Back to Sermon Index The lost sheep and good shepherds September 7, 2008 This passage in Matthew's gospel is a little different than in the well known chapter in Luke. In Luke, a similar parable is part of a series of parables, all of which have the same meaning and purpose; the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost sons (prodigal sons). Here in Matthew's gospel the parable begins with this admonition: "see to it that you don't look down on any one of these". This is not a parable, but a command. See to it that you don't do this...that you don't look down on others. The command is broad and universal. It refers to children but also to any who might be categorized as the lost sheep among us. See to it that you do not look down on them. When we see someone who is sinning, whose life failures and faults have become obvious to all...who is lost and who has wondered far from God...how do we look at them? In Christ, living in his Spirit, we are not given the luxury of superiority. No. We can never say that we are better than someone else, if we have truly come to Christ. If we have truly come to Christ, we have acknowledged that we are sinners. And we know that we do not come before him or eat at his table because of some good thing we have done. No. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We do not come to the table, looking to our left or our right and saying ..."look at that person in line for communion...they are much worse a sinner than I am.." As Christians we are not given the luxury of superiority...because we know that we are sinners too...and with God, the severity of our sin is not what is in question. If we compare ourselves to another, then it is only a matter of degree and heaven becomes like a giant SAT score, where you have to score a 1400 to be considered for this eternal establishment...or like the ride a the boardwalk, where you must be this tall to enter...you must be this holy to enter. No. We are all saved by the grace of God. We all receive his mercy and his love...not because we deserve it. not because we are better than someone else...but because HE loves us. The emphasis in our salvation is not on ourselves at all, but rather on Jesus. How much HE LOVES US is what counts. We are not given the luxury of superiority because we know deep in our hearts that we are all equally unqualified for the wonderful, marvelous grace of God. But further, as followers of Jesus, we know that we are not to be superior to another, because we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us. That call is not just to love the lovable. It is easy to love the puppies of the world, the toddlers who are baby faced and cute. But we are called to love everyone with the love of Christ...even those who are not as pretty as we might like. Whose lives are dirty and disheveled. God does not see these lost sheep as we do. No shepherd is so callus or rich that they will say to themselves...yes, that sheep has wondered off again, but it serves them right if they fall off a cliff or get eaten by a wolf. I am too tired, too lazy, too rich to care, to scared...to follow after them. Always remember, the Father loves all the sheep alike. They are all precious in his sight, and their angels in heaven see the face of God. And more over, God is especially concerned with the lost ones, and as his followers we are called to love them too. Do we care if this person lives or dies? If they are lost or found? Remember, lost sheep suffer. They may look fine, but we know that they suffer, for their lives lack the wonderful love of Jesus moving in their hearts...filling the holes in their lives and souls, and making them complete for the first time in their lives. They may look defiant or even hostile at the moment, but we know that they are still away from the shepherd of their souls. The parable gets us to image a different kind of world, where the sinner, the lost, the outcast and condemned, are as precious as the righteous to God...and as Christ's body, they are to be precious to us as well. The Good News proclaims that God seeks us until we are found, and that God brings us back home. It is not that God forgives us if we repent sufficiently enough. But God loves us while we are still sinning...even when or if we deny him and reject and run from him. Even then, he loves us. God loves us while we are still sinning. He loves us when we are self righteous and judgmental, and when we are compassionate and caring. He loves us when we are dismissive of others who are not of our kind...our strip or status...and when we know and act as if we are all beloved one of another. God takes the initiative and comes to where we are. The Good Shepherd searches for us until we are found. Jesus invites us to join him on the journey of grace, where we begin to see others and ourselves as he does. Which comes first, repentance or forgiveness? It was an issue in the early church and it's an issue still. Does the repentance motivate us to forgive? Because they are heart broken and truly repentant, do we let go of our judgment and forgive? Or does our forgiveness, given in grace, motivate them to repent? Because we love them and forgive them, even when they are still sinning...they are touched by grace and turn from their sins. Which comes first in your marriage...repentance or forgiveness? Do you hold a grudge and sulk until the other says they are sorry...sometimes truthfully and sometimes just to get things back to normal? Sometimes they repent out of conveninence and are not really sorry... Do we demand our children change and come to their senses before we forgive? And do we punish them with our anger and disapproval until they do? Or do we forgive wholly, completely, full heartedly out of our great love for them? Do we love them into change, with our forgiveness and acceptance calling forth their best efforts to live up to this wonderful grace and amazing love? We don't earn God's grace and forgiveness by the quality or the quantity of our repentance. That is what God does for us. God seeks us while we are still far away from him. The good shepherd does not sit on the fence and yell at the sheep to come home. He does not scowl at them in disapproval until they sheepishly repent. The parable is of the lost sheep...and the faithful, loving shepherd who seeks him until he is found and then brings him home. He does not beat him first! The shepherd knows that the sheep follow him and his voice because he loves them and is good to them. If they are afraid of him, they will scatter when he opens the gate. The shepherd genuinely cares for the sheep and seeks them out. We are all lost sheep...and forgiveness comes BEFORE our repentance. While we are still sinning, CHRIST DIES FOR US. When we see other sheep who are lost, who are squandering the very life that God has given them...do we judge them and condemn them, hoping that they will repent? Which comes first, repentance or forgiveness? God knows that many will rebel against this judgment in self justification and self-righteousness. So, God, like the good shepherd he is, loves first. Or do God forgives them/us and love them/us, and allow repentance to grow out of grace. The world needs to see our love, not our judgment. They need to see us responding in grace and mercy, and then wonder if we are for real...too often they have felt the shame of our judgments and condemnations, and wonder if they matter at all. If they belong...if we or God even care? Remember love acts, seeks, searches and finds. Love comes first... Movie. Back to Sermon Index