Loving God, your compassion extends to all of your children – even the ones who have willfully rebelled against you.  Remind us today of the depth of your love and forgiveness, empowering us by your Spirit to share that same love with others, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Today we hear three somewhat similar parables that Jesus tells in response to some complaints from the scribes and Pharisees.  They are grumbling and saying (perhaps to one another) that Jesus welcomes sinners and even eats with them!  There is an implication here that Jesus is somehow lowering himself, or even contaminating himself, by keeping such company.  And so, Jesus tells some parables.

         In the first parable, Jesus asks them to imagine themselves as a shepherd who is one sheep short of 100.  This may or may not have been received as an insult by the Pharisees, as the reputation of shepherds had gotten worse over time.  At any rate, this particular shepherd would have been one of several who were watching a flock that belonged to their extended family (Wendt, The Parables of Jesus).  Hence, the loss of a sheep was not just an individual loss, but affected an entire community of people.  Because of this, friends and neighbours join in the celebration when the lost sheep is found.

         The second parable, then, is about a woman who has lost one out of ten coins, and the Pharisees would have been even more insulted if they thought they were being compared to a housewife!  In this case, that one coin represented a day’s wage – which is no small thing to a peasant woman.  And so, she lights a lamp, gets the broom out, and searches the house until she finds it.  And when she does, she invites her friends and neighbours to rejoice with her, for the lost has been found.

         The third parable, which is the climax, seems to have even higher stakes, as now it is a son who is lost – and one son out of two, at that.  In this case, the Pharisees were probably able to identify quite easily with a wealthy father who is dealing with his two sons.  In fact, they would have been horrified by the behaviour of the younger son, who essentially says to his father, “I wish that you were dead.”  This is what is implied when he asks for his share of the property, which would only be his after his father’s death.

         Incredibly, however, his father gives him what he requests, and the younger son goes off to spend his entire inheritance living high off the hog, until the day when he has nothing left.  Then, adding insult to injury, he ends up looking after some pigs – one of the worst occupations possible for a Jewish young man.  It seems to be only when he is hungry that he realizes that even his father’s servants are better off than he is.  And so, he vows to return home in the hopes that his father will let him be one of his servants.

         However, before he ever reaches home, his father spots him from a distance and runs to meet him.  In fact, he hugs and kisses his son before he can even say a word.  The son proceeds to confess his sin, but rather than punishing him, his father is already planning a “welcome home” party.  And then, they begin to celebrate.

         All those who were listening to Jesus tell this parable would have been shocked to the core.  They couldn’t imagine any wealthy, God-fearing man who would act in this way – running (which was very undignified), and treating his good-for-nothing son like a king.  They also would have sympathized quite easily with the older brother, who similarly can’t believe what his father is doing.  However, if we are to listen to all three parables together, this is the joy that is experienced in heaven over every sinner who repents.

         One of the questions that was asked in confirmation this winter was if anybody had done something that they were so ashamed of that they didn’t want anybody to know about it.  Nobody was asked to name what it was they did, but they were just asked to think about it.  Even though the students are still quite young, almost everybody said they could think of something, and so I suspect that most of you can think of something too.

         Just like the confirmation students, imagine that you are standing in the presence of God, and that God knows all that you have done, and, in spite of that, God’s arms are opened to you, saying “welcome home.  You are forgiven.”  This is the kind of God we meet in today’s parables – the God who is compared to a shepherd and a peasant woman and a loving father; the God who keeps on searching until the lost are found; the God who welcomes with open arms those wayward children who repent – who turn around – and come home.

         This is God’s promise to us because of Jesus, who came to seek and to save the lost, and who has opened the way to God for all those who put their faith in him.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lent 3 (NL 3)                                    Luke 15:1-32

March 7, 2021

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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