A Searching, Finding, Rejoicing God

Luke 15:1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." ³ Then 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? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' ⁷ 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. 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? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Most things that get put in any “Lost and Found” box never get found or claimed. Most of the time the loss is chalked up to experience, and we move on.

When a pet gets lost or run away, we search for it for a while, driving around in the rain, calling out its name, posting its picture on Facebook and even putting up little posters in the neighborhood. But how long do those efforts last? Sooner or later we resign ourselves to the loss and move on.

These days if something electronic breaks, we no longer try to get it fixed – it costs too much. We simply throw it away and buy a new one, which is better anyway.

And how many of us stop and stoop down to pick up that penny we find on the ground? Or do we just walk over it, because it’s not really worth our time and energy? Maybe if it was a dollar or something …

But today Jesus wants you to understand a very simple, but very important truth: God is not like that! He searches for every lost sheep and stoops low for every lost coin. He never resigns Himself to accept the loss, and never just moves on. He never thinks 9 out of 10, or even 99 out of 100, is good enough. Though we continually break down and stop working for Him, He doesn’t throw us away for a newer model. He considers no price too high to pay in order to save us from the brokenness of our sin, and restore us as new creations with His forgiveness. That’s who our God is. That’s how great His love for us is.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells a series of three parables in succession – the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep, and the Lost or Prodigal Son. He tells these parables because some lost sheep had recognized Jesus as their Good Shepherd and came “flocking” to Him. “The tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear Jesus.” The Pharisees and teachers of the law didn’t think this was very respectable and they sneered, “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!” But Jesus was delighted. He looked at such people and saw that they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).

You and I, we are the tax collectors, prostitutes, criminals, and other “sinners to whom Jesus is ministering. We are the hiding coin and the wandering sheep in Jesus’ parable. As coins, we hide in corners, not wanting to be seen, avoiding one another, trying to commit our sins in secret. We embrace the darkness and avoid the light. We are afraid that others will find out about our sinful behavior so we hide in the shadows. We remove ourselves from the assembly of believers because we know that God doesn’t approve and we are ashamed of what the other members will think. Fear torments our conscience. Unbelief binds us to the shadows. Our soul weeps on the inside as loneliness eats away at our hearts.

As sheep, we follow false shepherds – seeking greener pastures, wanting more than Jesus has to offer in His absolution, Word and Sacraments. We don’t want the safety and security of the flock of the Christian Church. We covet the fun of this world’s depravity. We are like stupid sheep, not realizing how good we have it, but running aimlessly here and wandering there, feeding on this and drinking down that. We ignore the voice of the Good Shepherd and instead listen to the multitude of voices that stroke our egos and permit our sins. But eventually these pastures fade. The drink dries up. The fun really isn’t fun, just depravity, and it hurts … it hurts you and those around you. And the lost sheep find that they’re really not only lost, they are lonely and they are slowly dying away.

Such is the sad life of the lost. There is no life apart from the Shepherd. There is no joy outside of His light.

That’s because the wages of your wandering, the cost of your hiding, and the expense of your sin is death. If you remain in the shadows, you will die. If you continue to wander, you will die. If you abandon the Church and its Shepherd, you will die.

Jesus does not want you to die. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). We are of great value to the shepherd of the field and the lady of the house. Jesus is the shepherd and the woman in the parables. He leaves everything behind to go looking for you. He searches in the cracks and crevices, the nooks and crannies to find where you are hiding. He brings you back into His house, back into His flock. Then He and His saints throw a party. Then He and His angels rejoice over you when you repent. He wants you to live – today, tomorrow and forever. He has come that you may have life in Him and only Him.

God sent His Son into this world for the express purpose of seeking and saving the lost. Not because you are so adorable, commendable or remarkable, but precisely because you are such a vile, wretched, miserable sinner. Jesus came for the purpose of calling people out of the darkness of sin into the wonderful light of the Lord’s love.

As a sinner, you had been shanghaied from the Triune God’s family of faith. As a transgressor, you had been lost to the Lord and destined to serve those who had stolen you away. In spite of what sin had made you, Jesus came and lived His entire life for the sole purpose of completing your promised rescue. So you might be saved, Jesus was rejected. So you might be loved, He was hated. So you might be accepted, He was persecuted. So you might be welcomed into the fellowship of the saints in heaven, Jesus was betrayed by a friends’ kiss and deserted by those closest to Him. So you might live, He had to die.

