Now all the tax collectors and sinner coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "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 15:1-7
While having a conversation one Sunday morning with Rev. Kristin, I signed my name to her clipboard without paying attention. After looking up what verse I had unknowingly agreed to, I went to Rev. Kristin and asked "What is not allowed at my funeral?" She looked at me and said "Sheep." (Here lies one of the benefits of making a friend out of clergy.) We both looked at the Bible I held in my hand, opened to Luke 15:1-7. She offered to allow me to change verses, but I thought maybe this was a cosmic calling to be more open-minded. So I taped my reminder to my vanity mirror and openly sighed every time I looked at it for the next few weeks.
Knowing this parable, I feel strongly tied to our Lord who will risk much by taking the time to pursue the lost and broken. However, in reading this passage now, I am more stuck by the reaction of the Pharisees and teachers. Their insult and injury is palpable. I am reminded of something my Mother used to say to my sister and me when we were younger. "You don't go to a party for who is invited; you go for who invited you." This edict of Mother's led to a fair amount of teenage angst in our home. The Pharisees and teachers disgust is in that Jesus would welcome and eat with those whom they do not believe are worthy, and therefore expect them to also welcome and eat with these people if they want to stay at the table. Today this parable feels like a call to not condemn anyone at the Lord's Table, as we do not know what the Lord had to do to get them there.
With Blessing,
Susan Core
Luke 15:1-7
While having a conversation one Sunday morning with Rev. Kristin, I signed my name to her clipboard without paying attention. After looking up what verse I had unknowingly agreed to, I went to Rev. Kristin and asked "What is not allowed at my funeral?" She looked at me and said "Sheep." (Here lies one of the benefits of making a friend out of clergy.) We both looked at the Bible I held in my hand, opened to Luke 15:1-7. She offered to allow me to change verses, but I thought maybe this was a cosmic calling to be more open-minded. So I taped my reminder to my vanity mirror and openly sighed every time I looked at it for the next few weeks.
Knowing this parable, I feel strongly tied to our Lord who will risk much by taking the time to pursue the lost and broken. However, in reading this passage now, I am more stuck by the reaction of the Pharisees and teachers. Their insult and injury is palpable. I am reminded of something my Mother used to say to my sister and me when we were younger. "You don't go to a party for who is invited; you go for who invited you." This edict of Mother's led to a fair amount of teenage angst in our home. The Pharisees and teachers disgust is in that Jesus would welcome and eat with those whom they do not believe are worthy, and therefore expect them to also welcome and eat with these people if they want to stay at the table. Today this parable feels like a call to not condemn anyone at the Lord's Table, as we do not know what the Lord had to do to get them there.
With Blessing,
Susan Core
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