The One
St. Luke, the 15th chapter: 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Money was tight, and she needed a pair of shoes. So come Saturday morning they packed up the two boys and headed to the discount store. The oldest boy was just four years old – and he did what four year old boys do when entering a shoe store – ran up and down the aisles, climbing on the chairs and bending low to see his reflection in the mirrors built into the combination foot rest, stool and mirror. Dad chased him down while mom took charge of pushing the two year old in his stroller, trying to keep the stroller in the center of the aisle, away from little hands that liked to touch. She found a few pairs of affordable shoes that would work. While the clerk searched the back room, she nested into a comfortable chair. Deciding the little one needed to stretch his legs she lifted him out of his seat and smiled as he tottered around in front of her – his beaming face betraying the joy of being free. The clerk came and piled the boxes in front of her, blocking the view of her youngest. She called for dad and older brother to join her. The family gathered around for the serious business of offering opinions and sharing advice. It hit them both at the same time – where was the baby? He had been right there – busy pulling tissue from boxes. He was gone. They both jumped up – not wanting to panic, but furtively searching the aisles – looking for the telltale blonde head. He wasn’t in sight. They expanded the search – each one travelling a different aisle – soft cries of his name returned unanswered. Soon other shoppers craned their heads as his name was shouted out. The panic kicked in, the adrenaline building along with the fear felt in their gut. Through the open store door dad caught a glimpse of a blonde head heading to the parking lot. Dad’s relief at finding his son soon disappeared as he reached the doorway. His son was in the middle of the road; a car speeding towards him. A quick glance took it all in – the speed of the car, the distance between them – the roar of the engine accelerating down the road confirmed it – the driver did not see the small boy. Dad’s mind raced – what to do? If he called his son’s name – his son might stop – certain doom. The only path to safety lay in getting to the other side. With no thought for his own safety – dad leapt forward. The brakes screeched and dad felt the bumper scrape the back of his leg, but never broke stride as he bent over to grab up his son. Wrapping him close to his chest they reached the safety of the curb. He stood still, trying to catch his breath, his son resting quietly on his chest. The wife’s screams, the car horn blaring, the rush of customers to the doorway – all were ignored as he lifted his son in the air and lightly kissed him on the top of his head. He whispered a quiet, “Thank You, God.” His body was soon racked in spasms as the release of the adrenaline combined with the realization of just how close he came to losing his son. Mom walked over and gently took the now crying boy in her arms, hugging him tightly. As she turned her head to her husband, the tears overflowed onto her cheeks and cascaded down. He recovered, gathered his family together and announced, “Let’s go buy some shoes!” Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. This fear is reflected in the parable of the Lost Sheep. In the parable we see a loving shepherd gathering his sheep together, counting each one in turn. One can only imagine his thoughts as he reached 99 – where was number 100? Perhaps he called his wife to help him recount. Yes – one was missing. What would he do? He could rationalize – it was only one sheep – he still had 99. The sheep wasn’t that important in the larger scheme of things. It would probably turn up in the morning; after all, it was an animal, used to the elements. To set out and search for it now would mean taking time from his family – his relaxation. The best use of his valuable resources, time and energy would be to watch over the 99 – letting the 1 to fend for itself. After all, a tired shepherd is no good to anyone. He should really feed the 99, after all, they did what they were supposed to – they didn’t wander off. He owed it to his father and his grandfather – both who shepherded on these very hills – to continue the familiar routine handed down from the start of the shepherding business – the way it has always been done. Yes, the rationalization made sense – leaving the 99 would mean taking from them scarce and valuable resources – for what? Was one sheep worth so much effort? So he does the impractical – the unheard of – something the other shepherds would not understand – he leaves the 99 and sets out to search for the 1 lost sheep. I would imagine that as the shepherd searched, he had many doubts – why am I doing this when I could be at home kicking back with a nice glass of Merlot? Perhaps he replayed the taunts of the other shepherds as they yelled after him as he left – “Hey, sheep boy – what about the 99? You just gonna walk out and ignore them? You gotta take care of your own – what would your dad say? You hear me – we take care of our own – we don’t go out on wild sheep chases!” One can also imagine the joy the shepherd had as he came across his lost sheep. He bent down and gently lifted it on his shoulders, softly talking to the frightened sheep, “There, there, I am here. I won’t let anything happen to you. Let’s go join your brothers and sisters.” Isaiah, the 53rd chapter: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. We are the lost sheep. We wandered away, following trails of our own making, ignoring the calls of the Good Shepherd. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to redeem us – to bring us back into the fold – to seek us who are lost – to wrap us in His arms and love us to safety. Before Christ ascended into Heaven, He made provisions for all those other sheep down through the centuries who would wander away: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We confess that we often fail. We get so involved in serving the 99 that we ignore the 1. We plead ignorance, (I don’t know what to do or what to say) fear, (What if they reject me?) lack of resources, (I don’t have the time or the energy – we only have so much money – we have to take care of our own) and other excuses, (We do our part – let others do theirs) but the bottom line is we fail to seek the 1. Our community is filled with many lost sheep – now is the time we cast aside the excuses and reach out. Each one of us has the power of the Holy Spirit, each one of us has the power of the Word, each one of us has the promise of our faithful Lord to never abandon us – now is the time to share Christ, invite our neighbors to hear the words of eternal life. The shepherd didn’t execute the “lost sheep” plan – he went and searched. The shepherd didn’t wait for the professional shepherd to search for him – he went and searched. The shepherd didn’t do the safe and easy thing – he went and searched. But the shepherd didn’t just search – he found! Let us be bold in our searching.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorRichard Cohrs Archives
December 2016
Categories |