The 15th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19C), Sept. 12, 2004
Exodus 32:1,7-14; Psalm 51:1-18 or 51:1-11; 1 Tim. 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10
The function of irony in a story is to pierce through preconceptions and force a different reality than usually seen. The parable of the lost sheep contains a double dose of irony, but we still fail to see the reality Jesus holds before us.
The first irony is that we would leave the 99 and search for the one lost sheep. No, of course we wouldn’t. We would assume we miscounted, or would expect it back in the morning, or we would see an easy tax write-off, or wouldn’t notice.
The ratio is not 99:1 but more like 4:1. That is, 80 percent of the world is either in the fold or knows the way there. But 20 percent of the world has never heard of Jesus Christ, has no way to hear about him, and is lost trying to find him. They live in places like Morocco, Mali, northern Sudan, western China, and Iran. They are hard to find, resistant to the gospel, and sometimes hostile to efforts.
But that’s not the point. They are lost sheep, dearly loved in heaven, ones for whom Jesus shed his blood on the cross.
The second layer of irony comes in the way the story is presented. Jesus uses a series of questions that expect the answer “Yes.” “Wouldn’t you go after the one? Wouldn’t you rejoice at finding it? And wouldn’t you throw a party?” We are nodding our heads so vigorously that we don’t notice that we would not do any of the above.
If we cared so much for the 1.5 billion people who don’t know about Christ, then why does the Church spend more than 90 percent of our resources on the people already inside? If we can’t hear the bleating of the sheep in Chad or Tibet, we just don’t care.
That is bad news for those who have never heard, and extra bad news for the Church that hasn’t gone to tell them.
Two things can turn this around. The first is intercession. Moses pleaded with God for his people, and God relented (Exodus 32:11). Why? Because God loves them. His Son is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the people of Teheran and Bangkok.
The second is sharing Paul’s self-awareness (1 Tim. 1:15). He was a sinner who did not deserve grace — just like us. And just like the sinners of Libya and Kyrgyzstan. So do we deserve light and they don’t? Or should found sinners seek lost sinners?
Look It Up
God gives another slant on the Church and lost sheep in Ezekiel 34.
Think About It
On the scale of disobedience, which measures worse: whatever is wrong on the issues of sexuality, or our leaving 20 percent of the world in the dark about Jesus Christ?
Next Sunday
The 16th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20C), Sept. 19, 2004
Amos 8:4-7(8-12); Psalm 138; 1 Tim. 2:1-8, Luke 16:1-13
