Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance, (Luke 15:4-7, NRSV).
The parable draws on our common experience - "which one of you does not ...?" Who doesn't look for that which they lost? Once we realize something is lost, we go looking for it. We look for it because it is important to us. Even if we have more of the same thing - ninety-nine - we still value and look for the one that was lost.
This parable is one of three parables recorded back-to-back in Luke 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. Each of the three parables proclaims the same truth about God. God is the shepherd, the woman who lost a coin, the father who joyfully welcomes his lost son. God goes to great lengths to find the one that is lost because each one is important to God. When that which is lost is found, God rejoices and throws a party to celebrate.
Jesus told the parables in response to criticism from the scribes and Pharisees: This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them, (Luke 15:2).
The criticism and Jesus' response highlight two key differences between Jesus and the religious leaders: how they viewed those who were different and, thereby, how they treated them. How we view others always determines how we treat them.
The scribes and Pharisees viewed those who were different as sinners. The term sinners meant the others did not live by the Mosaic Law as the scribes interpreted it. Because they did not conform to the scribal expectations, they were considered ritually unclean and, thereby, not eligible to worship at the Temple. They could only worship at the Temple after they went through a process of ritual cleansing. Because the scribes and Pharisees viewed the others as unclean, they would not associate with sinners lest they become ritually unclean through contact with them. They treated them as socially unacceptable and deserving of condemnation and contempt.
Jesus viewed these so-called sinners differently and, thus, treated them differently. The three parables reflect how Jesus viewed them: as one important to and loved by God. Consequently, Jesus treated them with dignity and respect as beloved children of God. In eating with them, Jesus embraced them as full members of God's covenant people.
These differences in how so-called sinners were viewed and treated reflect another significant difference between Jesus and the religious leaders. Jesus' acceptance of those the religious leaders called sinners was unconditional. Jesus embraced them as they were because he saw them through the eyes of God. Jesus treated them with grace and forgiveness. For the religious leaders, acceptance was conditional. Acceptance had to be earned, deserved by conforming to expectations. If/when the so-called sinners conformed to the expected religious-moral code, then they would be accepted. Rejection, condemnation, and scorn were used to pressure conformity.
It seems to me that Jesus' parable of the lost sheep raises probing questions as we United Methodist deal with the division and angst in The UMC over the Way Forward.
- How do we view those who are different from us - through the eyes of God or through the eyes of our religious-moral standards?
- Does our treatment of "the other" reflect God's unconditional love and grace or our expectations of conformity to our religious-moral standards?
- Have we polarized ourselves into the same kind of us-them categories that we see in the religious culture of Jesus' day?
- Does our position reflect God's unwillingness for even one to be lost?
- Who is excluded by the position we have taken?
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