B9 - E2 Lost and Found
Despite or perhaps, because of the wonder of his words and actions and the fact that he drew crowds wherever he went who loved him for his compassion and wisdom, the seeds of jealousy and hatred were being sown in the hearts and minds of those who felt their power disturbed and threatened by him. Jesus was fully aware of the tide of hatred which was building up and that he was making enemies who were watching and waiting for any excuse to trip him up and remove his influence.
Aware of them he was; frightened of them, he was not. He lost no opportunity to criticise the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and the many ways in which they betrayed their position and responsibilities, to the detriment of the people, only concerned for their own importance. Never one to mince his words, he called them “Whited sepulchres,” showy on the outside but full of death inside; hardly likely to improve their opinion of him. In fact, they began seriously, to look for ways to have him put to death
The courage of Jesus was especially notable in the face of the obvious antagonism of the faith leaders who were frequently disgruntled to observe the many people of ill repute who gathered around Jesus all the time, whereas his paramount concern was to find, rescue and bring people to freedom and safety. This was wonderfully illustrated by the stories he told to counter the ill will of his detractors, stories which his genuine listeners would have relished and delighted in,
He told them about the shepherd who, on realising that one of his hundred sheep was missing, left the ninety-nine in safety to search high and low until he found the foolish one who had strayed, bringing it back on his shoulders and calling all his friends and neighbours to share in the joy of his discovery. In a similar vein, he told the story of a woman who had mislaid some of the money she’d been saving and spent hours and hours scouring the house until she found it.
Just like the shepherd, she called her friends and neighbours in to rejoice with her, knowing that they would share her relief. “These stories,” Jesus told the people, “show that God will leave no stone unturned until he finds and rescues all who are lost. There will be great joy in heaven,’’ he said, ''when even one person is rescued from a bad way of life and turned away from it to live in purity of heart.”
A powerful story which would have resonated with families throughout the land concerned a father who had two sons. The younger son wanted to set off into the world so he asked his father if he could have his share of the inheritance that would come to him from his father’s estate. The father agreed to divide his wealth between both sons and the lad set off to find a place to settle where he could live the good life, as he thought.
However, within a very short space of time, he had squandered all his money on loose living and foolishness and ended up with nothing. He found himself a menial job on a pig farm and was so hungry at one point that he even longed to eat the pig food but no one gave him anything. This was the final straw which brought him to his senses.“Even my father’s servants have enough food to eat,” he said to himself.
He made the decision to return home and throw himself on his father’s mercy by asking for a job as one of the servants because he knew he was unworthy to be treated as his son. His father, of course, had never stopped loving him and had spent many an hour looking out along the road which led to the estate to watch for him. As soon as he spied the bedraggled figure in the distance, he ran out to meet him and clasped him in his arms.
Although his son protested his utter unworthiness, the father, realising that he was truly sorry, wanted nothing more than to rejoice in his son’s return. He set plans in motion straight away for a huge celebration but when his older son returned from a day’s work on the estate and heard the commotion, on finding out the cause, he was furious and refused to join in. When his father was told, he immediately went out to plead with him to come in.
His son poured out his grievances and resentment about his wastrel brother being celebrated after all his misdeeds. “Look at me,” he said. “I’ve worked hard all these years for you and always done the right thing and yet I’ve never had so much as a party to celebrate with my friends.” His father said to him, “My son, you are always with me and all that I have is already yours but it’s right that we should celebrate because your brother was as good as dead and has come back to life. He was lost but now he is found.”
Jesus didn’t explain what happened after that but all his true followers would have picked up the central message of the love, mercy and forgiveness of their Father in heaven which was readily available to everyone who returned to God. These stories helped the people to understand this message but would have increased the jealousy and hatred of his enemies and fostered their ever-increasing desire to get rid of him!
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