Pentecost II, the Lost Sheep
Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7), Psalm 116:1, 10-17, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35-10:8,
Matthew 10:6 Jesus says; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The lost sheep, what does it mean, and who are the lost sheep?
Can one be lost without knowing it?
In Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32 We have the ironic passage when Jesus is accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners he replied: Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
I say it is ironic because Jesus may be saying that yes, the tax collectors and sinners are in need of spiritual guidance, but what about those who are judging others and full of pride about spiritual or ethical superiority?
That all of us are in some ways lost sheep. Who of us have come to the end of our journey of faith? And part of the journey is to recognize our weakness and that we need God and one another.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
This sense of the journey is also articulated by Paul in Romans 5:1-5: What was read was:
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access[b] to this grace in which we stand; and we[c] boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we[d] also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
And the alternate reading is:
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand; and let us boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but let us also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
The change in wording from we to let us, suggests that we have not arrived nor received the gift in full.
Now the problem is the word boast. Are we being called by Paul to boast? I looked for a synonym for boast, and two were; joy and treasure. This is the journey to peace and hope.
We are striving for a peace that comes with justice for and hope for all, and to get there it seems it takes us through suffering and endurance and character that leads to hope and peace.
And the essence of it is about being in relationship to help others through their suffering and recognize we connect to community because of both our strengths and weaknesses.
Your may have other thoughts about this,
And you can e-mail me if you would like, Blessings,Blessings,
Bryce