Welcome Home: Where the Lost are Found

Luke 15:1-10 All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to hear him. ² But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ He told them this parable: ⁴ “Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls together his friends and his neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.

⁸ “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19). Amen.

Have you ever walked into a place and immediately felt like you didn’t belong?

I had lunch this week with a pastor who told me that before he met with me at the restaurant, he had stopped at the funeral home. He wanted to stop by the visitation for the grandfather of one of his members. He went into one of the rooms at the funeral home. He greeted people and shook hands. People were looking at him strangely. He quickly realized his member wasn’t there. He was at the wrong visitation.

There was another visitation at the other side of the funeral home. He stepped into that room. He greeted people and shook hands. People were looking at him strangely. He quickly realized his member wasn’t there, either. That, too, was the wrong visitation.

After he left the funeral home, he called his member. She told him the visitation for her grandfather is at that funeral home … next week.

That’s a fairly trivial example. What if you’re in a place you think you need to be, but from the stares of the people there and the sinking in your gut, you just feel like you don’t belong. Maybe it’s a classroom that you are entering for the first time at a new school. Maybe it’s a new place of work, or a new position at work. Maybe it’s your very own home? It’s tragic. It’s heart breaking. It’s damaging when we don’t feel welcomed in the very place we know we are supposed to be.

Sadly, that’s sometimes what the church has become. We see a sharp contrast between two groups of people in Luke 15. On the one hand, you have the tax collectors and sinners. And on the other hand, you have the Pharisees and experts in the law. And the way that these two groups were perceived in those days was, you have those righteous people who make up the church and then the lost sinners who don’t belong there. And the very people in the church who should have been reaching out and embracing were actually shunning and slamming the door on them. The Pharisees strove to maintain a “righteous” life and to associate with only those as righteous as themselves that they slammed the door on those who really needed to be there. They made the church an unattainable goal. And if any sinner dared enter the church, they would immediately be made to feel unwelcomed.

Is that how you feel here? Do you feel like you don’t belong? Do you feel looked down upon as unworthy to be seated among this congregation? Do you look around and see people who are all more put together and righteous than yourself? Let’s be honest with ourselves. When you look around this room, do you see people who are here because they have their lives together, or people who need help and healing? If you are here feeling lost or helpless, and yet feel like you don’t belong, then look at the group that is drawn to Jesus in the Bible. It’s the tax collectors and sinners who were all gathering around to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees, although trying to criticize Jesus, state perfectly why he came, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus tells a parable to show that he doesn’t just welcome sinners. No, he does much more than that. “Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost until he finds it?” Jesus tells it from the perspective of the shepherd, defending his actions to the Pharisees. But what if we think of it from the perspective of the lost sheep? Maybe there was a disagreement between you and some other sheep in the fold. Maybe you were looking for greener pastures somewhere else for a time. Maybe you just weren’t paying attention – life got busy or you became ill or whatever else – and suddenly you looked up to notice that you haven’t been to church in what, a couple months? A year? A decade? You may think, “Well, what’s one who wandered away anyway? Will anyone really notice me missing from the flock? Will anyone care?”

The parable talks about 99 sheep, and the shepherd does notice the one missing. But I’m going to zoom out to the entire flock of God. How many Christians do you think there are in the world? The Pew Research Center estimates there are 2.18 billion Christians right now. I’ve read that 2 billion grains of sand is about two cubic meters of sand. That might not sound like too much, but if you had two cubic meters of sand, 2 billion grains, and when you’re not looking, I take one of them away, are you going to notice 1 missing? I wouldn’t. But Jesus does. Out of the 2 billion Christians in the world, Satan plucks one of them away. Even if you and I don’t notice, Jesus does. No matter how insignificant you may feel in the larger flock of God, no matter how easy you might think it would be to slip his notice, your absence is felt. You are missed. And your Savior is concerned about you. So concerned in fact, that he goes after you, seeks you, calls for you until you are found! Because he wants you safe at home. He wants you to realize that he is the person who is most interested in your safety, your salvation, and your spiritual welfare.

