99 Sheep And A Pocket Full Of Pennies

In seminary, I was introduced to a Roman Catholic Biblical scholar named John Dominic Crossan. His area of expertise is in historical Jesus studies. His work has, in the past decade or so, attracted a lot of criticism by conservative scholars because he has a fairly unorthodox view of the divinity of Christ. But he says something very interesting about the way that Jesus uses parables. He says that the parables ask how God would run the world if God sat on the throne of Caesar.

We all know who sits on Caesar’s throne in the United States. I’m not only talking about the president, but the Congress as well. I suppose I would lump in all state and local officials as well. Some of these folks do a terrific job and some of them don’t quite measure up, but we have elected them and have given them power to govern as best as they see fit. Now imagine if God sat on the thrones of power. What would happen? How would God run the world?

I believe that God would run the world in such a way that brought joy and pleasure throughout. What, you might ask, would bring God joy and pleasure?

• The lost that are found

• The broken that are healed

• The alienated that are reconciled

• The sick that are made well

• The oppressed that are freed

• The prisoner that is released

• The humble that are lifted up

• The dead that are brought back to life

Can you imagine such a world in which God sits on the throne; a world that is filled with joy and God’s pleasure?

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day couldn’t imagine that. Had they lived in our day and age, they most likely would say that those things were the things of science fiction and the movies. They just couldn’t understand the things that made God happy, that brought God joy, and that provided God with pleasure. I have a feeling that whenever a lost one is found, there is high fives all around heaven. I can imagine the angels chest bumping and pumping their fists in the air.

Imagine a room full of guys watching the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos game which is coming up on September 30. Now imagine how I am going to react when Jay Cutler throws a sixty yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Clark. OK, don’t do that. Imagine how the other guys are going to react when Peyton Manning throws a sixty yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison. They are going to be jumping up and yelling and high fiving everyone else in the room.

That is how God acts when one sinner repents and finds his or her way back into heaven. That is something that the Pharisees and the scribes just couldn’t understand. They had trouble finding joy.

In the gospel parables for this morning, people are invited to a lost but found sheep party. They are invited to a lost but found coin party. That sort of stuff happens only in the gospel. As Jesus says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

You may have 99 sheep and a pocket full of pennies, but are you willing to temporarily forget about them in order to go looking for one who is lost? And when the lost one is found, are you willing and ready to join in the party?