(Luke 15:1-10)
Introduction
When I was a boy, one day we found our younger brother missing. Everyone including the neighbours was worry and tried searching for him. Hours later we found him hiding under grandma’s bed sleeping. We woke him up and asked him what’d happened. He confessed that he has stolen a bit of grandma’s alcohol and drunkard for few hours. Though that was a bit jokily, it was still a happy ending.
But life is not always easy. On another day years later we found this same younger brother missing not for few hours but did not come home overnight. That was the time while I was in my first year of theological training. During one of the morning classes, my sister called me and wanted me to go searching for our brother. I ranged his office and his colleagues said he did not turn up for work. I ranged some of his close friends and they had no ideas where he was. I went to the local police station to ask for help and was told that I need to make a report only 24 hours after we first found him missing. However the police advised me to go to the hospital for a search thinking that he might have met an accident and was admitted to hospital.
I went to the hospital and did a search. Finally one of the hospital staffs led me to the mortuary wanted me to recognise whether that young man who died in an accident a day before was my brother. The mortuary was just tens of meters away from the front desk. But my steps were heavy; my heart was beating madly in between. That was one the worse experiences in my life to see my beloved brother lying dead coldly. This time again, we found him but not alive. What a tragedy!
Today gospel passage has two “finding” stories. One is about finding a lost sheep while the other a lost coin. Of course there is a third story of the lost son from verse 11 onwards. All these stories emphasise the urgency of finding something or someone and the happiness of the one who found them.
1. Some observations
When I read these parables, I realised the lost “things” were first an animal, the second a thing and the third a human being.
a. In the parable of the lost sheep we see that out of a hundred sheep, the owner lost one. Some might think that one out of a hundred was not a big deal. But it was about empathetic feeling over the lost of an animal just like feeling for your rabbit, your puppy or your kitten while they are in trouble. This man could feel the pain of the sheep which was missing. He left the rest and tried to look for this lost one. The story was one with a happy ending. He found the lost sheep and then happy celebrated with his friend. One thing about a sheep: it baas. That would help the owner to find it following its sound track.
b. In the parable of a lost coin the owner too, like the one who found his lost sheep, celebrated with his friends after he found it. That showed how precious the coin was to the owner. It might not be of much value in terms of market value but certainly precious to him. We also realised that a coin could not make noise like a sheep does. When a coin is out from your sight, most likely it is somewhere hiding. It could be under a bed or a cupboard. The owner was desperate to find it. He lightened a lamp for the search and finally got it.
c. In the parable of the lost son, we are told that this son was desperately wanted to have his share of the heritage from his father. Once he’s got what he wanted, he left for his dream life in the city where he lost everything and was stricken with hunger. In his hunger, he had no choice but to work in a pig farm for living. You can imagine how shameful it could be for a Jew working in a pig farm. Jesus described this man longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. At that very devastating moment, his sense came back and eventually made a 180 degree turning. He decided to say sorry to his father and wanted to start all over again. The happy ending was that the father accepted him and celebrated with his friends a huge feast. What a happy ending too.
2. What are the lessons?
These three parables indicate the salvation planning of the Trinitarian God.
a. In the parable of the lost sheep, the Good Shepherd our Lord Jesus Christ went forth to search for the lost sheep. Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost. (Luke 19:10). He said, “I am the gate for the sheep.….whoever enters through me will be saved….I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10). Not only that, Jesus is the only way, only truth and only life. No one goes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6). Only in the bosom of Jesus the Good Shepherd, we will be comforted. Psalm 23 describes how beautiful it can be when we lie in the bosom of the Good Shepherd. In the midst of thirst and hunger, He makes us lie down in green pastures, and leads us beside quiet waters. Sometimes we are in situation as though we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, yet we fear no evil, because the Lord is with us; His rod and His staff comfort us. Most of all, the Lord has prepared an eternal resting place for us. His death on the cross released us from the curse of death which separates us from the presence of God.
b. Secondly, in the parable of the lost coin, the owner lighted a lamp in searching of it. The lamp in this case indicates the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts us deep in our conscience. Whether we hide ourselves under the bed or cupboard, the Holy Spirit is able to find us. The Psalmist said in Psalm 139:7-8, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Jonah was supposed to be a missionary to Nineveh. He tried to escape from the Lord’s calling by sailing away. Yet God sent a big fish to consume him and he repented. Ananias and his wife Sapphira tried to hide their possession by lying to the Apostle Peter. The Holy Spirit convicted them and both were stricken to death. We have nowhere to hide from the Holy Spirit.
c. Thirdly, the Parable of the lost son (or the prodigal son) indicates the embrace love of the Heavenly Father. We noted that the father was waiting and waiting for the son to return. This is exactly the nature of a loving father. Went the son returned from his devastated life, the father ordered to have the best robe on him and a ring on his finger and so on. That shows the unconditional love of the father. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).
Conclusion
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is searching for us sinners to repent and be saved. The lost sheep perhaps was accidently fell from a cliff while looking for greener field. The lost coin perhaps just slipped out from the wallet of the owner. The lost son perhaps was too passionate and lustful on the worldly possessions. Whatever it is, they finally returned to the one who loved them.
Repent and return is therefore the keyword of salvation in Christ Jesus. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
In closing, I would like to read from 1 John 3:4-10
“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”
I would encourage all of you to ponder over this call from God for you to repent and renounce all evils. Being a pastor, I have helped many people to be set free from all sorts of bondages including alcoholic, drug abused, gambling addiction, ungodly sexual behaviours, demonic obsessions etc.
