First Congregational Church

The parables of the lost sheep and lost coin underscore the passage Daisy read a few minutes ago from 1^st Timothy – that the grace of God stands stronger than any and all other forces of the universe, always offering hope and new life in the face of anything and everything that can come our way.

In the parable of the lost sheep, a shepherd leaves 99 sheep to find one that is missing.

Heaven rejoices and the “righteous” grumble.

In the parable of the lost coin, a woman lights a lamp, sweeps the floor, and searches diligently for one coin that is lost. She finds it.

Heaven rejoices and the “righteous” grumble.

I wondered this week what it is about grace that people struggle with so much.

It is important to note that Luke tells these parables – and the third one which we did not read – the one where a very generous parent welcome back a son who had gone off and squandered all of his inheritance in response to the religious leaders who were complaining that He “welcomed sinners and even ate with them”.

These parables illustrate a number of things I believe.

First there there is a very earnest – if not anxious desire in the parables to reclaim what is lost. Logic tells us to care for the 99 and forget the one, but God does not work that way.

Furthermore, the picture of the woman in the parable of the lost coin is quite frantic: lighting a lamp, sweeping, and searching obsessively.

This is not about a casual glance, but rather turning the house upside down, and not stopping until the lost coin is found.

It is clear from these stories that God cares and cares deeply without reservation.

Beyond that, however, we note that the action is entirely God’s. Neither sheep nor coin repent –

I’m not sure how a coin would repent, anyway, and perhaps that is part of the meaning to these parables.

A sheep and a coin cannot repent, and yet God seeks them out, for reconciliation. God does not wait for them to come crawling back – God goes hunting.

God doesn’t just welcome back, God searches and finds relentlessly and brings back that which is lost, especially that which does not even have the capability to say, “I’m sorry.”

That is grace. And the religious leaders did not like it. Not then and often, not now either.

Because grace is not fair, and in presenting us with these parables Jesus knows that and Luke knows that too.

The louder voices – the voices of the world and often religious leaders want to say, “You made your bed, so go and lie in it. If you want to go off and leave the fold – go ahead, no one is stopping you.”

But God’s grace doesn’t work that way.

We are all stupid and foolish and self-centered and godless. Sometimes. We are that sheep and that coin. Not capable of repentance because we are so full of self.

But God does not leave us there. God hunts us down relentlessly and not only welcomes us back, but brings us back.

That is grace. Always. Without exception. Without fail.

And that is why the religious leaders that day were grumbling. It is not always easy to see others receive grace – unconditional love – for in our hearts and minds, we often want people to get what they deserve.

Sometimes we simply do not want to rejoice with God the homemaker and God the shepherd.

We would rather not celebrate the found coin or the found sheep --- in our hearts, we would just as soon be content with the 99 sheep because the one that nibbled itself lost was kind of scrawny anyway and the one lost coin – well it was just a penny among all the nickels and dimes and quarters.

But God calls us to live differently than that….to live differently than the loud voices of our society and world.

How do you and I do that?

How do you and I live God’s grace?

I suspect it happens when our voices of grace are louder than any others.

Amen.

Let’s sing verse one of Amazing Grace #547 and remained seated. And then the offering.