In the middle of the reading from Paul’s letter to Timothy is a sentence which has been part of the Anglican tradition of worship for over 450 years.
15” The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”.
It has come to be known as part of a small collection of verses known as the “Comfortable Words” found in the BCP Communion Service. Like John 3:16, it gives us a summary of why Jesus came. We hear the phrase “save sinners”, and we are perhaps not sure what it means. Well, today’s gospel reading tells us what this little verse means. What does it look like when Christ Jesus comes into the world to save sinners? I suggest we do a little refresher based on the Three R’s :
Relationship
Repentance
Rejoicing
The first R is Relationship.
At the beginning of this gospel we see that the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near to Jesus to listen to what he was saying. Apparently whatever Jesus was selling, they were buying; whatever Jesus was teaching, they were willing to learn, and whatever Jesus was saying, they were listening. The beginning of relationship is just talking – Jesus is having a conversation with these notorious folks. And the Pharisees and scribes fill in the picture for us a bit more: "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus does more than just lecture to the sinners and tax collectors. He spends time with them, welcoming them and sitting down and enjoying a meal with them, Jesus wants to build friendship, trust, relationship with them.
It’s fairly evident that the Pharisees are not really interested in that sort of thing. But Jesus is. God is deeply interested in relationships: both those we share among one another, and the relationship we share with Him.
When we look at the parables Jesus tells, what is the outcome? The shepherd calls together his friends and neighbours; the woman of the house calls together her friends and neighbours.. Relationships are the building blocks of the Church.
The second R is Repentance.
So what was Jesus saying to the tax collectors and sinners that made them want to stay listen to him? The two parables he tells give us a hint: A sheep gets lost, a coin gets lost, a heart gets lost.
15:3 So he told them this parable:
15:4 "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?
15:5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.
15:6 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.
15:7 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.
The shepherd doesn’t tell us how the sheep got lost. he doesn’t say whether the sheep wandered off on its own, or gradually strayed little by little, or got scared by something and disappeared. The shepherd doesn’t give us the details of how far the sheep had wandered. No, the shepherd is not interested in us knowing those details.
Jesus tells us that the shepherd does not cut his losses. After all, losing only one out of a hundred is pretty good. Why not just let it go? The shepherd cares for the one. He is willing to pursue it wherever it has gone, now matter how far. He wants that one.
And what does he do when he finds it? He carries it home on his shoulders. And that is at the heart of repentance: It is not about punishment for wrongdoing, or excessive guilt over our faults; it is not about wringing our hands in self pity: it is about coming home. Coming Home on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd. Repent, and turn toward Home. And if you don’t think you can get there, don’t worry, the shepherd will carry you there himself. All sin is a wandering of the heart away from God. All repentance is a turning and being carried homeward; back to the One who made us; home to the one who loves us. Jesus came to carry us home.
15:8 "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
15:9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.'
15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
What about the lost coin? The coin is lost inside the house. Maybe you don’t have to wander out of the sheepfold in order to be lost. Maybe you can be lost right in the midst of the house – even in the midst of the house of God. And what does this woman do? She searches, she sweeps, she looks in every nook and cranny. She gets down and dirty, prying and looking in cracks and crevices until she finds the coin – because she knows it is valuable. We aren’t told how tarnished the coin is when she finds it. We aren’t told where it rolled to. We are only told that it was lost, and she will not stop searching until she finds it. Like the shepherd, she is not content to cut her losses and just let it go. She wants it, it is hers, and when she finds it I’m certain that she hold it in her hand, cleaning and polishing it until it shines like new. It is back with her, where it belongs.
The third R is Rejoicing:
And what does he do when he find the sheep? He puts it on his shoulders and rejoices. He knows the sheep is frightened, and has lost its way. He knows the sheep is tired, and doesn’t have the strength to make its way home. And so he carries it, on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And what about the coin? Where is the coin? It’s in her hand. Held in her hand. Think about that. Held in the hand of God, who has been looking and searching, for you.
God’s joy is infectious. he calls together his friends and neighbours to rejoice with him over the heart that has come home. When was the last time you considered that you could give joy to God? When have we considered that coming home to God, turning our hearts toward him, and letting Him bring us home?
This little section is part of three parables, the final one is the parable of prodigal son. Like the parable of the prodigal son, we tend to leave our focus on the wrong part. We think of the lost sheep, the lost coin. Instead, let us think about the found sheep and the found coin;
Nor are the parables about the scolding shepherd, the frustrated woman. Instead, it’s about the rejoicing shepherd, the rejoicing woman.
What do the shepherd and the woman do? they call together their friends and neighbours to rejoice and celebrate over what they found. I’m sure the sheep and coin were not expecting such a welcome. And often we don’t either. What can we expect when we turn our hearts toward God, toward He who is our true home? We find ourselves in the centre of a celebration. We are not held up as examples or warnings or case studies, instead , we are held up as the cause of God’s joy -
15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
God’s joy – a joy which is infectious and spreads out among all his “friends and neighbours”.
Think of what Jesus is telling us in these parables. Feeling tired and weary? He’ll carry you. Feeling lost? He’ll find you. Feeling tarnished? He will polish you. Feeling lonely? He’ll call all his friends and neighbours over. Feeling insignificant? He’ll make you the centre of his attention. Feeling worthless? He’ll show you that you precious in his sight.
Feeling insecure? You are carried on his shoulders, and sheltered in the palm of his hand.
15 “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”.
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