Luke 15:1-10.                     This man welcomes sinners                                         11/9/16

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “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? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ 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.

⁸ “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? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Today in this reading we are challenged big time by the way God deals with us as sinful human beings. Whichever way we look at this issue there are big problems for us. God’s attitude does not sit comfortably with us, despite the fact that it is the greatest and most joyful thing that can happen with regard to each and every one of us.

Here the accusation is held against God that: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Again we have message that flows nicely in our minds as long as we don’t think too deeply about it. For when we do a few home truths hid hard. But as we come to terms with the real significance of what this is saying, then we see a joy that surpasses all understanding.

Now in this reading we begin with Jesus associating with sinners. Now this was something absolutely shocking to many of Jesus day; and many, many people today as well. How can someone who is clearly a sinner ever come to be in God’s presence. The Bible is quite clear that a sinner cannot be in God’s presence; for he is a holy God and any sinner would be destroyed by that glory. Holiness and sin cannot dwell together.

There is a reality here that we need to very much keep in mind. Sin and God are not compatible. In fact, God’s Word is quite clear that anything less than perfection is not able to dwell in God’s presence.

The problem for humanity is that we do not like to see ourselves as sinners. Sinners are only those really bad people out there who mess with children or are completely heartless killers. However, that is not what God tells us clearly in his Word. All, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Not one is righteous; no not one.

Along with this, so often we also see sin as the bad things that are done. Rather than the bad nature of the person which is manifested by the bad that we do. Sin is a heart that is turned in on itself. This is seen in all of us in our ego-centric selfish way that we are and live life. Because of sin, we all have a corrupt nature, that focusses on self and not God and what he says.

By putting ourselves in the centre of the picture we generally see our own goodness and fail to see our own failures and short-comings. We judge ourselves and others by our own views, instead of listening to what God himself says. Here we want to see ourselves as basically good people, who only do a few bad things. Instead of the fact that we are bad people, who are despite ourselves, enabled to do a few good things.

This comes out quite clearly here in the views of the people who accuse Jesus of associating with sinners. Firstly, they viewed their own lives as being pretty good. In their own eyes they were obeying God’s commands, even if they changed the meaning to suit themselves. Secondly, they saw and judged their goodness very much in terms of what they were doing. It was all about themselves and how good they saw themselves. Then, they went on and judged everyone else according to those views, seeing their acceptability to God in those terms. They sought to see and Judge them rather see them from God’s perspective.

The tax collectors and sinners on the other hand knew they were not the people that they should have been. They felt trapped and bound not just by the ‘system’ but by their own nature. They knew that things were far from what they should be and that they needed the help that only God could give.

So when they hear of Jesus and all the miracles and great teaching that he was giving, they came to him, hoping that here they might find the help that they needed from God. The publican at the rear of the temple, gives the tone of their thinking: God be merciful to me a sinner. To these Jesus gives the full assurance of God’s forgiveness and acceptance.

Which brings us to God’s perspective on all of this: he came to seek and save the lost. That is all of us. He created us to live and be in a relationship with himself and one another. He created us to willingly and freely look to and serve one another and himself. In doing so he gave us the free will to do this. In order for that to be the case he gave us one simple rule to follow: listen to and heed what he tells us.

Now for Adam and Eve that entailed enjoying all the many good things that God had for them, but not eating from that one tree in the middle of the garden. However, on the devils leading, they chose to do their own thing, instead of what God had told them. They wanted to do what they thought was best for themselves; and as a result brought death and destruction on themselves.

So they and all have us have set ourselves as enemies against God. We all have sought to be the centre of life and are reaping the rewards of it. This sin has corrupted us all. Because of this sin, all of us are unable to make our own way back in God’s presence and have eternal life with him and all that is good. Not one of us can make up for our sin and so deserve eternal damnation.

However, God in his love for his creation – his people, seeks to give us a way out. He sends his own Son into our world to make it possible for us all to once again live in that perfect relationship with himself. God sends him to take the punishment, that we deserve for our sin, on himself. He dies in our place so that we all can be freely and fully forgiven and so once again live with him in his glory; loving and serving each other.

So Jesus comes to seek and save the lost – that is, those who recognise that they are sinners in need of the help that only God can give. To the broken and hurting he comes to them to remind them that he is there to bring healing, hope, and life. To those who are prepared to acknowledge their hopelessness and need of help, he comes alongside and reassures them of the life and salvation that he has for them. To those who know that they are sinners and outcastes, he tells them of the forgiveness life and salvation that is available to them through his death and resurrection.

Then to those who think that they can stand in their own self-righteousness he comes to them with his Word of Law and judgement. To those who think they are good enough to get there on their own merits, he reminds them of the need to be perfect. And to those who think that they can twist, change and lessen the absoluteness of his demands he gives the Sermon on the Mount and more.

So to this group of people he speaks his Word of Law to remind them of how lost they really are. He wants all to know how bad we really are so that we turn to him and receive the Good News that he has for us all. We are all sinners in need of the salvation that only God can give.

To all then, he seeks to draw them with his Law and Gospel to repentance. He seeks all to turn to him and receive the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that we all so desperately need. He comes to each of us wanting to be in fellowship with himself. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” He wants, and has made possible for each of us, to be with him in heaven.

However, many still do not want to accept the fact that they are sinner, dependent on God and his salvation alone. As a result, they lose out on this wonderful gift.

But for those who are found by God and who do not reject this great gift, there is great rejoicing in heaven. This is spelt out quite clearly in the parables that he tells in this regard. In the second he says this: “ suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. [Today we might say a $500,000 cheque] 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 neighbours 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.”

How amazing is that that he should search us, who have set ourselves up against God by being so ego-centric and selfish; that he should search us out till he can find us. Doing all he can so that we might repent and be saved. Turning to him and letting him draw us to him and receiving all the goodness that we could ever hope to get.

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Thank God that Jesus Christ has come and welcomed us into his presence and his eternal banquet. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish