Living in the Spirit

September 10, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. –Luke 15:1-7

My brother and I talk via phone most Saturdays. One Saturday morning in the spring during calving season, the first thing he said after hello was that he had just come in from walking the pasture as one of his new calves was not with its mother, and he could not find it. The next week he reported that he had not found it after a few days fearing the worst had happened, but he kept looking, and on the third or fourth day he walked out to the barnyard, and there was the mother cow and the calf together. All seemed well. My brother is a retired lineman, but in his heart, he has always been a farmer. He lives on our family farm. We had a small dairy when I was a child, and my mom always had a beautiful garden. My first job was feeding the chickens and gathering eggs. People who grow up on a farm get a degree in reality about life and death, about the necessity of doing the work in the rain or sunshine on a regular schedule, and that all people and animals matter–good life lessons for anyone. I was also the kid who turned every calf into a pet and ran crying and yelling behind the pickup when dad took a steer to the butcher, “Please do not kill Smokie; I love Smokie.” I also ate the roasts and steaks and hamburgers, which dad picked up a few days later.

Jesus’ audience was well acquainted with the importance of a missing lamb. God created an interdependent world where all things matter. We are charged with the responsibility of being the best person we can be as God created us to be, but also, being engaged in supporting others as they fulfill their purpose in God’s Beloved Community.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the beauty of your image in each person we encounter as we work to live your love.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.