BEING WHERE JESUS IS

There will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:7 (read 15:1-10) - NIV

Jesus had little interest in people who professed to be religious and pious. Staying with them was a waste of time. It was useless to deal with people who are convinced that they are God's chosen ones and who separate themselves from others by looking down on them and considering them to be unworthy. Those "other sinners" were more likely to be saved than the "ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (irony) People who consider themselves to be "saved" were more lost than the self-assumed sinners!

In these parables, the lost sheep and the lost coin represented the people whom the Pharisees considered to be "sinners". Jesus used irony to identify the ninety-nine sheep and nine coins with the hypocritical Pharisees who were already “saved”. When the shepherd, filled with joy, returned home with the lost sheep on his shoulders he called friends and neighbors to celebrate. The ninety-nine sheep were unable to celebrate the return of the lost sheep. The owner of the coins made a party with her friends and neighbors for the same reason.

Ironically we tend to identify ourselves with the ninety-nine sheep and nine coins. When we identify ourselves with them, we are unconsciously equal to the Pharisees, staying within the security of the “sheep fold” and rejoicing in our "salvation."

The heroes of the parable are the shepherd and the woman, not the ninety-nine sheep and nine coins. Our place is not in the safety of the flock. It is in mixing with sinners and being equal to salt and yeast. Salt is useless as long as it is in the salt shaker and yeast as long as it is in the package. The shepherd of the story was with the lost sheep, not with those who were in the sheep fold.

Where would Jesus be today if He returned in the flesh? I doubt that he'd be wasting his time clapping his hands in praise and prayer services, organizing mega churches, or promoting any kind of mega events to promote some cause or impress the general public. He would be with those from whom the "good" people separate themselves. Instead of being in the houses of worship He would be close to the slum dwellers, the immigrants, the hungry, the sick, the landless, the homeless, those without family, the unemployed, the exploited and the manipulated. Ironically, many American professing Christians are in favor of deporting immigrants (hiding behind the word “illegal”), denying assistance to the needy (considering them to be lazy) and keeping the lower income people on less than a living salary.

The parable is a judgment against any kind of spiritual and social elitism. Jesus introduced a new spirituality which is still not understood. The spirituality of Jesus challenges us to rethink our priorities and values. Jesus' church has no walls separating it from the mass of humanity. True Christian identity is not to be different from or better than others, but to be supportive and transmit hope. To follow Jesus would mean to be sensitive to the needs of the social outcasts and participating in their struggles.

Jesus would not be holed up in some church striving for spiritual perfection and protecting himself from this evil world. Our challenge is to get out there where the “lost” are and to be where Jesus is!

LUKE 15:1-10 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”