...A story for those how have wandered off and don't know how they got there.
Merry Christmas. I imagine that most people aren't reading blogs today. Maybe a peek at a favorite after opening presents, maybe a quick scan late in the evening. But mostly, we'll be too busy enjoying this day to be reading about it. But, just in case someone out there finds himself lost and alone on this Christmas day, I have posted a Christmas story just for you.
At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke a man looks at his newborn baby boy and declares in a trembling voice that is full of the Spirit of God,
76”And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
78By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79, NRSV)
This post looks specifically at those of us who have been, at least at sometime, part of the flock of God. We may have grown up in church, grew bored in Sunday School and ran away from "organized religion" as fast as we could. We may have experienced a painful disillusionment, or followed the voice of someone who led off into a wild place. But wherever we are right now, we remember learning that we are the sheep of his pasture and he is our good shepherd, as the scriptures so often describe it.
But like sheep who have ended up lost in the wilderness, vulnerable to the beasts of the field who come in the dark of night, we have become deaf to the shepherd’s voice, disconnected from the flock.
In Matthew 18:12 Jesus uses this imagery to offer a quick parable to his disciples to talk about the love of God revealed in his Kingdom ministry.
What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
But in this post, I want to use the version of the story that Jesus tells in Luke 15.
Remember this version was directed to the Pharisees and scribes, religious folk who were grumbling because of the kinds of unreligious folk that Jesus hung out with. See if you can spot the difference the difference between the version that Jesus tells to his followers and the version that he tells to religious folk who may not clearly understand his ministry, because the difference in emphasis can make all the difference to us today.
Luke 15:1-7
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 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. (NRSV)
We were driving home from a friend’s house last week after it was dark. Our street was quiet and the first thing that I saw in my headlamps was the reflection of his eyes, as he first froze and then darted off, I pointed out the coyote to Beth, Brooks and Ali. We flipped a u turn and followed the coyote as he ran into the ravine, excited by the brief encounter with wild nature. But immediately our thoughts turned to Mad Max—our cat.
So, we drive into the driveway, poured into the house and began calling his name. Within a minute we had found him sleeping upstairs. And for the first time since seeing the coyote, we all exhaled.
I must confess before I tell you this next part that I am not a cat person. I am completely and utterly a dog person. I don’t care much for cats, not even our cat. So hopefully you’ll excuse me when I tell you that while I was really focused on making sure that my cat hadn’t become a coyote meal, I didn’t spend anytime worrying about the rest of the cats in the neighborhood.
You see there is a very big difference between Max and everyone else’ cats: Max is mine. Max is our family cat. Max belongs to us.
And short of pulling that cat out of the coyote’s jaws, I would have done just about anything I could to protect my cat, our family pet, one of the creatures that belong to us.
And this is exactly the point that Jesus was telling the religious folk who balked at him hanging out with well-known sinners: Wouldn’t you go after sheep that belonged to you?
Now, sheep are the most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible. There are over 400 references to sheep and flocks and shepherds. Commentators have noted that of all the reasons that sheep are used, not to mention that it was the most common form of commerce, that the singular characteristic of sheep is that sheep are prone to wander, even unable to find their way back to a flock even when it is in sight and that sheep are completely and utterly dependent on a shepherd. A sheep alone is a meal for the many more ferocious creatures in the wild.
Notice that while Matthew’s version of the parable spoke of the sheep that had gone astray, putting the emphasis on sheep’s responsibility for its perilous condition, Luke’s telling of the story puts the burden not on the sheep, but the shepherd.
Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
There is no mention of the sheep going astray, just of the shepherd losing them. And if you are like me, you have probably missed this in the past.
So often, I have heard Bible teachers turn this parable into a moral lesson about how we go astray. That we are like sheep that get so distracted while pursuing the things that will fill our stomach that we stop hearing the shepherd’s voice. Or that we can become fearful of the wolves and coyotes out there that we run from the shepherd and hide until we have lost our way. Or that we can get disconnected from the flock and in so doing are alone in a harsh world.
The stories have morals: Keep feeding on the word of God, keep listening to the shepherd’s voice, keep connected to the flock of God. Do not fear. And these are good morals, good advice.
But they have nothing to do with this parable as Jesus tells it to the religious leaders of his day. He doesn’t spend any time wagging a finger that those who have wandered off, or trying to prevent others for doing so. Instead he uses a well-known image of sheep and shepherd to make this key point that defines not only the ministry of Jesus, but the very heart of God.
It doesn’t matter why or how we wandered off, God is coming for us for one reason…
This is why Jesus came to this world, this is why when he was here, Jesus hung out with strays and wanderers and those who were cut off from the flock of God. This is why Jesus beat the bushes and wandered into the wilderness and proclaimed that the rule and protection of God is available to everyone. There is only one reason thing that matters and it is not how you wandered off, or why you wandered off, or how many times you have been warned or told to stay put or herded into a safe place or anything else. There is only one reason why Jesus came into this world or why God is coming after every stray sheep. It’s because: We belong to Him.
