"Sunday Sermon Manuscript for September 14"

"God Who Keeps Seeking"

Luke 15:1–10

Before Sharing the Message

As we observed 9/11 this past week, we now face this Sunday with heavy hearts. When I first came to the U.S., 9/11 was the single most shocking event for Americans, and every year I paid close attention and participated in remembrance efforts. But this year's 9/11 seemed strangely quiet—perhaps overshadowed by the shocking news of Charlie Kirk's assassination, the well-known YouTube influencer often called "Trump's mouthpiece."

This devastating event was carried out by someone from the political left who opposed Kirk's actions, and it could have escalated into severe conflict. The perpetrator was caught—a 22-year-old who grew up in a Republican household in Utah and still supports Trump—which makes this tragedy even more shocking. He reportedly resented Kirk's hateful rhetoric, and having grown up handling firearms from an early age, he carried out the assassination as a sniper from a distance.

Charlie Kirk was an outspoken advocate for gun ownership who argued that gun deaths were an inevitable part of the process and that mourning them was pointless. The fact that he himself was killed by a gun carries deep irony.

His assassination also caused another tragedy to go largely unnoticed—a school shooting in Denver that same day where three students were critically injured. Without the Kirk incident, this would have been front-page news. Its quiet reception shows how one event can completely eclipse another.

Major events and minor tragedies exist side by side. Depending on circumstances, some incidents receive more attention than others. While it might seem natural for 9/11 and a Denver school shooting to fade from public memory, we must remember that for some people, such forgetting only deepens their wounds and pain.

We could spend considerable time discussing gun violence and politics, but what I want to emphasize today is our need to pay attention to those who are hidden and marginalized by louder headlines. As we examine today's Scripture, let us remember that Jesus' teaching focuses on what is lost, forgotten, or pushed outside our circle of concern.

Introduction: From Grumbling to Joy

The passage we read today contains two parables from Luke 15. The chapter's opening verses provide the context for Jesus' words:

"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.'" (Luke 15:1–2)

"Tax collectors" were those who collected taxes for the Roman Empire—viewed by Jews as collaborators with oppressors and morally corrupt. "Sinners" was a catch-all term for anyone not considered righteous or obedient to God's law.

What's remarkable here is that Jesus welcomes these outsiders. More than that, he shares meals with them. This is a powerful declaration that they are accepted by God and have found their place in God's kingdom.

Through the two parables Jesus tells in response to the religious leaders' complaints, we catch a glimpse of God's heart—a movement from grumbling to joy.

Main Point 1: God's Initiating Love

God Who Comes Before Repentance

What strikes us most about this passage? We see no outward change yet from the tax collectors and sinners. There's no mention of repentance. Yet Jesus is already welcoming them.

This captures the very heart of the gospel: before we turn toward God, God has already turned toward us. People wait to see proof of change, but God demonstrates that love comes first—our response follows.

A Theology of Radical Hospitality

Jesus' welcome was radical by the standards of his time. We can understand why the Pharisees and scribes were muttering. These were people who worked diligently to keep the law and live as the "righteous" who refuse to "sit in the seat of sinners" (Psalm 1).

But Jesus demonstrates a different kind of righteousness—not exclusion but embrace, not judgment but welcome, not distancing but table fellowship.

Main Point 2: The Heart of a Faithful Shepherd

The Shepherd Beyond Common Sense

"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?" (Luke 15:4)

A man owning 100 sheep would have been considered middle class in that time. Common sense would suggest that losing one sheep out of 100 isn't a major loss. A practical shepherd might not have taken such a risk.

But Jesus introduces us to a very different kind of shepherd. Drawing from the Psalms and Ezekiel, he portrays God as one who will not rest until that one lost sheep is found.

\The Meaning of Extravagant Joy

"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.'" (Luke 15:5–6)

Throwing a party over finding a single sheep seems almost excessive. But that's precisely Jesus' point—he's inviting the religious leaders to move from grumbling to joy.

"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7)

Main Point 3: The Persistence of a Determined Woman

The Earnestness of a Poor Woman

"Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?" (Luke 15:8)

Here we encounter a poor woman of low social status. Ten silver coins represented about ten days' wages—extremely valuable to her.

