words about the WORD - Doug Thomas, Trinity Episcopal

Human beings have a proclivity to place people into groups based on appearances, attributes, abilities, and behaviors; and to then contrast people in a given group with people in an opposing group. So people are said to be short or tall, kind or cruel, extravert or introvert, normal or abnormal.

These categories are oversimplifications. We know most people tend to fall along a continuum from one extreme side of a category to its opposite, and most people would best be placed somewhere scattered around the middle.

Could this be true for the categories used to describe people in the Bible? For example, we read about the rich man and poor man, but while there were both exceptionally wealthy and terribly impoverished people living in the times and places the Bible describes, most people worked for their daily bread with no guarantee for tomorrow.

It seems reasonable to suppose that contrasting such extremes is designed to teach a lesson, such as: don’t count on being exceptional in some desired category as being sufficient for salvation. That would mean; being rich, beautiful, or a genius is no guarantee of life everlasting.

Psalm 14 reminds us of another pair of opposites: the “wise” verses the “foolish.” It begins: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Then we read: “Everyone has proved faithless; all alike have turned bad; there is none who does good….” Sounds like everyone is labeled a fool. Why?

In his sermon The Affections of the Heart, 18th century preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards observed that all of us are predisposed to love ourselves more than we love God. That, first and foremost, everyone seeks to gratify their affections, [AKA desires].

     This is the fundamental truth of the story of “The Fall” as found in Genesis, chapter 3. Adam and Eve desired the fruit of the forbidden tree because it was a delight to the eyes, was good for food, and would make them wise, so that they would be like God. They could be independent and decide for themselves. And what they – and us – are prone to decide, is to please our self. The result of this tendency is what some refer to as practical atheism. Because, in our day –to–day practices, we live as if we don’t need God; and that’s foolish.

Additionally, as I observe myself and others, it seems we often have different areas of life in which we are foolish. To illustrate: John may show some wisdom in how he manages his finances, but is foolish in how he handles his most intimate relationships; whereas Judy is just the opposite, wise in her relationships but foolish with her finances. In some area we are all foolish. It is no wonder then, that in verse 7 of Psalm 14, David, who enacted a foolishness a lot like John’s, cries out: “O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion.”

Nearly 1,000 years later Jesus told two parables recorded in Luke, chapter 15. First, he spoke about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost one of them. The shepherd left the remaining 99 sheep to search for the one that was lost. After finding it, he called his friends and neighbors together and said: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”

You probably recall that in John’s gospel Jesus called himself “the good shepherd [who] lays down his life for … [his] sheep.” His sheep, of course, refers to his followers. And, just as sheep will foolishly wander away from their shepherd in search of something to eat; so too we – just like Adam and Eve – can foolishly wander away from Him in search of something to satisfy our appetites and desires. But Jesus doesn’t forget us. He searches through whatever wilderness we are lost in until he finds, rescues, and restores us.

In the second parable, Jesus told of a woman who had 10 silver coins, and noted that if she lost one of them she would “light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it.”

Then, she too would invite her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her.                    

Here, the woman, perhaps ironically, represents God the Father. The lighted lamp represents Jesus, and the broom represents the Holy Spirit who sweeps the earth in search of those who are precious to Him. The lost coin, unlike the sheep, has no consciousness, and represents those who belong to God, but are so foolish they are not even aware they are lost.

These are parables of restoration: wherein God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit overcomes our foolishness; to find us when we lose our way. Rejoice with me, the prayer of David has been answered.