Grace and peace to you from the Holy Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What one thing would cause the most disruption if you lost it? Your phone, car keys, sense of smell? 

I think many of us have lost something, perhaps even this morning, and it seems at the time to turn our life upside down. 

“Perhaps if you put it back, you wouldn’t have lost it.” 

Have you ever heard that before? 

Either way when something is lost it is cause for grumbling, maybe even unhelpful suggestions come up. 

Imagine being in this situation that Luke has written for us today. 

You have been following Jesus, through the ups and downs of his journey, only to stop and lose your way. 

The Pharisees and scribes are unhappy, what have they lost? Control? 

Jesus, obviously known to them, dares to show up, to teach everyone about love that even tax collectors and sinners listen to him, some are even invited to eat with Jesus. 

How dare they? 

Tax collectors have never been a popular group of people, especially in ancient times when they were knowingly working for and extorting people to their own benefit, not to mention the Romans. 

And let’s not forget those sinners, why would they be listening to Jesus.

What possible Good News would he share with them? 

Aren’t we all lost at some time in our lives? 

What is it about welcoming people that is so threatening to some? Three questions that I hope to address and pray for understanding. The Good News of Jesus is forgiveness. 

Forgiveness for being who we are and occasionally making mistakes. Mistakes that sometimes hurt other people and usually hurt ourselves. Jesus teaches about forgiveness. 

Forgiveness that is abundant and never runs out. 

Forgiveness that turns you towards God who shines with grace. Grace that is a joyful sound to a sinner’s ears. 

Grace that freely says, “I forgive you.” 

Jesus freely teaches all who will listen that love is more powerful than hate. We are both saints and sinners. 

God loves each and every one of us. 

Love is a steadfast relationship that empowers us to choose. 

A choice to live abundantly with joy or in fear that love is scarce. 

In the laws of supply and demand the abundance of love is so great that it is free, even with all that demand.

We receive God’s love for free. 

Nothing we do can get us more and nothing we do will take it away. 

Perhaps the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling about not being a part of what Jesus was inviting us all to share. 

Were they lost to what they understood about each other, about who they thought was in and who they thought they knew was out? 

Luke describes what we know as the parable of A faithful shepherd, and A persistent woman. 

I wonder how this helps us understand God as a faithful shepherd and a persistent woman. 

When you have lost something eventually you might start doing a cost analysis of the time it is taking to locate it against replacing it. 

Most modern business people would agree that it wouldn’t make sense to sacrifice everything for one thing, except? 

Except this is God not a business dealing. 

God is that shepherd who loves all of God’s sheep. 

God created them after all. 

God is all in knowing that those 99 sheep are safe as God goes looking for that one. 

Isn’t it great to know that you could be that one! 

Perhaps in the deepest fears and sorrows where no light seems possible God finds you and says, “here I am, I love you and I forgive you, you are mine.”

Think of that terrible dream, perhaps reality, when you wake up to the abundant light of forgiveness. 

Believe, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” 

Joy in heaven over the one who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. 

My second question was aren’t we all lost at some point in our lives? 

Look at the words of Paul to Timothy, Paul who was lost, “even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 

I have been there too and by grace I stand here this morning. 

Christ came to save all of us, that’s Good News! 

While car keys and cell phones are things to keep track of how much more is our life with others easier to follow together with love. 

Rather than competing we can share in the abundant love that welcomes everyone. 

God wants us to Get Found and never says, “Get Lost”. 

A persistent woman looks diligently for a coin, representing a whole day's wages. 

A coin, one tenth of what she had, that was so important that she turned her house over to find it. 

Even for that one coin, that one, it was all worth it when it was found. The value in the person searching for the reward was shared by all.

Living in the presence of joy is how I feel here and what I will miss so dearly. Joy that continues to open our doors to worship Christ, to be found. Found as God shines on us, while others may grumble that they know better. We respond with love. 

Love that accepts who we are as both saints and sinners. 

Christ invites us to create a kingdom on earth with the promise of a heavenly room. 

Joy that we are all invited to the party and no one has a better seat than you. 

Jesus is a different kind of shepherd who will keep looking until we all have a place at the table. 

For this we can say, "thanks be to God.” 

Amen