SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2025 | AFTER PENTECOST PROPER 19 (C)

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 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 And 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 lost sheep.’ 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.*

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 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.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”*

Good morning,

How was your week? Mine was quite busy as I spent a good chunk of it at Lutheridge for the disaster support training. A blessed, if a bit challenging time spent considering how to best serve those that are experiencing some kind of disaster and help them help themselves.

Back to the text. Before us, we have another conflict narrative - Jesus does something that is perceived by his opponents as transgressive (eating with sinners) and he pushes back with a parable related to it - about things that have been lost and then found. A sheep, a coin...and later in the narrative beyond this one, the lost/Prodigal son. The lost one is pursued, while the rest is on hold. The sinners are the lost that receive attention from Jesus, while the Pharisees and Scribes are the rest that are put on hold. They may not like it because they are used to be centered and suddenly there are some that they consider as less than and Jesus pays more attention to them?

In some encounters, Pharisees seem almost excited that Jesus shares some of their beliefs as opposed to the Sadducees (such as the belief in resurrection), but then they are disappointed, because Jesus is not one of them.

In this situation, Jesus flips the script - the self-proclaimed righteous are put on hold, deprioritized up against the sinners they shun. And more than that, he declares that is what God does - there is a great party for a single sinner that repents, just like the the father throws a party for the prodigal son, all the while the 'righteous'—the Pharisees, or the son that stayed—brood in the corner. It's a very human feeling, isn't it? To feel overlooked. To feel like your loyalty and hard work have been taken for granted. The scripture doesn't deny that feeling. But Jesus challenges us on where that feeling leads us. Does it lead to resentment? Or can it lead to a new understanding of God's radical, searching love? Of course, the Pharisees or the son that stayed are not excluded, God still loves them and cares for them, but they are just not the focus.

Jealousy is not only a part of the Ten Commandments, it can be a rather dangerous thing. It has been the reason but also an excuse and trigger point for many atrocities - the grass is greener in the neighbor’s yard, which led to colonization, wars, erasure of whole civilizations....so much pain and suffering.

It fuels antisemitism, anti-Asian violence, anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies (currently very strong in the U. S. and Japan for example), systemic racism, sexism… We are jealous and then if we find a way to dehumanize the other that has it that makes it so much easier to grab it and/or destroy it.

This feeling the Pharisees have—this resentment that someone 'less than' is getting the attention they deserve—it's a dangerous spiritual seed. In the corner of a room, it's just grumbling. But when that same seed of jealousy and entitlement is planted in the soil of power, prejudice, and national pride, it grows into a monstrous tree. We've seen its poison fruit throughout history. It’s the same root that whispers, 'That land is too good for those savages,' and it fuels colonization. It's the same resentment that looks at a thriving Jewish or Asian business and mutters, ' Time to bring them down a notch.' It's the root of so much pain, starting from a place of believing 'they' don't deserve what 'we' have.

Why are the sinners getting all the attention from rabbi Jesus? That’s not the way it should be!

And yet, if you believe Jesus and also look through the Bible, you will discover that it is true - God deprioritizes the mighty and focuses on the lowly. After all, the Chosen nation was not the greatest of nations - it was the underdog of the region and it took them a looong time to grow into a competent nation. I’d wager the religious leaders were not been reading their scripture scrolls with keen eyes, but rather searching to confirm their beliefs and prejudices, just like many Christians do today, let’s be real.

Jesus steps into this and steers them towards a course correction, wanting them to turn the ship around and think of the boat as a refugee ship for those that need it and not as a cruise ship with ticketholders heading towards the after life. And again, the truth is that many churches feel like cruise ships and not refugee ships, complete with entertainment, trips ashore, services, rules of conduct aboard, and a price of admission. In an environment like that, there is little space and motivation for the refugees, the foreigners, the poor, and the orphaned and widowed.

Instead, we are called to focus less on the luxury for ourselves and more on having the space and resources to address the needs of the community - food pantries, prayer support groups, civic and language classes for immigrants, free health check-up days, dinner church services, and more. A church community is not supposed to be a cruise or a country club!

Beloveds, let us pay attention to Jesus’ reframing. Many of us here are the 99 sheep. Our call is to find our security not in being the center of attention, but in the unwavering love of the Shepherd. It is because we are safe, because we are loved, that we can celebrate when the Shepherd runs for the one who is lost. We can rejoice when our resources are spent on the newcomer. We are the 9 coins in the pouch, snug and secure! Let us never forget that our safety in God's love is not a privilege to be hoarded, but the foundation from which we join in God's joyful search for the lost. Amen!

Notes:

Exodus:

Some people have trouble with visualization of faith things -> you end up with a golden calf that is visible, even though there is no faith support for it

Moses is appealing to God with PR argument - what would the Egyptians think if… and then calls back to the ancestors

1 Timothy

Paul - I am the worst sinner -> Jesus came for sinners -> Jesus came for me as well

Luke:

Setting up Prodigal Son and His Brother story.

Jesus didn’t come to pat on the back the righteous, he came to attend to the sinners. The righteous can wait, the lost must take priority!