THE EXTRAVAGANT, RECKLESS, PASSIONATE,
UNTAMED, IMPRACTICAL, WILD LOVE OF GOD

Dr. Richard J. Henderson September 12, 2004

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Psalm 51:1-12
Luke 15:1-10

Introduction

These are crazy stories! A shepherd is out in the wilderness when he notices that one of his sheep is missing. He leaves ninety-nine behind and goes to search for that sheep. That's insane! He may come back and find that he only has seven sheep left.

But the shepherd searches and eventually finds that one lost sheep. Gently he lifts it up and places it on his shoulders. He is whistling joyfully as he carries the animal home. When he gets back he calls to his friends, "Let's have a party; my sheep was lost and now it is found!" They all get together and celebrate. Is this what people do?

I

A woman has ten coins, but she loses one of them. We've all done that - lost a quarter or something like that. She looks everywhere but can't find it. She turns on all the lights in the house, moves the furniture, looks behind the drapes. Nothing. She slides the refrigerator out from the wall, checks behind the stove, turns the chairs upside down on the dining room table. No luck. Now she's down on her knees going through the carpet with her fingers.

Then she finds it! She is so excited that she calls her friends, "Come over, I'm having a party! I lost a coin and now I have found it!" She goes out and buys shrimp and cocktail sauce, fresh fruit, chips and dip, beer, wine, and pop. Someone at the party comments, "She spent way more on this party than the coin was worth that she found."

II

Did you notice, Jesus begins these parables by asking, "Which one of you, having one hundred sheep..." Would do this? The answer is easy. NONE OF US! None of us would leave one hundred sheep in the wilderness while we went hunting for one that was lost. It's too risky. It's unreasonable. It's not practical.

None of us would go to all that trouble for one little coin. There isn't one of us who would invite all our friends over to celebrate finding a lost coin. Not even the biggest partygoer would think of throwing a party for finding a lost coin.

Jesus starts these stories by asking, "Which one of you would do these things?" Every person in the audience is saying, "Not me. I wouldn't do that." None of us would.

Maybe that's why Jesus asked the question. Of course, none of us would be that crazy. In asking the question, Jesus points to God who will go to these bizarre extremes to rescue someone who is lost. God throws that kind of party for one sinner who repents.

III

These stories are not about repenting. A sheep can't repent. A coin can't change its mind. These parables are about God - God's crazy, extravagant love for you and me. The parables of the sheep and the coin point to how impractical God's love for us is.

Those who think of God as practical, objective, reasonable, suddenly have that picture shattered. This is a God who throws a huge party because she found a small coin. This is a God who calls together all his friends to celebrate finding a lost animal. The one lost is so valuable that when it is found, God throws a huge party. Heaven holds a gigantic party when one who has been lost is found.

When it comes to loving people, especially those who have gotten lost, God is wild, extravagant and reckless.

IV

If you're feeling confused or if you feel like you thought you knew your way, but things don't seem to be working out the way you hoped they would; if you feel so lost that you wouldn't blame anyone for not trying to find you; then you are the one God is so recklessly and relentlessly searching for. God values us more than we do ourselves. God searches for us with a wild, impractical love until he finds us.

When we have been found and brought home, the angels in heaven throw an enormous party. Everybody celebrates. The lost has been found!

Conclusion

A college chaplain introduced a young man to a local pastor. "He's going to be baptized tonight," she said. "How did you come to church?" the pastor asked, "What brought you here?"

"I got put here," the young man answered. "I really mean it. I think Jesus just came out and got me. That I'm here tonight to be baptized is nothing short of a miracle."

God's love for us is passionate, unrelenting, and a cause for great celebration!

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2004