The Joy of Being Found
TIt’s important for us to acknowledge how today’s gospel opens.
Tax collectors and sinners were among those who came to listen to Jesus—and he ate with them.
That may not seem like a big deal, but we need to give this some first-century context.
First of all, tax collectors were reviled.
They were collaborators—people who cooperated with Rome in the oppression of the Jewish people.
They were traitors.
Sinners, on the other hand, is a catchall for people who violated Torah—people who were not living a righteous life.
Eating with tax collectors and sinners was subversive.
It ignored cultural norms and violated societal hierarchy.
And because of that, it ticked off some people.
Most notably, the people in power.
The people who benefitted the most from maintaining the status quo.
Jesus had no interest in maintaining the status quo.
Jesus was all about the Kin-dom.
And God’s Kin-dom is not about power.
It’s not about hierarchy, status, or position.
God’s Kin-dom is about justice.
Jesus wanted to see hungry people fed.
He wanted to see sick and injured people healed.
He wanted to see the lost and the lonely made whole again.
In other words, he wanted to see the brokenness of the world repaired.
One of the interesting things about today’s gospel is that it comes from a trilogy of parables.
The last one isn’t part of today’s reading, but I think it’s important to point out the two from today are part of a larger set.
The first is the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
The second is the Parable of the Lost Coin.
Those two make up today’s gospel lesson.
The last is the Parable of the Lost Son—most of us are used to calling it the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The reason I think it’s important to point out the trilogy is the theme in all three parables is the same: something that was lost is found.
That we hear the same theme three times in different settings says to me—as it should to you too—that Jesus is telling us something important.
There is a message that he wants to make sure that we get.
And, as is so often the case, it’s a message in two parts.
The first part is that God always seeks us out.
When we stray—when we are lost—God comes after us.
God doesn’t wait for us to come to God.
God comes to us.
That is the result of God’s unconditional love for us.
God comes to us.
God calls us by name.
Unfortunately, we don’t always listen.
Sometimes, God calls our name, and we don’t hear.
Pain or pride or anger makes us deaf to God’s voice.
But God still comes to us.
And God stays with us—despite whatever human frailty is keeping us separated from God.
Isn’t it interesting how, whenever we are separated from God, it’s never because God has left us.
God never abandons us.
It’s aways we who get lost.
There was a time when I was unchurched.
Some of you have heard my story.
I was injured by the church I was attending.
I was asked to resign from youth ministry because I was outed as a gay man.
It was heartbreaking and the hurt forced me to leave the church.
To be clear, I never felt abandoned by God.
It was the institution that I was disillusioned with.
But I was still lost—if not to God, at least to the love and community of a congregation.
But God remained.
The Spirit kept me connected to the divine through music.
And, when I had healed from the injury, the Spirit inspired me to seek.
Sophia gave me the wisdom to understand that I could not fully experience God without community.
And, eventually, I found—just as God promises all seekers.
I went to a new church.
It wasn’t the first one I tried.
But the first Sunday I went there, the pastor preached about letting go.
Letting go is such an important lesson for all of us.
Letting go is about giving up the hurt that burdens us.
Letting go is about giving up the fear that limits us.
Letting go is trusting that God is with you.
That God is always with you—and will never abandon you.
Letting go is about being found.
It’s about returning from the dark place where you were lost.
The second part of today’s message is about joy.
There is joy in being found.
The shepherd rejoiced at finding his lost sheep.
The woman rejoiced at finding her lost coin.
The father rejoiced at finding his lost son.
And God rejoices every time someone who has been separated from God is reunited with God.
In fact, Jesus says, when that happens, all of heaven rejoices.
And that joy is reciprocal, isn’t it?
We experience joy at being found.
We need God in our lives.
When we are separated from God, we know that something is missing.
And we need community.
We may enjoy some time to ourselves—but we do need community.
Human contact is one of our basic needs.
It’s programmed into our DNA.
Human contact is necessary for our health and our emotional wellbeing.
Human contact is also important for our spiritual wellbeing.
We cannot be Christians in isolation.
Our faith practice requires community.
So, when we have been lost—separated from God or separated from community—we rejoice at being found again.
When we hear God call our name, our heart leaps.
When we know that God claims us as God’s own—as one of God’s beloved children—it fills our heart with joy.
When I joined that new church, I was surprised at the joy I felt.
I don’t think I fully realized what a void being unchurched had made in my life.
And, even though you may not be technically “lost” or “separated” from the community, I imagine that there is a measure of joy that you all experience when you walk into this sanctuary on Sunday morning and see your church family again.
And that feeling of joy—whether it is upon hearing God’s voice or being restored to community—that joy is yet another glimpse of the Kin-dom.
So, in that spirit, let us pray:
Good and gracious God,
May that joy—that glimpse of the Kin-dom—encourage us to continue seeking you.
May it encourage us to restore relationships that are lost to us.
May it encourage us to be a beacon of your love for those who are lost.
And may it encourage us to continue working towards your Kin-dom.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.