Jesus Calls Us
Called from the Margins of Society
The Prodigal Son
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) Luke 15:1-10 The Voice 15 Jesus became increasingly popular among notorious sinners—tax collectors and other social outcasts. 2 The Pharisees and religious scholars noticed this. Pharisees and Religious Scholars: This man welcomes immoral people and enjoys their company over a meal! Jesus (with another parable): 3-4 Wouldn't every single one of you, if you have 100 sheep and lose one, leave the 99 in their grazing lands and go out searching for the lost sheep until you find it? 5 When you find the lost sheep, wouldn't you hoist it up on your shoulders, feeling wonderful? 6 And when you go home, wouldn't you call together your friends and neighbors? Wouldn't you say, "Come over and celebrate with me, because I've found my lost sheep"? 7 This is how it is in heaven. They're happier over one sinner who changes his way of life than they are over 99 good and just people who don't need to change their ways of life. 8 Or imagine a woman who has 10 silver coins. She loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the whole house, and search diligently until that coin is found? 9 And when she finds it, doesn't she invite her friends and neighbors and say, "Celebrate with me! I've found that silver coin that I lost"? 10 Can't you understand? There is joy in the presence of all God's messengers over even one sinner who changes his way of life.
For Reflection "Congregations may stumble over the term sinner, especially if they are well-educated in Christian doctrine." says Greg Carry. "'Aren't we all sinners?' some may protest, not in Luke's world. In Luke's world, some people so habitually transgress the ways of God that they are sinners in need of repentance. Others do not. We must take our passage on its own terms: Jesus distinguishes between sinners who repent and "the righteous who have no need of repentance" (15:7). We may struggle with that distinction, but it is critical for engaging this passage on its own terms. Here lies the cutting edge of the passage: Jesus embraces the very people the rest of religious society rejects."*
Richard Rohr concludes that "because secular culture has no way to repent. We are finding that the system, without a Gospel of healing repentance, is actually more unforgiving than the church ever was. All it has is the law, which kills, but Jesus has offered us the Spirit, which gives life (see 2 Corinthians 3:6)."**
*Greg Cary, Professor of New Testament, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-24-3/commentary-on-luke-151-10 **Rohr, Richard. Jesus' Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount (p. 136). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.
Pray
Pray with compassion and empathy. Pray for God to shower your enemies with good things. Finally, pray for change for the good.
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