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INTERPRETIVE CONTEXT - Typical of Luke’s arrangement of
material, we have three parables (see also 9:57-62; 11:42-52; 14:18-20) and an
"interpretive context" that consists of the type of people is addressing
(sinners and Pharisees), a conflict ("this fellow welcomes sinners and eats with
them") and a parable/s (the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son). To have
that context allows us to really hone in on what Jesus will say to critics who find
sinners-unsavory, repulsive, socially disruptive people- as somehow unwelcome to
God’s presence. Jesus is being criticized for table fellowship with such people. His
welcome of the non-religious types also suggests his full acceptance of them.
THE LOST SHEEP - In Matthew the sheep goes astray and if found there is much
rejoicing; in Luke’s version, a sheep is lost and sought until it is found (v.
4). So strong is the love for the lost sheep that the ninety-nine are left in the
wilderness while the search goes on. Craddock comments on this phenomenon: "How is
one to assess the search by a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine in the wilderness? Either
the shepherd is foolish or the shepherd loves the lost sheep and will risk everything,
including his own life, until he finds it. [1]
TERTULLIAN [fl. 197-222]- There is a breath of patience in these parables, the
patience of the shepherd that makes him seek and find the straying sheep. Impatience would
readily take no account of a single sheep, but patience undertakes the wearisome search.
He carries it on his shoulders as a patient bearer of a forsaken sinner. In the case of
the prodigal, it is the patience of his father that welcomes, clothes, feeds and finds an
excuse for him in the face of his angry brother . . . Repentance is not wasted, because it
meets up with patience! [2]
connections
Have you ever strayed from the Christian faith? How did God bring
you back?
How do these stories make you feel about your value to God? How could these stories
affect your relationships with those you know who wander from faith?
gambits
First, please check the DPS archives to see what we already have
on this lesson.
You might dig under the text to raise the issue that causes Jesus to tell the parables
in the first place: Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to
Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was
associating with such despicable people-even eating with them!
Raise the challenge that the Church has always had about who to throw out the
welcome mat to. Give examples from history and even in our post-modern times. Raise
questions and supply suggestions to locate the tax collectors and sinners in our own time.
Shift to the stories proper to watch Jesus welcoming all the lost children, coins, and
sheep home.
Do you have your own lost and found testimony? Do you know of someone who has such a
story? That would be a great way to conclude this homily by providing your congregation a
modern version of the parable.
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[1] Fred Craddock, Interpretation Series: Luke (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1990),
page 185.
[2] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture III (InterVarsity, 2003), page 244.
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