Reflection: "Lost and Found"Most of us men find it very difficult to admit that we’re ever lost – often we even find it difficult to check the street directory or map!
Maybe it’s a hangover from our past as the hunter/gatherers for the family - who knows? Most of us will only admit to being “temporarily geographically challenged”, but never lost. The humble GPS (or Global Positioning Satellite system) has been a great boon to us when we’re out and about in the car – especially in a strange city. Have you ever been in the situation where you’re in an area that you don’t know – and have no GPS or street directory. Eventually you have to admit that you’re lost and ask someone for directions to your destination. Jesus specialised in finding the lost - those who knew they were lost – as well as those who did not. In each of the four Gospels, we encounter a Jesus who has a burning compassion for those people who were relegated to the fringes of respectable community life. He reached out to what one preacher has called ‘the least, the last and the lost’. The ‘least’: like children, or the mentally ill, or the woman under a taboo, who dared to touch the hem of his robes. The ‘last’: like the crippled man by the pool of Bethesda, or the man living naked among the tombs; or the lonely woman by the well. The ‘lost’: like the despised tax collectors, or prostitutes, the bewildered Nicodemus, or the rich young man who went sadly away having been told that he had to give his fortune away to be able to enter the Kingdom of God. The God of the Gospels loves the least, the last and the lost. These are the special focus for the ministry of Jesus. Nothing gave Jesus more joy than seeing losers recover their dignity as the children of God. The religious leaders were grumbling about how Jesus welcomed sinners and even ate with them, so he told them three stories, or parables. The first one is about a lost sheep, the second about a lost coin and then one about a lost son. This week, we’re going to look at the first two. In the stories we read in Luke about the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus was trying to help them understand that God loves everyone, even those who seem most lost; whose behaviour God would never approve of – the sinners. God reaches out to us when we’ve lost our way. Unfortunately, most of us are too stubborn to ask for, or accept, his help. Jesus tells us that God puts special effort into drawing us back into the circle of his love. But Jesus also says that those of us who are so sure that we’re not lost, may be the very ones who are the most lost. We think that we’re the good guys and look disapprovingly at those struggling on the outside. How wrong we can be! Being lost means that we’ve travelled far from home, from God’s house of welcoming love, and we don’t quite know how to get back there. Many of us are too proud to admit to ourselves, or to others, that we’re struggling to find our way; some of us don’t even check the directory God has given us - the Bible. To be lost isn’t much fun. Were you ever lost as a child? Or did you ever lose a child? Lynne and I lost our son when he was 2 years old. We were staying at the house of an uncle and aunt in Brisbane, were comforted that the yard was fully fenced and as an extra precaution, we even tied a rope around the wooden gate and gate-post to secure it. Some time later, we noticed that Matt wasn’t with his sisters and we started to search for him. We searched the grounds – still no luck - even checking the gate, only to see that it was still tied to the post. After we’d looked everywhere two or three times, we eventually went out into the street and there, two blocks from home, was Matt – safe in the arms of a grandmotherly figure. “I knew you’d come to find him” she said. It turned out that he’d undone the rope, gone out the gate and then done it up again. I can assure you that being lost, or looking for someone who is lost, can be a bewildering, frightening and awfully lonely time - and to be found is an incredible joy. Such is the joy that Jesus is emphasising in the parables of the one sheep and the one coin - that were lost but were later found. Joy, not only on earth but in heaven, is the point he is making and Luke’s Gospel offers us again those famous words: Come, rejoice with me for I have found the sheep which was lost. Now most graziers will tell us that one lost sheep is not really a newsworthy event in Australia. They number 1,000, or 5,000 or even 10,000 head on most properties and they’re mustered by dogs that are directed by the men on trail bikes. But in biblical times it could not have been more different. Small flocks, often only 20-30 head and each sheep had a name. Each shepherd lived seven days a week with his flock and to him, one lost sheep was a significant event. The shepherd would herd the rest of the flock into safety and then set out to look for the missing one. In this parable of Jesus, one is missing from a very large flock of 100 sheep. This fellow had sheep to spare! Yet the shepherd still goes off searching for the wanderer until it is found, returning home with it on his shoulders. So precious was the one sheep, that he decided to throw a party. Just think of that - a party in the honour of one recovered sheep! In the same vein, one lost coin is not really a newsworthy event, either. Have you noticed how our silly little Aussie two dollar coins seem to have a highly developed aptitude for getting lost around the house? When one goes missing from the pile on the table, I might look for it briefly, but if it doesn’t turn up easily, I will probably just forget about it. Let it stay in the dust under the fridge or the sideboard, or wherever; it’ll no doubt turn up some day – probably when I’m not looking for it. Yet in the story in Luke’s Gospel, the woman immediately lights a lamp and goes searching. She doesn’t give up until she has that solitary coin held tightly in her hand. Then she proceeds to throw a party in honour of the recovered coin. Come rejoice with me for I have found the coin which was lost. We see that God is like that shepherd, or that woman, says Jesus. There is more joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents, than over ninety nine righteous people who need no repentance. When we’re ready to admit that we’re struggling to find our way, Jesus will join us on our journey, if we ask him, but he’ll also enlist us to carry out the task of reaching out to others who are also struggling to find their way. This is an ongoing process, and you don’t have to be a child, or a sheep, to be lost. We’re all sinners and we all need a little help along the way. Do you think that we’re all a bit lost and need to ask for help from Jesus? Maybe then we can join in the task of finding the lost souls in the Kingdom Search your souls, talk it over with God, and I pray that your answer will be “Yes!” Pastor Rick
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