Journeying the wilderness of Western post-modernity is not for the faint of heart. There is danger along the way. The river of despair lies ahead. The rising mountains of falsity hinder our passage. The weight of our worries grows ever heavier upon our backs. The once certain path gives way to a valley of death.

However, when we find ourselves lost, there we find Christ. Despite being overwhelmed and overtaken by the flesh, the One who became Flesh for our salvation finds us.

Where streams of living water flow

My ransomed soul He leadeth,

And, where the verdant pastures grow,

With good celestial feedeth.

Our Gospel lesson is one about finding the lost. Dear Christian, even if you have spent your life within the bosom of the Church, you still were found at some point in your life. Perhaps you were found early, as a lost babe only a few days old. Or more than likely, when you were older and none-the-wiser, you realized you were lost after encountering the Great Finder, the Shepherd of our souls, Jesus.

Maybe you’re looking for Jesus and wondering where is He? You seek Him, and you are troubled because you’re not finding Him. Perhaps you are looking for Jesus in the wrong company. Jesus is always drawing “near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.” (Gospel lesson, Luke 15:1, KJV). Go where you find the One who “receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” (Luke 15:2, KJV). Christ is where sinners are hungry and need feeding. Is it any surprise Christ feeds His Church, repentant sinners, with HIs own body and blood to nourish them unto everlasting life?

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,

But yet in love He sought me,

And on His shoulder gently laid,

And home, rejoicing, brought me.

The thought of harkening the local church can be daunting. Perhaps you carry much baggage. Give it to Christ. Before you move one foot to the left or right and become further lost, stay where you are and call for the Good Shepherd. He hears your voice and He calls back to you through His voice, the written Holy Scriptures. Hear now what our Lord is telling you, “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” (Luke 15:4-5, KJV).

Although the post-modern world calls life meaningless and your demons tell you that you’re worthless, the Living God who created the wondrous cosmos, delightful creatures, and elegant greenery of the earth loves you and seeks you. Don’t trust me, believe upon the incarnate God, Jesus the Christ. He is the Faithful One who seeks the faithless. He is the Good Shepherd who leaves the majority of His flock and cares so much for the one lost sheep that He will abandon everything to save it. This is who God is – the seeker and the Savior of all who is lost.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill

With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;

Thy rod and staff my comfort still,

Thy Cross before to guide me.

God’s salvation is not reluctant. It is undeserved for us sinners, but it is a joy and delight for the Creator. Because “when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” (Luke 15:5-6, KJV). Dear friends, our Lord God has hoisted you onto His mighty shoulders. You need not travel and sojourn alone, for Christ is with you. He bears you, not only your sins and burdens, but bear your entire weight and leads you into the Promised Land.

Even more incredible is the rejoicing that God has for His redeemed image-bearers. He celebrates His own burden by joyfully carrying us one-by-one through the dark valley. Then He calls His divine council of angelic hosts and tells them to rejoice in praise, for another son of God has been redeemed from the world, flesh, and the devil: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7, KJV).

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;

Thy unction grace bestoweth;

And O what transport of delight

From Thy pure, chalice floweth!

Ah, the devil. That ancient foe who fights all the harder because he knows his days are limited and his time has come. His kingdom has been undone as it was a kingdom made of straw and built upon sand. But now the Kingdom of God, the uncut stone, has come down from heaven and crushed the feet of man’s idolatry.

Our salvation – the carrying of us lost sheep upon the Shepherd – enflames the wolves of our great enemy. Therefore, fellow sheep, pray this week’s collect to the Father, and remember that He “hast given a hearty desire to pray” to each of us with the Holy Spirit. (Collect of the Day). Hence, pray and pray earnestly and constantly that “by thy mighty aid [we] be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Collect of the Day).

We wander not on our own as we once did in the flesh, in death, and in subjection and ruin to Satan and the world. Now we follow after the Good Shepherd, therefore “be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.” (Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 5:5, KJV). Shed the proud viper in your soul and “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7, KJV).

In other words, forget not your first love and be not complacent, dear Christian. The Church is ever journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem. You were not found by the Shepherd in order to stay where you were found. You were returned to the ninety-nine so that you may pick up your purposeful following of Christ to the very end.

There is a common saying in the early Church that there is no such thing as a Christian who is alone. Every Christian is joined to the body of Christ, the local body of believers, who in turn are mystically joined together with the living and dead saints of old across time and space to Jesus Himself. Therefore, do not tarry in the place where Jesus put you among the ninety-nine, or you will soon find that the Church has left you in faithfulness to following Christ. Therefore, move on and move towards Christ, following Him as the rest of the body follows Him.

What does this metaphorical walking together after Jesus look like? It is to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, KJV). Although the evil serpent still seeks to strike the saints on the Way, God has not left us without the ability to resist the evil one. Seek the Father in prayer and pray as we did in today’s collect for the wisdom, mercy, and strength to resist. We are not alone is resisting the strikes of Satan, for indeed we are called to “resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:9, KJV). We are not alone in our temptation, in our war with Satan. The Church catholic around the world suffers, and more mightily than we in the West, yet our suffering is for God’s glory. Let us suffer now, so that we may rejoice with God later. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11, KJV).

The world does not understand suffering; therefore, it does not understand the Suffering Servant. Satan seeks to salvage his lost kingdom through false promises in the West of prosperity, splendor, and little suffering. Yet the cost of our redemption is the God-man hanging dead upon the tree. Therefore, let us find our own identities in the suffering of Christ Jesus. May our suffering be linked to His, and may our sojourning against the grain of this world infatuated with personal choice and death be stifled by our song to the Beloved One who made us, redeemed us, and enlivened us to live right-side-up lives in an upside-down world.

May we have the patience of Job in an impatient world. For Job suffered much, and was rewarded even more in God’s timing. Although there is tragedy, death, disease, and inhumanity in this life – that is, suffering, yet we are called to bear the bad news through the Good News. Our lives are short and, in the eyes of post-modernity, meaningless. Yet the Creator tells us He rejoices over every single soul born on the Son’s scarred and whip-torn back. God Almighty has joy over just one of us repentant sinners. This is joy enough to spur us saved sheep to go and find other lost sheep belonging to the Master’s flock.

Hence, we must proclaim truth in a culture of lies and align our lives with the commands of the Creator and not the whims of the world. Carry no more the burden of your sin, but place the light yoke of Christ’s convictions upon your soul. Walk with Christ’s yoke upon you so that you may be poked and prodded along the way of life at the gentle redirection of Christ, who guides the Gospel plow. May we defy the expectations of the flesh and the devil and praise God despite our sufferings, and glorying in this Good News: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11, KJV).

And so through all the length of days,

Thy goodness faileth never:

Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy priase

Within Thy house for ever.

The Joy Over One – The Third Sunday after Trinity

Recent Posts

Comments