Lost and found - sermon from Luke 15:3-7

Lost and found - Luke 15:3-7
Sermon delivered in Lobatse on Fathers Day, 15 June 2008.

As I explained two Sundays ago, the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son is more focused upon the group of the sinners and tax collectors, rather than an individual. Although this parable has one central theme, being the joy over the lost that was found, I believe that there is also much to be learnt looking at the different moments within the story, and their relation to situations in real life.

To get lost is easier than we often think. I and my wife had a terrible experience in Game City the other day. I was paying for some groceries, and Elzeth and Jana went on to another shop. She saw Marnel at my trolley, and thought that I realised it.

I did not realise that she was with me, and also did not notice that she was straying, whilst looking at all the beautiful things on the shelves. I paid for the groceries, and proceeded to my wife, where we realised that Marnel was lost!

In the church of Christ it is interesting how people view others as lost. Often those who drink too much, sleep together outside marriage, or do not come to church are viewed as lost. It is also interesting on how people see the reasons for being “lost”. Those who are lost will blame the church for not looking after them well enough, whilst the church will blame them for not staying with the herd. The story is told of the congregation who remarked to the pastor that it is some while since he has seen him. The pastor remarked that that was strange, because he (the pastor) is in church every Sunday!

Perhaps this remark of the pastor is why the church of Christ is not concerned that much about those who are lost anymore. For the sheep in the flock (those who are going to church) it is often convenient to have lost sheep outside. Because in having lost sheep they do not only have enough to gossip about, but they also feel better about themselves, for being close to the shepherd, and not lost! They are also concerned about their own needs, and has a problem when the shepherd has to leave them alone to go and look for the other sheep.

But there is another disconcerting aspect about the pastor’s answer, that he is in church every Sunday. People often don’t realise how difficult it is for a sheep that is lost, to find it’s way back on its own. This sheep is in foreign territory. It is exhausted by the terror and anguish of being alone. It was running all over to look for the flock, without success. It is exhausted, and does not have the energy to return to the flock. Furthermore this sheep does not know what awaits him when he eventually arrives at the flock… Possibly a lot of angry faces that says: “Where have you been? Why did you not listen?... and so forth.”

When I and Elzeth found out that Marnel was not with us, we ran back franticly to the shop where she was last seen. We were concerned to find her as soon as possible. We thank the Lord for a security guard who took her to management, where she waited for us.

Yes brothers and sisters, whilst it was convenient for the Pharisees and teachers of the law to compare themselves and their deeds with the tax collectors and sinners, this was not how Jesus felt. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, left them behind, to go and look for the lost sheep. He did not come for the perfectly healthy, but he came for those who needed a doctor. (Mark 2:17)

Do we really realise how much Jesus feels for every member of the church? Like a father with only one or two children he will hurry after the lost one, and assist him to return. Yes, in the parable of the lost sheep this shepherd had to carry the sheep on his shoulders back to the flock. It was too weak to walk on its own. It needed continuous support to return.

Yes, dear friends, we must also realise that it takes effort to bring lost sheep back to the church. It needs the concern and love and endurance of a Father’s heart. A father who will walk the extra mile to save his children... a father who is even prepared to carry the lost on his shoulders… a father who will not give up looking easily.

But as I mentioned in the beginning, the central theme of these parables lies with the way in which the sheep is accepted when it comes back. It is not only embraced by the shepherd and lifted unto its shoulders, but it is also the reason for a feast! The shepherd calls his friends to rejoice with him, and they rejoice together about the lost sheep that was found.

And I believe that this is the greatest challenge of the church in 2008 also. My concern is often not the fact that the lost can be searched for and found, but that the congregants at home will look upon those who are found with scepticism and judgement, as the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were doing.

It is therefore a joyous occasion for us to celebrate the confirmation of a new member into our congregation today. We must realise that even in the formular we are urged as a congregation to accept this member and his family into our midst, to support him, and to keep walking together in future, encouraging one another to keep close together to the herd.

But it is also true that the really lost are discovered when the lost are found. In Luke 15:18 we see that the lost son’s older brother refused to go in when his brother came back. Yes, brothers and sisters, Jesus often repeated to the Pharisees that even some of those who preached will be thrown into hell. Even some who has driven out demons and performed miracles will have to stand outside. Let us therefore rejoice today at this confirmation, and keep on looking for the lost, and bringing them towards God’s flock.

I conclude with the story from my own experience. Years ago in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, there was a professor at University, and a man destined to become one of the great leaders of the church, that committed adultery. He was stripped of all his positions in the church. He was aware that he did commit a sin, and confessed it, but could not continue in his ministry. After some years we as students invited him to lecture at one of our outreach preparations. He came and assisted us greatly. From there on he was gradually accepted back into the church, and today he is recognised and his talents are used in the church to the furtherance of the kingdom, even here in Botswana.

But I would not forget the day when I, some time after his re-acceptance into the church, attended one of his courses. When the attendees of the course were introduced, he paused when it came to me, and told the others that I was the first person from the Dutch Reformed Church to invite him again to minister after his problems, and that he will always remain thankful to me for that.

May we continuously think about the way in which we accept others, and what enormous potential the Lord can unleash if we are really following his command in Luke 15!

AMEN!