That’s one great thing about this place as well. Your Shepherd doesn’t want you to feel like one in two billion – unnoticed and easily lost. So, he gathers his flock into smaller groupings, in congregations, in church homes, where you can feel loved, known, and at home – a place where you belong. When you are not here in this gathering of about 400 souls, it’s felt by every one of us. We long to be with you. We long to have you home. We long to build you up and be built up by you! Because every single one of you has unique gifts to share. Every single one of you brings a unique aspect to this group that we all need.

Your mentors reach out to you. Your elders are concerned for you and pray for you. Personally, my heart grieves over you when you are missing and rejoices when you’re here. I don’t need the Friendship Register to tell me if you were here or not. I know. I have a personal connection with you because the Holy Spirit has called me as your under-shepherd of the Good Shepherd.

The second parable that Jesus tells, about the lost coin, highlights all the care he puts into searching for you and finding you. “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?” Your Savior doesn’t simply do a quick visual sweep of the area and say, “Oh well” if you are not found. He goes after you, intentionally, carefully, and in a variety of ways because he wants you to be home!

And what happens when you are found? What happens when you walk through these doors after its been months … a year … or even more? ^“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The angels are rejoicing that you are home! Jesus rejoices that you are home! We, your brothers and sisters, are overjoyed and ready to welcome you with open arms!

That’s the hope, at least. Every single one of us ought to rejoice any time a person is led in through those doors, to sit with us, to grow with us, to be welcomed by us and eat with us. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Sometimes we, like the Pharisees, mutter indignant phrases like, “What brought him back?” or “Can you believe she did that?” “I hope they keep their kids quiet this time.”

Pastor Gaertner from Jesus Cares Ministry told the awful story about a mom who brought her special needs son to church. He acted up and was quite loud and disruptive. After the service, someone came up to her and said, “If your son is going to act like that, you can’t be here.”

If that’s our attitude, then shame on us. This place was never meant to be a hotel for saints, it’s a hospital for sinners.

Years ago, I ministered to a young lady who suffered a nervous breakdown. When I visited her in the hospital she said, “Pastor, I’m such a screw-up! Everybody else at church as it all together. I’m such a misfit!”

I smiled and said, “Oh, dear. You have no idea what kinds of misfits and screw-ups we have in our church. Epiphany is full of them! We just all hide it so well.”

The church is not a country club for perfect people whose lives are perfectly in line with God’s will. The church is a hospital for those sick with sin. Jesus provides healing for the sin-sick soul. He provides counseling for those trapped in addictions. Jesus breaks the chains and releases the captive. He gives salve for wounded hearts, bandages for cuts to the soul, and cleansing for our guilty consciences.

I’m sure you’ve heard people say that they don’t want to come to church because it’s full of hypocrites. When someone has used that as an excuse with me, I’ve told them, “You should come to church … then we’ll have one more.”

We are all hypocrites. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us with his truth to live lives as true children of God. The church is not a factory churning out finished Christian products. It is the family of God who are individuals who are flawed and broken in multiple ways.

Perfect people. Pharisees. Experts in the law. They have no need for Christ or Christ’s church.

The church is for the rest of us. Sinners. Tax collectors. Hypocrites.

The church is for those who are wrestling with sins, who need forgiveness for harsh words, reconciliation for broken homes, and grace for recurring failures.

when a brother or sister drifts backs towards lostness, we give chase, striving to bring them back home. And any time a person walks through those doors, we ought to welcome them with open arms, because this is where they need to be. Because this is where they belong. Because that’s what Jesus does for every one of us.

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” It was meant to be a derogatory slur, but it’s actually one of the most comforting statements anyone could say. Especially in times when I am struggling with sin or overwhelmed by guilt. In times when I know I am not good enough, could never measure up, and the law is rightly condemning me as a miserable sinner. Times when I feel worthless compared to those surrounding me. These are exactly the words I need to hear, “This man welcomes sinners.” This is exactly the place I need to be. Even though I may feel like I don’t belong. Even though I may feel out of place. Even though I may feel unworthy. It’s just a feeling. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!”

It’s one thing to be standing in a crowd next to someone. It’s another thing to have them sit down and eat with you – willingly be seen with you, associate with you, and welcome you. And that’s exactly what your Savior does here. He welcomes you, sinner, and eats with you, to give you the help and healing you so desperately need – along with all the rest of us.

Welcome home! Where the lost are found. And where the lost find healing. Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. (Revelation 22:21). Amen.