Precious Love
Pentecost 14C (Lectionary 24)
September 11, 2022
Good Shepherd, Wells, MN
Luke 15.1-10
Today’s Gospel story with the parables of the lost sheep and coins (along with the Lost Son that we heard during Lent) can stir up some emotions and strong reactions in us, especially as we think about various kinds of “lostness” in our lives and in the world. That’s certainly true for me. I was one of those young people who fled the church post-Confirmation. For me, I looked around the church, listened to my dad’s experience of being shunned by a congregation, and decided that I didn’t want to belong in church anymore. I had a crisis of faith, though it didn’t seem like a crisis at the moment. In regards to the Gospel reading today, I certainly wasn’t a religious leader, but many could legitimately think of me as a “sinner.”
These parables are so powerful because we can read ourselves and God into different places in them. It’s important to remember that parables aren’t puzzles to be solved but rather mysteries to be entered. We aren’t to open them up as much as they are intended to open us up to God and God’s ways. So, as I endeavor to unpack these parables, please realize that there are many other avenues to pursue for interpretation.
What has stood out for me this week is that, if we ascribe the shepherd and woman to God, how precious everyone is in God’s sight. This is true whether they be Pharisee, scribe, tax collector or sinner. God is a seeker who will not give up until everyone is back in a relationship with God. Nobody is outside of God’s love. All of us are worth looking for, regardless of what we think of ourselves or of others. Henri Nouwen, Roman Catholic writer has said this: “We are not loved because we are precious, but we are precious because we are loved.” Take a moment to reread that sentence and think about it.
But, what about that notion of repentance, how does that fit into this interpretation? We tend to think of repentance as something we do that’s a prerequisite for God’s love and favor. But that’s not Luke’s sense at all. Rather, repentance is about being brought back into a relationship with God at God’s initiative. Repentance is not a moral bar to clear, but rather a response to God’s overwhelming love, mercy, and grace. In other words, repentance is a gift from God that restores our relationship to God and to each other.
One consequence of this reading of the parable is that if we want to find God, one place that God is to be found is among the lost. Whether that’s in the wilderness, the dark corners of our world, or with those on the margins of society, that’s where we’ll find God. Additionally, God will also be found with the heartbroken, the disenchanted, or smug and self-righteous as well. In Luke’s Gospel especially, God’s concern is for those on the outside, those often spurned by society. So, if we want to know where to find God, one place is among those whom we consider lost.
I think this has huge implications for how we are to “be church” in this time of post-pandemic recovery. Good Shepherd, like most churches, is wondering how to get people back and involved, trying to reboot ministries, and experiencing volunteer burnout among those who have kept the home fires burning throughout. The good news is that it’s God who does the heavy lifting in this. Our job is to simply invite people into an experience with God and let God do the work. That was my experience as I was loved back into the church. A colleague at work invited me to her young adult group at church.
What ever lostness you are experiencing, know that you are worthy of love and belonging, that you are precious to God because you are loved by a God who will never let you go. Amen.
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