Trinity 3 2021

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

St. Luke 15:1-32

Trinity 3

June 20/24, 2021

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

One of the main focuses of the Trinity season—this current season in which we mostly use green as the color of the day—focuses on what life in Christ is like. Those who have life in Christ, those who have been born again of water and of the Spirit in Holy Baptism have new life. So when we think of new life, we think of spring time—budding flowers, new leaves growing on trees, new life springing from the earth. All that was white, grey, and colorless due to the cold of winter is now coming to life once more. Thus, this is what the color green symbolizes.

What the Christian life is about and what is to be expected within that life of one who is Baptized, is often times explained by Jesus through the use of parables. For the Christian, for the one who is a baptized believer, and for all people, the only way to heaven is found in Moses and the Prophets—Holy Scripture. The Christian knows this. He has studied the Scriptures. That Christian then is taught, based on the Bible’s teaching, that God desires to have fellowship with him. The method Jesus employs to teach this is that He gives the example of a great banquet and that the invitation goes out to all people because God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The truth, then, is recognized when this invitation is accepted and the Christian finds true peace, happiness, and comfort as one who is seated at the Lord’s Table.

This is now the third week in a row, in which, Jesus tells a parable. Except this time, He doesn’t tell one parable, He tells three parables. And of course, they’re all driving same point home. The point Jesus is making in each of these three parables is that His love for sinners and for fallen creation is unending. He will always receive the repentant sinner back to Himself. In fact, He does more than simply wait around and hope that sinners repent. He is active in calling sinners, searching for them, and bringing sinners back into fellowship with Him. That’s the main point of all three parables. The main point is God is slow to anger and He is abounding in steadfast love. Yet, each individual parable explains this fact in a slightly different way. 

I. The Parable of the Lost Sheep  

The main point of the Parable of the Lost Sheep is that Jesus Himself seeks out those sinners who are lost. This parable, in particular, is mostly known to us through the parable’s depiction in art. One of the most common actions of Jesus portrayed in paintings, stained glass, and pictures, other than His crucifixion, is the portrayal of Jesus carrying a little lamb on His shoulders. All of us can imagine in our minds the smiling Jesus looking back at the little lamb on His shoulders. The lamb is safe; it is protected. It has nothing to fear. That little lamb is being led back into the fold—back to the community of the other sheep. That little lamb is being brought back into green pastures and is being led once again beside the still waters. For Jesus is with that lamb. He carries it gently. His rod and His staff are a comfort because they fend off the attacks of all the little lamb’s enemies and those who seek to do harm. 

Jesus is the shepherd; we are the sheep. He isn’t any regular shepherd; He is the Good Shepherd as Jesus says in John’s Gospel. Sheep cannot take care of themselves or fend off attacks from ravenous wolves. They’re weak, needy, desperate. Sheep stray from the path and from the company of other sheep. Through their own working, they become lost and alone, unable to take care of themselves and trapped in situations that lead to fear, anxiety, and despair. But The shepherd seeks out that one lost lamb. You are that lamb.

What’s especially comforting about this parable is that Jesus, not only sought you out before you became a believer, He continues to seek you out and find you whenever you stray from the fold of His Church. He is merciful. He desires not the death of the sinner. He didn’t come into the world to judge the world. He desires that all people repent of their sin and turn back to Him. He came into the world to save the world. He comes into the world, seeking you out and He doesn’t rest until He finds you. He lays you gently on His own shoulders, and He carries you home.

In the parable, there are supposed to be 100 sheep in the fold. 100 is a number of fullness and of completion. It’s a perfect number. But Jesus takes the work of shepherding to a higher level. He’s not only our Shepherd, He’s our Good Shepherd. He leaves the other 99 sheep safely behind in the field. He undergoes the attacks and assaults of the devil. He withstands Satan’s temptations, rejection by His friends and family, and on Him is laid the iniquity of us all. He is the Good Shepherd in this, He lays down His life for all His sheep. He gives Himself to the ravenous wolves, to the devil, and to the demons instead of us. But they aren’t able to keep Him dead forever. He must shepherd His sheep. He casts all evil, all devils, and demons, and wolves into hell forever. This is how He shows His love for you.