The very same Pharisees and teachers of the law who grumbled at Jesus’ eating with sinners, trumped up charges against Him and stirred up the crowd against Him. His government preferred political expediency over justice and His life was offered up as a ransom for yours. Jesus’ third-day resurrection from the dead proclaims to all who will hear Him that our ransom has been paid, our rescue is completed, and there is salvation and rejoicing for all sinners who repent and believe.

Jesus has done all this for you and me and for the whole world. It’s not for the good people. It’s not for those who try their best or work their hardest. This is the grace of God outpoured. No one is left out. No one is abandoned. No one is ignored. Jesus has come for sinners and tax collectors, for the wandering and the hiding, for the sinner and the loner.

Though our God certainly has no need for assistance from any of us, He has called, chosen and invited others to work under Him in searching, finding and rejoicing. Jesus has called me to be the under-shepherd to the Good Shepherd. I have been called by Him to serve you with Word and Sacraments, to feed your faith in Bible studies and exercise your faith in church activities.

But this is a large congregation. I need lots of help to keep track of approximately 350 members and another 100 children. We have a group of nine men serving as elders in our congregation. They assist the pastor in serving you. They work closely with me to seek the spiritual health of each person in this congregation. They are leaders who are faithful in their worship of the Lord and the study of His Word. They are faithful in serving in Christ’s Kingdom. Many congregations in our Synod have a Board of Elders like ours.

However, there aren’t very many congregations who have a mentor program like ours. This is something very new and that the elders and I have been working on for the past year. You’ll be hearing more about these mentors over the next few weeks. You will also be contacted by your mentor very soon.

We have assembled all the members of Epiphany into smaller groups based on age. Then we have asked people in those age groups to serve as a mentor for the group. Simply put, the mentor is a friend, a companion, a confident. A mentor is a spiritual tutor, somewhere between a friend and a teacher. A mentor offers the wisdom of his or her experience to another Christian, helping them to mature in their own faith. He or she will stay in consistent contact with you. They might call you, send you a postcard or an email, a text or an instant message. They will get to know you as best as they can on a personal level – not to check up on you, but to care for you.

We do not want anyone falling through the cracks or hiding in the crevices. The mentor is there for you to express your joy to or your share your frustrations with. The mentor will listen to you, offer encouragement to you, and pray for you. The mentor will share your confidence, but might encourage you to talk more in depth with your elder or the pastor. The mentor is the pastor’s and elders’ right hand person to encourage your growth in faith toward God and love toward your fellow neighbor.

The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). Pastor, elders and mentors work together in Christ’s Church to support you in prayer, to encourage you with the Gospel and to, perhaps, challenge you when you stray. This mutual sharpening of faith is an important part of Christian discipleship. Mentoring is simply a formal way to do what God has called each of us to do – seek and search for the lost. Then rejoice when they are found.

Being a pastor, or being an elder, or being a mentor or a Christian friend is hard work. It is exhausting. It can often be a thankless job. And yet, we are each called to carry out this important and imperative task. Because we want all of our brothers and sisters in Christ to gather with us as a community of believers, as the communion of saints. We gather together here in church, for in this place, around this altar, pulpit, font and table,

We share one Baptism,

Worship one Christ,

Receive one Supper,

Hear one Gospel,

Confess the one faith,

Are bound by one Spirit

Are part of one spiritual body,

And each is a member of the other.

We do this hard work of seeking and searching because we are one with each other and one with Christ, who never stops seeking and searching for the lost. We bear one another’s burdens, share one another’s sorrows. We sing together, pray together, grieve together and rejoice together. When one member hurts we all hurt. When one member dies, we all mourn. When another member is born again through water and the Spirit, we all rejoice with the angels above.

Though you and I may often give up on a lost item, a lost pet, a lost coin, a lost cause – Jesus never does. He always searches, always seeks. And He has invited your pastor, your elders, your mentors and all of you to serve under Him in His searching and seeking mission. Then we may rejoice with Jesus and His angels when the lost are found. Amen.