Luke vividly describes the woman's persistence:

• First, "she lights a lamp"—not simply flipping a switch, but filling it with oil and lighting it

• Second, she "sweeps the house"—likely a dusty dirt floor, requiring real effort to uncover the coin

• Third, Luke emphasizes that she searches "diligently until she finds it"—she refuses to give up

The Radical Joy of Celebration

"When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.'" (Luke 15:9)

Remarkably, she appears to spend the money she just found—and perhaps more—to throw a party. This is even more extravagant than the shepherd's celebration. Finding what was lost doesn't make her wealthier, yet she still celebrates with abandon.

This reveals God's heart: when the lost are found, God rejoices without reservation and invites others to share in that joy.

Main Point 4: The Call to Experience and Embody God's Heart

The Theme Running Through Luke's Gospel

From the beginning, Luke's Gospel has highlighted God's heart for "the least, the lost, and the excluded." From the calling of Levi the tax collector (Luke 5:27–32) to today's passage, God's heart consistently turns outward toward those on the margins.

Partnership Through Prayer and the Spirit

Luke is both the gospel of prayer and the gospel of the Spirit's work. The placement of these parables here carries deep significance.

Experiencing and embodying God's heart isn't merely a matter of human effort. It becomes possible through prayer and the fullness of the Spirit. Jesus prayed before every major action, and Luke records that key figures in his gospel were "filled with the Spirit." The shepherd's faithfulness and the woman's persistence aren't just personality traits—they demonstrate what happens when God's Spirit works within us.

Application and Challenge: Bridging the Divide in a Divided Age

Who Are Today's "Tax Collectors and Sinners"?

Beloved church, this passage reveals that God persistently seeks to bridge the gaps that divide us.

Who are the "tax collectors and sinners" in our community? Perhaps those who've been hurt and left the church? The disillusioned? The socially excluded? The economically struggling? Those from different cultures? We may not be able to define them precisely, but such people are likely the ones Jesus is speaking about.

Personally, I must confess that I was once among them. From a Jewish perspective, all Gentiles were "outsiders"—so perhaps you, too, were once such a person.

From Grumbling to Joy

But too often we grumble like the Pharisees: "Should people like that even come to church?" "Can they really change?" "Will this effort actually make a difference?" "No matter how hard we try, we have our limits—why bother?"

God invites us to move from grumbling into joy. Through prayer and the Spirit's fullness, we can experience and embody God's heart—and witness that the God who calls us is indeed at work.

A Project of Seeking the Lost

What, then, must we do? The next steps are clear:

First, begin with prayer. Pray for God's heart. Ask, "What would God do?" Seek to understand the church and see the congregation through God's eyes. Desire God's heart, even in our weakness. Prayer is how we come to know God more deeply—there is no other way.

Pray to expand your circle of concern. Ask God who you should be praying for. This will open new creative avenues for sharing God's salvation. Don't only pray for those who come to mind or who are close to you—and don't only pray about your own problems.

Sharing prayer requests in small groups trains us to expand our prayer life so others can pray for us as well. Prayer must become broader and outward-focused.

Then pray to lay down your grumbling spirit. We sometimes treat church ministry as an "extra task," something to do only if we have spare time.

If we wait until we have extra time, it's too late. Some believe we should wait until we feel fully ready—but prayer begins filling us the moment we start. Praying for others—not just ourselves—expands our capacity for God's work.

Second, seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Don't mistake Spirit-fullness for outwardly dramatic acts like loud prayer, speaking in tongues, or appearing "powerful." The Spirit's fullness looks like a shepherd who persistently seeks a lost sheep.

It looks like the woman who thoroughly and diligently searches for the lost coin. These two figures show us that Spirit-fullness produces lives of radical joy—lives that throw parties when the lost are found.

Third, identify one specific person. Find someone who might be that "lost sheep." Look carefully for someone who might be that "lost coin." This means we actively participate in God's search.

Fourth, be patient and wait. The shepherd searches until he finds the sheep. The woman searches diligently until she finds the coin. God never gives up, and invites us to anticipate the day of rejoicing—the day of celebration.

Beloved, God's heart is clear: he seeks the lost, and heaven rejoices when they are found. We are invited to join in that joy.

Remember when we ourselves were the object of someone's grumbling? Jesus welcomed us, sat at the table with us, and declared that we had found our home in God's kingdom.

Now it's our turn to do the same—to go out with the shepherd's heart and the woman's persistence, and seek the lost.

And soon, may we all celebrate together and shout, "Rejoice with me!" This is my prayer and blessing for you in the name of the Lord.