And that is all that matters. And this is what I want you to know in your bones as you hum Christmas carols that make tears well up in your eyes and put a lump in your throat...
This is what I want our graduating seniors to know every June as we lay hands on them and pray for them...
This is what I want every young parent who wanders back to church with a birth of a child, or every person who cries out to God after a bad news doctors’ appointment, or everyone who sheepishly sneaks into the back of the sanctuary hoping no one noticed...
This is what I want everyone who knows that some where deep in their souls that they long to be back in the fold, and miss the shepherd’s voice...
It doesn’t matter why or how you wandered off, God is coming for you for one reason…YOU belong to him.
Jesus came for you and is coming for you. This is his reason for being here. Ps 95:7 says: “We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.” (NLT)
This is why Jesus hung out with prostitutes and publicans back then and why he will find you wherever you are today. He is gathering his flock, carrying them home and rejoicing over them. This is why he is reestablishing his Kingdom. This is what he is doing in the world. To gather his flock and to demonstrate his love for the whole world through it.
Hear again the good news, no matter what you have done, no matter where you have gone, no matter what you have become, you belong to him. Jesus is coming for you.
5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices…7 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.
So, what to do when you have wandered off…
If you are reading this message today feeling like you have been a
sheep that has wandered off, you may be wondering what you should do.
So often we think that the only way back to God is to find our way
back. We know we have gone astray and we assume that it is our
responsibility to get back to where we should be. But from God’s
perspective, we have not gone astray, he lost us.
Here is my suggestion to you…
Stay put.
Let him find you.
Let him carry you home.
Where ever you find yourself, wherever you come to yourself, whenever it become clear to you that you are a long way from home and not where you should be, then just stop where you are. Stay put. Let him find you. Let him carry you home.
When I was a very young boy, not more than 7 or 8 years old when my family spent a weekend with some other families, RV camping in the desert at a place we called “Coyote Den.” Coyote Den was a huge collection of rocks and boulders stretching up into the sky. And while the moms and dads were all setting up camp, I tagged along with some older kids to explore the rock formation.
Higher and higher we went through the collection of huge boulders, me trying desperately to keep up. I saw the older boys jump down from one boulder to another and then take a few steps back and leap over a chasm, and continue down the other side. I jumped down on to the rock, looked at the gaping gap in front of me in front of me and saw that it fell down, down, down. I gulped and realized I had met my match. It was too big for me to make it safely across. I looked around and saw that I was a good forty feet above the ground, perched on a rock, unable to climb back up from where I had jumped down facing a gap too large for me to clear in a jump. I was stuck.
I began to yell to the other guys, but they didn’t hear me. What seemed like hours, passed until I heard my Dad’s calling for me. My voice cracked in relief as I answered back. I was safe. Soon, I saw my dad’s beaming face as he came bounding up the backside of the formation. He looked at where I was and reached across that crevasse and grabbed my hand. I felt his huge hand and strong fingers close tightly around my trembling fingers and with what seemed like no more effort than lifting a cup of coffee, he pulled me over the expanse into his arms
It’s a bit too dramatic to say that I was saved by my dad on those rocks that day, but I had wandered off, was lost, separated, and certainly stuck. What lingers with me however is the feel of his big hand wrapping around my smaller one. He didn’t reach out and say, “grab on”; he grabbed me. I didn’t hold on to him, he held tightly to me. I didn’t have to leap to him, he carried me.
I know what it is like to put my hand into the stronger hand of one who loves me. I know what it’s like to be held, rescued, and, to be saved. And some you today need to put your life into the passionate powerful hand of the Father who loves you, the Shepherd who has come for you, the Lord who says “I have come for you, because you are mine.”
If you had asked me twenty five years ago, why I was a Christian, I would have answered in an old hymn, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” Back then; I thought that I was a believer based upon my determined decision to follow my Lord each day. That the love of God in Christ had so inspired me that I was determined to be a faithful disciple, a better person.
But I have had far too many failures to trust my own determination. I thought then that it was about my commitment, my devotion, my dedication. Now I know that "I am prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love."
Now I know differently. Now I know that I have not been able to follow Christ, but that Christ continually comes after me. Today I know that I have not hung onto God, but that God has hung on to me. And my answer about why I am a Christian today is found best in a different hymn.
O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee.
I give thee back the life I owe, that in the ocean depths that flow
May richer, fuller be.
My friends, this is the good news for wanderers like you and me.
It doesn’t matter why or how you wandered off, God is coming for you for one reason…YOU belong to him.
Stay put.
Let him find you.
Let him carry you home.
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