It started with a meal and some muttering. Jesus was enjoying a meal with the people who weren’t from the right side of the tracks—the tax collectors and the “sinners.” The Pharisees complained. So Jesus started telling stories—and who can resist a good story-teller.
Luke 15 tells it this way:
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"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? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I 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.
8"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? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
This wonderful story is about what brings joy to God. In the introduction, we learned that Jesus was being criticized for hanging out with the tax collectors and the “sinners.” Jesus tells three stories that explain the heart of God.
He begins with a story about sheep. In that time, sheep were an important part of the economy. But you get the feeling that to this shepherd, his sheep were more than just numbers. After all, he still had ninety nine sheep. From an economic standpoint, one out of a hundred wouldn’t matter much. But the shepherd went out and searched the countryside for that one little lost sheep, and then he rejoiced when he found it. Then Jesus explains that the lost sheep is like one who does not know God—“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.” Jesus wants his listeners to know that when a person finds God and repents—that is, turns toward a life with God—God rejoices.
The second story is about money. After all, pretty much anyone can understand that if you lost some money, you might be upset. So Jesus tells about the woman who lost a silver coin, and when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' And Jesus says that is just how the angels respond when a lost person is saved. All of heaven rejoices.
It’s kind of hard for us to imagine this, but what Jesus is saying is that God gets really excited over lost people finding him. Even one person is cause for a celebration in heaven! That includes you and me! If we wander away from God, he cares. And if we come back, God rejoices.
The third story is one of my favorites in the Bible. There’s the young man who had everything—his father was wealthy and he had an inheritance. But he blew it all. He squandered his inheritance, losing everything he had. And in a land where pigs were considered to be disgusting animals, the only way he could survive was by taking care of pigs. In fact, he was so mistreated that the pigs were eating while he was starving.
And then it says so beautifully, "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.”
Can you imagine the thoughts that went through his head as he made the long journey home? Did he wonder how his father would react? Would he suffer the humiliation of being turned away? Over and over in his mind, he practiced what he would say, hoping his father would just let him have a job as a hired man. At least then he would not starve to death.
And then there is the wonderful scene—while he was still a long way off, his father saw him—you see, the father had been watching for him for a long time, hoping his son was still alive; hoping his son would have the sense to come home. The father was filled with compassion for him, and he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The son, probably weak from lack of food and tired from the long journey, collapses into his fathers arms and pleads, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
And the father doesn’t even answer, but he turns to the servants and says 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they celebrated with joy.
But the story doesn’t end there. Not everyone is quite so forgiving. The father also had an older son, who was out in the field, probably managing the workers. He heard the celebration going on in the house and he asked someone what was going on. And when he heard that his brother—that scoundrel—had come home, and that his father was celebrating his return, he was angry. He refused to go to the party.
But the father cared about that son, too. So the father left the party and went out to the older son—come on in and join us, son!
But the son answered bitterly, “All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.”
Then the father said, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
Who do you identify with? Are you the younger son, who wandered far from God? Or are you the older son, who always was faithful? The irony of the story is that the Father is joyful over his younger son coming home, but his older son’s hard-heartedness brings the Father sorrow.
Remember that Jesus was telling this story to the Pharisees, who were complaining that Jesus associated with tax collectors and sinners. That is, the wrong sorts of people.
What do you think this story says to us church folks? We certainly are not the wrong sorts of people—we are much more like the Pharisees. So what do you think Jesus would say to us through this story?
If you were to compare the sheep, the coins, and the two sons to the church, who would we be? Would we not be the 99 sheep that were in the fold, the 9 coins that were not lost, and the older brother who stayed home and did the right thing?
But where is the joy in these stories? The joy is in the shepherd who finds that one lost sheep, the woman who finds her one lost coin, and the father whose one lost son returns. If we are not experiencing joy, is it possible that we are too much like the older son? Is it possible that our focus is too much on our own goodness and our own position?
The father does not take away from the older son by celebrating the return of the younger son, does he? Does the father’s longing for the return of his younger son mean he loves the older son any less?
All the father wanted from the older son is that he should join in the celebration, and also rejoice that his brother had returned.
It is very easy for the church to be inward focused. We want our needs met, and if we have a bit left over, we will send something to missionaries far away in some other country. The truth is that most of us don’t really care much about the lost. If we want to be like Jesus, we will remember how the Pharisees described him: "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
The problem is that we are turned in on ourselves. Until we are able to open ourselves to something outside our selves, we will not experience true joy.
The father in the story is God. God demonstrates his great concern for his son by his complete willingness to forgive and to welcome his son home with wide open arms. He demonstrates his joy as he throws a big party to celebrate his some. If we want joy in our lives, we need only follow God’s example in this story. We need to be like the shepherd, seeking the one lost sheep, and rejoicing when that sheep is found. We need to be like the woman searching for the one lost coin, and calling her neighbors to celebrate when she finds that coin. We need to be like the father whose son wandered away, willing to forgive every bit of that son’s foolishness simply for the joy of being reunited with him.
As long as our focus is on ourselves and our own goodness, as was the older son in the story, we will not be able to experience true joy. Joy escaped the older brother because he was focused on himself and unwilling to forgive his brother.
Likewise, we cannot find joy by running after pleasures. The younger brother tried that. He took his entire inheritance and spent it on a self-serving, decadent life, probably thinking it would bring him happiness. None of that brought him joy, and it won’t work for us, either.
The shepherd put aside his own needs and safety to go after the lost sheep. The woman worked hard to find the lost coin. The father opened his arms and ran to embrace his lost son. And in the process, all of them found joy. And the younger son found great joy in his father’s warm embrace.
God wants to embrace us and fill our lives with joy. The joy that God gives does not depend on our circumstances, but on our attitude. When we focus on God rather than ourselves and on others because of God’s love and concern for them, we will find joy.
This is not the message of our culture. The message of our culture is that you will find happiness in material things, in accomplishments, and in pleasure. It is sad that the church often buys into this message.
Joy comes from being thankful for what we have. It comes from focusing on God rather than ourselves. God is the source and the object of our joy. Joy also comes from giving of ourselves for others.
Like the father in the story, God is always filled with compassion for you. Let God run to you, throw his arms around you and kiss you. He loves us so much!
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, come. Free us from the tyranny of ourselves. Help us to open our hearts to you, God—to behold your glory and to worship you. Help us to open our hearts to others, and to truly love them. Keep us from having critical hearts like the Pharisees and the older brother. Instead, make our hearts tender toward those who need you in their lives. Fill our hearts with the joy of the Lord. May our church be a place where we allow you to run to us, throw your arms around us and teach us to be people of love and joy. Amen
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