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Luke 15:1-10

Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

September 11, 2022

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Year C

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ASK (a.k.a The On-Ramp)

Good morning!
Have you ever played hide-and-go seek?
Are you so good at it that you’ve hidden before and then after awhile, because the person can’t find you, you actually start to make noise to make it easier for the person to find you?
That's how good you are, right?
Now, let’s pretend that you are playing hide-and-go-seek with a family member.
And, let’s pretend that you are so good at hiding that your family can’t find you.
Then, when they call for you to come out, you don’t answer…because you fell asleep while you were waiting for them to find you.
Do you think they’d stop looking for you?
Do you think they’d say, “Hunh. We can’t find our beloved family member...let’s go out to eat!”
Or do you think they’d keep looking, yelling out your name and maybe even ask others to help find you?
And all along, you know where you are - so, it’s not like you are lost – but you are separated from your family.
Which means you're not with the people you're supposed to be with and that's why you would be thought of as "lost" in this “you are super-good at hiding in hide-and-go-seek” story.

TELL (a.k.a. The Freeway)

It is that same type of “lost” we hear about in the stories Jesus tells in today's scripture passage about the lost coin and the lost sheep.
The coin and the sheep are not with the people they belong to. The coin is not with the woman and the sheep is not with the shepherd.
So in the stories, the woman and the shepherd keep trying to fix that; they keep looking for the coin and sheep so that the coin and sheep would once again be with whom they belong to.
And, once the woman and shepherd are successful in getting the coin and sheep back with them, then there is great rejoicing.
This same thing sometimes happens to us with God.
We sometimes stop paying attention to God because we are paying attention to something else.
Then we forget that we belong to God; that is how we get separated from God and “lost.”

SHARE the Good News (a.k.a. The Destination)

However, when we’re feeling separated from God, God doesn’t ever forget about us or lose sight of us.
And, God never stops wanting us to know that we belong to God.
One way that God continues to tell us that we belong to God is through each other.
That’s one of the reasons we gather in worship every week, to remind each other that we are not lost – that we belong to God.
Then, when we remember that we belong to God and start paying attention to God again, there is great rejoicing!
And that is the good news for today – that you, me, and all of us belong to God – and when we remember this and live accordingly, God and God’s people are very joyful and celebrate our presence. Let’s pray.

CLOSING Prayer

This is a repeat-after-me prayer.

Dear God,

We are sorry that we sometimes forget…

…that we belong to you.

Thank you for Jesus and each other…

…who remind us…

…that we belong to you.

Thank you and Amen

Originally posted September 7, 2013
Updated on August 13, 2022
Written and edited by Nathanael Vissia

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