True Wisdom
Proverbs 9:8-12
September 26, 2004
The newspaper article read, "These immigrants are everywhere, living in garages, building shacks in alleys all over the city. The stench of their garbage is in every American's nose. They bring crime, violence and political unrest with them." Obviously, the writer wasn't too thrilled with immigrants. He clearly looked down on them as lesser people. Not an uncommon attitude. The amazing thing is that the article was written back in the 1800's and the people he was referring to were German immigrants in St. Louis.
Certainly that kind of prejudicial attitude has been around for a long time. In fact, we see it clearly in our Gospel Lesson for today. It was the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees towards the tax collectors and 'sinners' of Jesus' day. The Pharisees were definitely predjudiced against them. Actually, they were pretty much predjudiced against anyone who was not one of them. As a matter of fact, the Pharisees called these other, 'lesser' folk by the derogatory term: the People of the Land. And they looked down on them so much, that they considered giving a daughter in marriage to one of these people, was like exposing her bound and helpless to a lion. The Pharisees would entrust no money to a commoner, tell him no secret, not even appoint him guardian of an orphan. It was the deliberate Pharisaic aim to avoid every contact with the common man. Which is why they were called Pharisees, a Jewish term that means: 'separatist.'
No wonder, then, that they were disgusted with Jesus. Here He was, this prominent Jewish Rabbi, and He not only had contact with these common 'sinners,' He actually ate with them - the ultimate sign of friendship and acceptance. But, you see, that was Jesus' whole message on earth: that the Gospel is not just from some particular elite group of people; it is for all men, especially those who are lost in sin. Yes, when it comes to salvation - the needier you are, the more qualified you are to receive the gift. But that was the Pharisees' whole problem. They didn't recognize their need. They thought they were above the necessity for forgiveness. Thus, the reason for Jesus' remark in our text: "THERE WILL BE MORE REJOICING IN HEAVEN OVER ONE SINNER WHO REPENTS THAN OVER NINETY-NINE RIGHTEOUS PERSON WHO DO NOT NEED TO REPENT."
We can almost hear the sarcasm in His voice, as He pokes and prods the Pharisees with the Law. For that's what He was doing. He was not confirming their mistaken belief that they had no need to repent. Rather, He was sarcastically chiding them for thinking that they were so self-righteous that they could please God on their own! And what about you and me? How often don't we adopt that same kind of Pharisaical attitude? We rush through a busy day, without ever taking time to meditate on God's Word and confess our sins to Him, so that He can forgive us. We see someone else receiving a great blessing, and we jealously think, "Well she certainly doesn't deserve it." We hold onto our burdens and cares, thinking that we can handle them on our own, instead of giving them to God and letting Him help us. We view ourselves as better than others - stronger, godlier, less likely to fall. When in actual fact, our hypocrisy betrays us. For when we look inside our hearts, we see how dark and sinful we really are. How like the Pharisees, we too need to repent.
Take for example, the husband, who stepped on one of those penny scales that tell you your fortune and weight, and dropped in a coin. "Listen to this," he said to his wife, showing her the card. "It says I'm energetic, bright, resourceful and a great husband." "Yeah," his wife nodded, "and it has your weight wrong, too."
So often, like that man we like to think of ourselves as better than we really are. But that's when the scales of God's Word shows us the truth. It points out how out of balance our lives really are, how truly sinful we are. For that reason, Jesus reminds us, just like He reminded the Pharisees, that we need to repent. We need to daily confess our sins and turn to Him in faith. In short, we need Him to save us. We desperately need Him and His forgiveness. And the Good News is, that that's exactly what Jesus longs to give us. He l avishly pours out upon us His unconditional love and pardon. He absolves us completely of all our guilt, by means of the blood He shed on the cross. For as our text indicates, He still 'welcomes' sinners. He doesn't simply tolerate our presence. He seeks us out when we are lost and gladly welcomes us as His beloved friends!
