Lent 4: Left Alone
Where do most of us spend our time? With people like us, usually. That often means that after we have become Christian or follow our Christianity we end up spending less less time with the sinners- the real sinners. As we well know Jesus got in trouble for that. They came criticizing him for spending too much time with drunkards, thieves, and prostitutes. Just like any pastor probably would if they spent their spare time in a bar or (God forbid!) a crack house. (Not using of course.)

Luke 15:3-4 -- Then Jesus told them this parable: "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?

Hmmm. Did you catch what happened there? No, the shepherd didn't leave the 99 safe in their pen as Jesus tells the parable here in Luke. (It's different in Matthew.) He leaves them alone. In open country. Where thieves and wild animals could get them. He leaves them alone while he goes after the one lost. Did he know they'd be safe? Did he trust them (dumb sheep) to stay safe? Can you imagine, taking the end of the previous section as a starting point, if the local pastor called in one Sunday morning and said,

I have to go looking for the lost and lonely soul? You guys (the church members) can certainly take care of yourselves. By the way- have the celebration ready when I get back with the lost one.

They wouldn't have a job for very long. But the third part of this long section raises even more problems in trying to put it all together.

Remember the Prodigal Son? It's the third of this series of lost stories. The sheep and the coin are ardently searched for. One is a dumb animal. The other is a coin missing somewhere in the house. But the son is the one with free will. He's us. You and me. We are the ones who wander because we want to. We want to leave. We want to do something other than what God wants us to do.

And the father lets the son do it. Here's your money. Discover what you need to discover. The father doesn't go looking, send emissaries or messengers. He simply lets him go with tears in his eyes, I am sure.

So what's the difference? The shepherd goes looking. The woman turns her house upside down for a special coin. The father sits and waits and prays and mourns and hopes.

I don't understand entirely. It may be that we can say, after hearing this story that we shouldn't be out there looking. Just take care of business and wait for them to get hungry and come back. That's what free will is all about. I'm not sure what Jesus had in mind in these three stories. Greater scholars than me will probably have deep and profound ideas about it.

For me it's simple. God doesn't force those of us with free will to return. He lets us go wherever we want to go. We know what's happening. We know what's available. We can make those decisions. The sheep and coin cannot make those decisions. They need help. He's always there with open arms. Ready for a party. It is important to remember that parables are not allegories. They are stories that have a point. This one is just as simple as you can make it.

God's the faithful one allowing us to make our decisions and our mistakes.

God loves us enough to throw a party for us when we come back.

That's a God I can begin to understand and return to.