Nancy E. Petty
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church
September 16, 2007 – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Text: Luke 15:1-10
The Gospel Within The Gospel
“You could call the fifteenth chapter of Luke ‘the gospel within the gospel.’ Beginning with the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, and ending with Luke’s story about the prodigal son, it is good news all the way. Everything that was lost is found. The lost sheep is returned to the flock, the lost coin is recovered by its owner, the lost son is restored to his father, and the parties go on all night long. God’s talent for finding us proves greater than our talent for getting lost, and there is joy in heaven as well as on earth.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching Life)
All of us have stories of being lost and found or of having lost something and finding what was lost. Many of us also have stories of being lost and not being found; or of losing and never finding. These stories can leave powerful impressions on our lives when we think of the feelings that go with them. I still get goose bumps when I think of the day we lost Jasmine in Wal-Mart; or the day we lost Nora (more accurately the day she hid from us) while shopping at an outlet store in North Raleigh. If you have ever lost a child in a department store you know the panic that quickly sets in. You also know the mix of feelings that comes with finding your lost child—anger, relief, and an unnamable joy. You know that you cannot hold back the rejoicing that is inside of you at the sight of your child’s face.
Not long ago I followed a “lost and found” story that made the local TV news as well as the newspaper. It was the story of a child named Kameron and his family who were spending the summer in Durham so the young boy could receive chemotherapy treatments at Duke Hospital for a rare kind of cancer. The beloved family dog, Kirby, had been included for the out-of-town stay because he brought comfort and joy to the young boy who was going through such a difficult time. One evening, on the way back to their rented apartment, the family was in a serious automobile accident on US 15-501, which resulted in their vehicle overturning. While no one was seriously injured, in the chaos the beloved family dog jumped through the broken car window and fled from the scene. For two days people from all walks of life stayed out of work to search for the lost dog. As evening settled on the second day the dog was sighted in a shelter of trees just off the interstate. When the young boy and his father arrived at the scene and called the dog’s name, he joyfully came running toward them. At the sight of the dog safe within the young lad’s arms, and I might add the young lad safe within the embrace of his dog, tears of rejoicing and shouts of celebration flowed. The lost was found and there was rejoicing.
It is easy to read the parables in Luke 15 and get in a theological quagmire debating the “rightness” of leaving the ninety-nine to go after one; or the theological ramifications of preaching the message: that to be lost is to be precious in the sight of God; or to discount, judge, or even belittle the role of the scribes and Pharisees who are God-fearing believers and devoted disciples who do not merely talk about the life of faith but who are willing to live it because they mean to set an example. Yes, it would be easy to get stuck in conversations about calling sinners to repentance or blaming the righteous for missing Jesus’ message that all people stand in the need of God’s mercy and grace and miss the central plot; the invitation of seeking, sweeping, finding, and rejoicing. As Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “The invitation is not about being rescued by Jesus over and over again, but about joining him in rounding up God’s herd and recovering God’s treasure. It is about questioning the idea that there are certain conditions the lost must meet before they are eligible to be found, or that there are certain qualities they must exhibit before we will seek them out. It is about trading in our high standards on a strong flashlight and swapping our ‘good examples’ for a good broom. It is about discovering the joy of finding.”
On a very basic and human level, these parables that are Jesus’ response to the Pharisees’ murmuring still have the power to expose the roots of bitterness that dig their way into us whenever we feel that God is too good to others and not good enough to us. It has been said that most of us want mercy for ourselves and justice for others. But the Lukan parables call for us to celebrate with God because God has been merciful not only to us but to others also, even to those we would not otherwise have accepted into our fellowship.
A Jewish story tells of the good fortune of a hardworking farmer. The Lord appeared to the farmer and granted him three wishes, but with the condition that whatever the Lord did for the farmer would be given double to his neighbor. The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune, wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately he received a hundred cattle, and he was overjoyed until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred. So he wished for a hundred acres of land, and again he was filled with joy until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred acres of land. Rather than celebrating God’s goodness, the farmer could not escape feeling jealous and slighted because his neighbor had received more than he. Finally, he stated his third wish: that God would strike him blind in one eye. And God wept. The parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin expose the grudging spirit that prevents us from receiving God’s mercy. And yet, the truth is that only those who can celebrate God’s grace to others can experience that mercy themselves.
I love the way these parables begin. “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.” I love the fact that, at the very least, the tax collectors and sinners were able to acknowledge that what this man Jesus had to say they needed to hear and they wanted to hear more. Unlike the scribes and Pharisees they heard the good news being offered and they were ready or at least open to receiving it. Their response is an example and invitation to us. Every one of us has a lost place within our soul and if, at the very least, we can open our hearts to the possibility of being found, God will find us and somewhere off in the distance we may even hear the angels in heaven and on earth rejoicing.
Imagine, if you will, being that one lost sheep that the shepherd sets out to find. Imagine that when the shepherd finds you she flings you over her shoulders and safely returns you to the flock. Take a moment to rest in that feeling of being found and reunited with others. If the sheep and shepherd image doesn’t work for you imagine being that lost coin. Does it comfort you to know that there might be a person out there who refuses to give up looking for you? Maybe you can’t connect with either the lost sheep or coin. If not, then imagine being that good shepherd or diligent sweeper who holds the hope and possibility of finding the one that is lost and bringing them into safety and light. We are the ones lost and we are the good shepherds and the diligent sweepers. And in the end, we the church, are the ones called to rejoice when hope and wholeness is restored.
The headline read, “Searchers Help Boy, Lost Dog Reunite.” The story was a follow-up to the story of Kameron, the boy with cancer and his lost dog, Kirby. The article quoted Kameron’s father who said, “I never really lost hope.” He credited his hope to people like Pat Nichols, a dog lover touched by the story who canvassed the South Square area with fliers and skipped work to continue the search, calling Kirby’s name from the driver’s seat of her convertible. This is how the article in the News & Observer concluded.
It was fitting that the lost dog was corralled by some of the people who made the search for him big news—animal lovers and people touched by the sadness and hope of a little boy who’d been through so much.
It was just fitting that, after all that running, a skittish Kirby finally wound up in Ali Kooshesh’s (Kameron’s father) arms.
“Yes, I did find him,” he said. “But it wasn’t without the help of everybody around.”
He wouldn’t confess to tears of joy at the climactic moment. But emotion seeped through as he told what he felt when he finally had Kirby.
“I was sure that, tonight, the whole family was going to be together,” he said.
Kameron, 12, sporting a “Lucky Dog” T-shirt at a Friday news conference, said he was ecstatic… “When I’m in pain, he can comfort me, just like a little brother can.”
His leukemia is under control after treatment at Duke Hospital since October. Kameron is looking forward to returning home to Santa Rosa, California, in May—with his mom, his dad and his “little brother,” Kirby.
The good news is this; when the whole family is together—sinners and saints, the lost and the found—the angels in heaven and on earth rejoice. Whether you are the lost, the good shepherd or the diligent sweeper God’s mercy is extended to all. This is the good news of the gospel!