That was precisely the point of the two parables He told in our text. The parable of the Lost Sheep speaks of God's tender care for sinners. You see, in Judea pasture-land was often scarce. The narrow central plateau was only a few miles wide, and then plunged down to the wild cliffs and the terrible devastation of the desert. There were no restraining walls and the sheep would often wander. So, the shepherd always had to be watching and counting his sheep. After all, since many of the flocks were communal, belonging to the entire village, the shepherd was personally responsible for each sheep in his care. If a sheep was lost, he must at least bring home the fleece to show how it had died. Thus, these shepherds became experts at tracking and could follow the straying sheep's footprints for miles across the hills.
What a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus' tender care for you and me. When we were lost in the cracks and crevices of sin and shame, He tracked us down and rescued us from death. He tracked us all the way to the cross, where He gave up His own life, to place us gently on His shoulders and carry us away from sin and hell, and bear us safely back to the fold of His kingdom. It brings to mind the words of Ezekiel 34:15-16 where God promises: "I MYSELF WILL TEND MY SHEEP AND HAVE THEM LIE DOWN IN SAFETY. I WILL SEARCH FOR THE LOST AND BRING BACK THE STRAYS. I WILL BIND UP THE INJURED AND STRENGTHEN THE WEAK!" And isn't that exactly what Jesus does for us. He binds up the wounds of our guilt and strengthens us with His forgiveness.
Which fits in perfectly with the parable of the Lost Coin. It's the sign of our precious worth in God's sight. You see, in those days married women wore a head-dress made of ten silver coins, linked together by a silver chain. It was a priceless heirloom, that could never be taken away from her, not even to pay a debt. Quite possibly it was one of the coins from this head-dress that the woman in our text was looking for. We could think of it as a lady trying to find her lost wedding ring. She would do anything to regain it. So too with the woman in our text. Since the houses were dark, with hardly any windows, and the floors were simply dirt covered with reeds, she makes a diligent search to find it. She lights and lamp and carefully sweeps the floor, perhaps listening for the tinkle of the coin or to see some glint of it in the lamp-light.
Many theologians have seen in this and example of the work of the Holy Spirit. How He diligently searches for us, calling us by the Gospel, enlightening us with His gifts, sanctifying and keeping us in the one true faith. Indeed, the lamp of His Word shows us our sin, and the broom of His Gospel sweeps away the uncleanness in our soul. That's how precious we are to God. We are His priceless heirloom. So priceless, that He not only sent His Son to save us. But He also sent His Holy Spirit to bring us to saving faith and to keep us in that saving faith all the days of our lives. And the Holy Spirit does that through the Word and the Sacraments. For the Good News is that Jesus still welcomes sinners and eats with them. As a matter of fact, He sets a place for us personally at his Table - the altar - where He offers us His body and blood, for the removal of all our sins. His holy Supper is the most intimate fellowship gathering, where He assures us that He is indeed the friend of sinners - our closest friend, where He nourishes us with forgiveness and salvation, so that we are no longer lost, but found.
Not long ago, a 7th Grade science teacher began a study on magnets. He introduces the subject with this riddle: "My name has six letters. I begin with the letter 'M' and I pick things up. What am I?" Because this was a science class, all of the students should have instantly shouted the word 'magnet.' But that's not what happened. Instead, more than half the class concluded that the answer was 'Mother.'
Of course, it's easy to see why they would conclude that, because moms do pick things up. They pick up your messy room and your dirty dishes and clean them. They pick you up from soccer and baseball practice and bring you home. Best of all, when you're lost and alone they pick you up and hold you close to their heart. When you're down and depressed they pick you up and comfort you.
Dear friends, that's how it is with our Gracious Savior, Jesus Christ. When we were lost in sin, He not only found us. He picked us up in His loving arms and carried us safely back Home to His heavenly kingdom. And since He has so graciously saved us, we should be grateful enough to share that message with others. Instead of adopting a Pharisaical, separatist attitude of looking down on others, we should rejoice with the angels of God when one sinner repents. Because we have been completely forgiven for Jesus' sake, we ought to forgive one another and spread that Gospel of forgiveness to all the world. And the way that we do that is with our prayers, with our mission dollars, and with our witness to those who are hurting. May God help us to do so, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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