubles, dealing with health issues, perhaps straining to figure out schools schedules and finding time for family. We put on good faces when we come to church, hoping that no one will catch a chink in the armor, hoping we come off put together, but feeling exhausted at the juggling act of smiling through the lostness. We feel the eyes of the righteous burning upon us. Or perhaps we are the righteous, drawing lines of who is in and who is out, grumbling about the folks who wander in, perhaps trying to find the love of God.
Today’s parables from Jesus are not about us versus them, the righteously found versus the sinfully lost. Today’s word from Jesus is not about a divide that we must over come. It’s about a radically foolish God who will wander into the wilderness and turn the house inside out to find what has been lost. These parables are about a loving God who will run down the drive way trying to strap on a pair of sandals with a mile-wide smile to greet the one thought lost. This is a love story about God who does not leave us to our own devices but wraps us in a love that is always with us, even in the lost moments. This is a love that gathers up all of us saints and sinners in the world and loves us regardless of who we are. This is a love worth rejoicing. It is a love worth celebrating.
Friends, there is rejoicing in heaven. And the punch line of these parables directed at grumbling Pharisees is “will you join in?!” Will you join in the joy of a radical God who loves all peoples. Will you join in the grace of a God who, upon finding someone who was lost, drops everything and throws a party to celebrate? Will you loosen your grip on the rules of the world, stop complaining about sinners, and pull up a chair and join in the meal? God is already at the table with sinners, saints, lost, found, broken, and righteous. God is waiting for us to join in.
Today is a day to celebrate. In fact, everyday is a day to celebrate with God. While Johnny Cash’s song may sound melancholy and leave us with little hope and feeling like there is more to be done, there is hope in his words. He knew, perhaps better than most, the life of the lost and the joy in being found. The life of a sinner and saint. He became a voice for those who could not speak for themselves and lifted up those whom we may ignore. And he wanted to rejoice in their being found. “How I’d love to wear a rainbow everyday...” He wanted to celebrate with them and with God.
Friends, this is our call, to rejoice with God. To break some bread and raise a glass in celebration of God’s grace, a grace and love that knows no boundaries. This community of faith is called and empowered to join in with heaven as God rejoices over those who are found. So let us rejoice. There is a party going on is heaven and it is our turn to join in. Let us rejoice with a God whose love knows no boundaries. Let us rejoice with a God who is seeking tirelessly for the lost in this world. Let us rejoice with a God who loves us so deeply that there are parties thrown on heaven and on earth as the kingdom of God breaks into this world.
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