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August 8, 2004
10th Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 15:1-10
Pastor Ben Berger

Seek the Lost

Imagine. You have four children. One is a teenager, one is ten, one is seven and one is four. The four-year-old is a wild child. Johnny doesn't get along with anyone. He constantly fights with his brothers and sister; he can never play nicely with other children; he destroys everything in his path. You decide to take the kids to Disney Land. Everyone is having a good time eating and drinking, watching shows and riding rides. Then, one minute while you're helping your ten-year-old get her picture with Mickey, Johnny runs off. No one knows where he went; no one has seen him. What do you do? Why do you do that? Assuming you find Johnny, how do you react? Are your feelings and actions toward lost Johnny the same as those toward the spiritually lost? This morning as we listen to God's word, the Holy Spirit encourages us to seek the spiritually lost. Seek the Lost 1) with love, 2) with action and 3) with joy.

A crowd gathered around Jesus to listen to him, but this was no ordinary crowd. This crowd was made up of tax collectors and "sinners." Everyone hated the tax collectors. They over charged to line their own pockets. They sided with the hated Roman government. Tax collectors were no good. "Sinners" were no better. Everyone that did not keep the Jewish law was a "sinner." Sinners were dirty people. They didn't wash; they were immoral; they just didn't live up to the standards of the Jewish society.

The Pharisees and scribes had gathered around Jesus that day too, but not to listen to him. Jesus welcomed tax collectors and sinners. He even ate with them. "Disgusting," the Pharisees and scribes muttered among themselves. "How can anyone associate with those people much less eat with them! They are no good, unclean people." The Pharisees and scribes looked down on Jesus. Their Messiah would not love tax collectors and sinners. They came to confront Jesus.

The Pharisees and the scribes looked at the crowds differently than Jesus did. Many people probably look at Johnny differently than you do. Maybe they think to themselves, "It's good that he ran off. He's wild and unruly. No one should have to deal with a child like him." But, when Johnny was lost, how did you feel about him? Sure, there were times when he was difficult, even times when you wanted a break from him. But at that moment? While he was lost? You loved him, as you always had.

That's the way Jesus loves us - always. We each look differently on the outside. Some of us behave better than others. Some of us look cleaner. But inside, we're all the same. We are all full of sin and guilty of death. We're all that wild child that destroys everything good. We don't deserve any love, especially God's love. But he does love us. Jesus loves us. He loves us because he made us; he loves us because we are his children. He loves all of us, regardless of how we look on the outside or inside.

Jesus wants us to love the lost in the same way. How do we feel about the crowds of tax collectors and sinners? Do we look down on them like the Pharisees and scribes did? Do we think we're better than they are? Do we see a reason for God to love us but not them? No! When we see them, we see ourselves. We see lost sinners. As long as we remember that we are each the worst of sinners, we'll always look up at the crowds. We'll see lost children looking for their way home and we will love them as Jesus does.

Love is useless without action. As we look around our world and see lost sinners and love them, our love will prompt us to seek the lost with action.

Jesus responded to the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes with a story. "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? (v.4) Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?" (v.8).

In both stories the people had to go out of their way to find what they lost. The man left behind ninety-nine other sheep. While he cared for those sheep, he knew they would be safe. At that moment his concern was for the lost sheep. He didn't stop looking until he found it. So also the woman didn't stop looking until she found her coin. That would not have been easy. Her house didn't have any windows; the floor was made of dirt. Yet, she did everything necessary to find her lost coin.

Jesus' love for lost sinners prompted him to do everything necessary to find them. The search was not easy. Jesus went out of his way to find us. He left his throne in heaven to be born in a lowly manger. He abandoned pure streets of gold to walk in the dust of the earth. He left behind a perfect relationship with his Father and the Spirit to form a new relationship with sinners. We pushed him away, spit in his face and rejected his love. He searched on. He endured the betrayal, the spit, the fists, the whip, and even the cross. After he died, he kept searching. He walked out of his tomb and right back into a crowd of lost sinners. He proclaimed peace and offered eternal life. He asked his friends to spread the good news. Jesus found sinners; he rescued us.

What did you do when you realized Johnny was lost? You left the other children, didn't you? You knew the little ones would be OK with the teenager; she would wait for you there. You were willing to do whatever necessary to find Johnny, weren't you? You searched everywhere. You didn't stop until you found him. That's what Jesus did for us. That's what Jesus wants us to do for our lost brothers and sisters. We know what it's like to be spiritually lost. It still happens sometimes; we wander off of the path. Jesus always brings us back and forgives us. Now we have the chance to help Jesus find others. We can show them the way home.

How? First, we need to know who is lost. If we don't know anyone who is lost, we're not associating with the right crowds. We'll want to find the lost, do whatever it takes to look for them, go out of our way. We're looking for those going through new things: just married, having a child, moving. We're looking for those who are grieving: illness, death in the family. We're looking for those who are struggling: don't know who they are, where they want to go, where they have been. When we find them, we want to tell them why they are lost - because they are sinners living in a sinful world. As soon as possible, we'll want to point them home. We want them to know that Jesus has found them. He has forgiven their sins and offered them eternal life. They will need us to feed them and care for them for awhile, but we won't mind because we love the lost.

How did it feel to find Johnny? What did you do? I can only imagine that you were filled with joy. That's what happens when we seek the spiritually lost too; we're filled with joy.

"When (the man) finds (his sheep), he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep,' (v.6). And when (the woman) finds (her coin), she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin." (v.9). Isn't that what you did when you found Johnny? Didn't you pick him up in your arms and rejoice? Didn't you tell everyone you saw this amazing story of how you found your lost child?

We can do the same when we help Jesus find another lost sinner. We can tell everyone about our child's baptism. We can offer our personal thanks and joy to the family who just had their child baptized. We could even sponsor the family to help care for the child's spiritual needs. We can celebrate our confirmation every year with the new confirmands. We could celebrate with new adult members; hug them and welcome them. We could offer to sponsor them until they are firmly connected to the rest of the body. When more lost sinners are found, there is reason to celebrate.

Such joy will also fill heaven. At the end of his story Jesus said, "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 (v.7). In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents," (v.10). Heaven rejoices over even one sinner. The angels and God are thrilled at every baptism, every confirmation, every new adult member. Jesus loves lost sinners. Jesus did everything necessary to save lost sinners. Jesus rejoices over every lost sinner that repents and knows the way home.

As much as we love our children, even the wild ones, so much we will love the lost. We were once lost too. As hard as we would search for our lost child, so hard will we search for the lost. As much as we would rejoice when finding our lost child, so much will we rejoice over every sinner that repents. We know the way home; tell everyone.