I Once Was Lost
Sermon text for August 8, 2010:
Luke 15:1-10
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Lakewood, Colorado
One day my grandmother came running into the house with a look of panic etched on her face. She was normally very self-possessed, almost to the point of stoicism, but not this day. “I’ve lost my wedding ring!” she cried. The whole family joined her in the garden where she had been busy with one project or another. But the ring was gone and my grandmother was beside herself. She had lost the most important link between her and her beloved husband. We didn’t find her ring that day, and for years afterward I looked for my grandmother’s ring whenever I worked in the garden.
Things get lost and sometimes we find them again. Sometimes people get lost, leaving us to search and hope and pray that one day they also may be found. And that is what the parables in Luke 15 are all about. They are about losing, frantically searching, and finally finding. Losing, searching and restoration. In these parables God is depicted as the One who searches frantically for the one who is lost, until at last a relationship is re-established. And once that which was lost is safely returned there is great joy and thanksgiving. The good news of the parables is that God is a faithful, persistent searcher.
One of my favorite poems is by a man named Francis Thompson who spent many years as one of God’s lost ones. He lived in the London gutters as a drunk and junkie who regularly abused heroine, cocaine and alcohol.
A failure in academic pursuits that would have lead to credentials in theology or medicine, Francis tried to find solace in drugs. Finally, for all intents and purposes, he became one of God’s “lost ones”. But God would not let him go and pursued him wherever he went no matter what he did. Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven”, describes God’s pursuit:
"I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbéd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.'"
In many ways the poem is an echo of Psalm 139 which asks, “Where can I go from your Spirit and where can I flee from your presence?”
In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables with the same meaning. Our focus today is the parable of the lost sheep which depicts God as an active persistent searcher who does not stop looking until that which was lost is found.
The parable begins by posing the question, “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?” And the answer is a resounding, “No one! No one would do that!” Let’s see if we can put the question in a modern context.
Imagine that you are at a Rockies game and you have a hundred one-dollar bills with you. You realize that somewhere between entering Coors Field and finding your seat, one of the dollar bills has gone missing. The parable asks, “Who among you would not leave the ninety-nine dollars on the ground while you search for the one which is missing?” And the answer is ….? No one! That’s crazy! No one would do that – except God. Jesus asks us to believe that we are so important to God that God will go to ridiculous, even laughable lengths to return us to the fold. God will go far beyond what anyone thinks is smart or prudent. God cares so much, that God will do anything – even pursuing us down the nights and days, even when the nights and days turn into years. God enters the contours of our minds and joins us in tears and in laughter in order to return us to the family.
“Which one of you who has one hundred sheep and loses one will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one who is lost until he finds it?” No one! Only God!
Which one of you who has one hundred dollars and loses one will not leave the ninety-nine unattended and go after the one which is lost until you find it? No one! Only God goes beyond what humanly speaking is prudent or smart to return the one which is lost to the fold.
Friends, let us rejoice in the knowledge that when we are lost God will search until we are found and then welcomes us back into the family.
Copyright © 2010 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Luke 15:1-10
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Lakewood, Colorado
One day my grandmother came running into the house with a look of panic etched on her face. She was normally very self-possessed, almost to the point of stoicism, but not this day. “I’ve lost my wedding ring!” she cried. The whole family joined her in the garden where she had been busy with one project or another. But the ring was gone and my grandmother was beside herself. She had lost the most important link between her and her beloved husband. We didn’t find her ring that day, and for years afterward I looked for my grandmother’s ring whenever I worked in the garden.
Things get lost and sometimes we find them again. Sometimes people get lost, leaving us to search and hope and pray that one day they also may be found. And that is what the parables in Luke 15 are all about. They are about losing, frantically searching, and finally finding. Losing, searching and restoration. In these parables God is depicted as the One who searches frantically for the one who is lost, until at last a relationship is re-established. And once that which was lost is safely returned there is great joy and thanksgiving. The good news of the parables is that God is a faithful, persistent searcher.
One of my favorite poems is by a man named Francis Thompson who spent many years as one of God’s lost ones. He lived in the London gutters as a drunk and junkie who regularly abused heroine, cocaine and alcohol.
A failure in academic pursuits that would have lead to credentials in theology or medicine, Francis tried to find solace in drugs. Finally, for all intents and purposes, he became one of God’s “lost ones”. But God would not let him go and pursued him wherever he went no matter what he did. Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven”, describes God’s pursuit:
"I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbéd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.'"
In many ways the poem is an echo of Psalm 139 which asks, “Where can I go from your Spirit and where can I flee from your presence?”
In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables with the same meaning. Our focus today is the parable of the lost sheep which depicts God as an active persistent searcher who does not stop looking until that which was lost is found.
The parable begins by posing the question, “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?” And the answer is a resounding, “No one! No one would do that!” Let’s see if we can put the question in a modern context.
Imagine that you are at a Rockies game and you have a hundred one-dollar bills with you. You realize that somewhere between entering Coors Field and finding your seat, one of the dollar bills has gone missing. The parable asks, “Who among you would not leave the ninety-nine dollars on the ground while you search for the one which is missing?” And the answer is ….? No one! That’s crazy! No one would do that – except God. Jesus asks us to believe that we are so important to God that God will go to ridiculous, even laughable lengths to return us to the fold. God will go far beyond what anyone thinks is smart or prudent. God cares so much, that God will do anything – even pursuing us down the nights and days, even when the nights and days turn into years. God enters the contours of our minds and joins us in tears and in laughter in order to return us to the family.
“Which one of you who has one hundred sheep and loses one will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one who is lost until he finds it?” No one! Only God!
Which one of you who has one hundred dollars and loses one will not leave the ninety-nine unattended and go after the one which is lost until you find it? No one! Only God goes beyond what humanly speaking is prudent or smart to return the one which is lost to the fold.
Friends, let us rejoice in the knowledge that when we are lost God will search until we are found and then welcomes us back into the family.
Copyright © 2010 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 1:47 PM
1 Comments:
Dwight, I love this poem. I like the way you used it to lead into the gospel texts, the story of the good shepherd. So God is seen in the story of Jesus. I wonder if he ever felt lost, cut off from God, and experienced the pursuit. I am not comfortable with talk about searching for God, working to get to God. I'm like this sermon awed by the pursuit God has for us. Thanks.
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