Being Found – Luke 15:1-10

What this episode covers

Day by day, the scripture reminds us to always find a way to reach out to others, be there for the underprivileged, and be present with the oppressed. It’s a blessing to be accepted, affirmed and be found, but equally (if not more) a blessing to find the lost and embrace them with love and acceptance. Episode TranscriptBrian: Welcome to the Queer Theology podcast! Fr. Shay: Where each episode, we take a queer look at the week’s lectionary readings. We’re the co-founders of QueerTheology.com and the hosts for this podcast. I’m Father Shay Kearns B: And I’m Brian G. Murphy. B: Hello, hello, hello! Today is Sunday, September 15th 2019, we’re going to be taking a look at Luke 15:1-10. I’ll read it to you now and it’s also available through the show notes of this episode at queertheology.com/294 if you want to read along there. All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives. “Or what woman, if she owns ten silver coins and loses one of them, won’t light a lamp and sweep the house, searching her home carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life.” Shay, what do we do with this? FS: I am so intrigued to read this passage again. You know, this is one that was read all the time when I was growing up in my church. I feel like I have heard sermons on this passage for years and years and years and years. I mean you know, they often centered on converting people… B: Yuuuppp! FS: …and there’s this need to evangelize, and witness, and share our faith. Just a lot about that. I’m actually preaching on this passage this Sunday and have been thinking a lot about what’s a new take on it, is there a new take on it, and what do I wanna say. You know, I’m part of a Lutheran church, an older congregation — probably in a lot of ways shrinking congregation. I think that many mainline churches that are shrinking, there’s a lot of anxiety about: how do we get more people to come to our church, how do we grow our numbers. It’s this sense of we just have to fill the congregation, right? I’m struck by both these stories that Jesus tells. The message isn’t: “Be really great and get a lot of people to come into your congregation.” It’s like, “There are lost people out there, go and find them, and be where they are.” So I’m struck by that kind of turn around especially for the kind of liberal mainline church who are not comfortable with ideas like witnessing and converting people. What does it look like to then live in a world in such a way that you’re going out after people who are lost. And I don’t think of lost in a sense of like non-Christians. I think of lost in a sense of people who are experiencing despair, or who are searching for meaning and don’t know how to find it, or who are trapped in their lives and feeling depressed about that. What is it that we have to offer that could be helpful for them. It’s about going and being with people in those spaces and not necessarily like bringing them in into our congregation. And I think that that has to be the conversation. These ideas can’t be tra

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