Rev. George Miller
March 4, 2026
Luke 15:1-7
Last week we continued our path to
Jerusalem, to the Cross, aware of our mortality, our brokenness, our tragic
mistakes.
Feeling lost, feel scared, wondering “Does
God care?” “Does God know?” “Will Heaven’s eyes smile upon me.”
“All we like sheep that have gone astray?”
Tonight we continue to think of that one;
the missing of the 99 sheep, as told in Luke.
Luke sets this reading amongst the
despised and the dejected of the world- the tax collectors who made their
wealth off the suffering and hard work of others, and the sinners who keep
making tragic mistakes, poor decisions, hurting others and hurting themselves.
In the eyes of the corrupt religious
leaders and egotistical scholars, they are seen as less than; nothing;
worthless.
But not to Jesus. Jesus sits amongst them; right with
them. Locking eyes; seeing their faces;
creating welcoming space.
Jesus, knowing that how the world sees
them can affect how they see themselves, he tells them this loving parable.
He crafts an image of God as the one who
searches, finds, lifts up, carries, and rejoices.
Not scold.
Not say “See, I told you.”
But, rejoices. Gives thanks.
Smiles. Sing. Celebrates.
How many tonight feel weighed down by the
weight of their sins? How many feel a
burden from the mistakes they have made?
How many wonder tonight “If those around
me knew who I really am, what I think, and have done would still want to sit
beside me?”
How many have that hidden secret? Or that feeling of shame over a sin you may
have knowingly or unknowingly done?
We all do.
For to be human is to err. To be
human is to make mishaps.
But to be a Christian is to know that our
wrongs do not have to keep us from Christ; to know that our sins do not single
us out.
It is true, that all we like sheep have
gone astray from time to time, but it does not mean we have to stay astray.
For in Jesus we have the Good Shepherd who
will come in our most sinful moment to seek, find, lift-up, carry, and rejoice.
Jesus rejoices; so all we like sheep can
rejoice as well. Amen.
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