II. The Parable of the Lost Coin

The main point of the Parable of the Lost Coin is that sinners are sought out and found when they’re lost. In this parable, the sinner is compared to a coin that’s lost. Coins cannot just get up and walk back into the light. They are inanimate objects. They’re not alive. They’re dead. They can’t call out to their owner or wave their hands or do anything to assist in being found. Therefore, they must be found by the person who has claim over that individual coin.

Just as the lost coin can’t do anything to help or assist in being found, such is the case for us because we were dead in our sins. Sinners cannot call out to God in an effort to show how good they think they might be. Sinners cannot, by their own sinful nature, do anything or offer anything to God that would make Him say, “Ok, fine. I’ll save this person because they’re so good and nice to other people.” Just as the coin had to be found by its owner, such is the case for us. Jesus seeks us out and does not stop searching until He finds us.

And we are His. We belong to Him. Coins are usually stamped with an image. Usually, as was common during the ancient Roman Empire, coins were stamped with the image of Caesar because the coins, in a sense, belonged to him. That’s why taxes were paid to Caesar. And that’s why Jesus once said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s—speaking about earthly money—and render unto God the things that are God’s.” Now this lost coin, in the parable, was stamped with an image because that’s how things were done back then. Even our coins are stamped with images. Except our money bears the images of important people throughout the history of our own country. Usually it’s past presidents. But we do this more out of respect and reverence.

During the New Testament times, coins were stamped with the image of those to whom the coin belonged. So also do we bear the image of Him to whom we belong. Because we have been baptized. Because we’ve been baptized, all Christians bear the image of God. Since we are the coin in the parable, we belong to God. We have been marked by Christ the Crucified. We have been claimed by God as His dear children and the image of God that was lost in Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, is now given to us in Baptism. Because that’s where the New Man, the New Adam in us rises from the waters to live a life of holiness.

Just like the coin, we are stamped with the seal of God. We couldn’t baptize ourselves. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the one who is alone responsible for our conversion. He sought us out while we were lost and condemned in our sins. He called out to us. He searched for us. He found us. He brought us back into fellowship with Him.

III. The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Perhaps no other parable in the Bible shows this as well as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This parable shows the unending mercy of God, that God is slow to anger and He is abounding in steadfast love. He always receives repentant sinners back to Himself and to fellowship with Him. 

Though the younger son demanded his inheritance early, thereby wishing his father was dead, though he went and squandered all he had in reckless living, in the end, he realized his sin. He turned back to his father with the desire to be made a slave. For he said to his father, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” and the truth of the matter, is he was right. He asks for what he knows he deserves. But his father does not care. He receives back his son. He places a ring on his finger and celebrates by having a great feast. Such is the way God is and such is His attitude toward us when we repent. For God and all the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents.

Now the father, in speaking to his older son, gets at what truly was going on with his younger son earlier in the parable. The father explains what sin does and how it affects us. For he said to his older son, “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” Living in sin and indulging in unrepentant sin renders a person spiritually dead. If a person, even if a “so-called Christian” does not repent, if he does not turn from his evil ways, as he stands, he is spiritually dead. And God forbid, that should that person suffer physical death while living in such a condition, he will remain in his sin and be cast into hell along with the rich man. This is what the father means. His son was dead. His son had sinned against heaven and against him. He had no faith, he was living in sin. But his son came to himself. He turned away from that life of debauchery. He returned then to the person who can give him a new life. But not the life of a slave, the life of a son.

This is the essence of Christianity. We are sinners. We are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. But He is a loving Father. He takes no pleasure in the death of wicked sinners. His will is that all people turn from their evil ways and live.

The Prophet Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote it as clearly as can be, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one of us to our own way.” We are the little lamb that went astray, we are the coin that was lost. So also are we often times like the younger son. All of us like sheep have gone astray. But God is slow to anger and He is abounding in steadfast love. He doesn’t punish us as we deserve. He takes away our iniquity and laid it upon His Son. In this is God’s love shown for us. His only Son takes our blame and He welcomes us back into fellowship with Him.

In +Jesus’ name.