The Third Sunday after Trinity

Luke 15:1-10

This past week, I was at Fort McCoy for a promotion ceremony, and it reminded me of the days I traveled to the base for military training.

One of the basic skills a soldier must learn early in their military training is land navigation. Technology is great, but if you can't find your way with a compass and a map, you might be in serious trouble when the batteries die or GPS goes dark. 

Almost every school I’ve attended for my military career has included a land navigation course. It always pained me to see a fellow student just one degree off the mark and fail to find their way to the target destination. You see, being just one degree off with your compass is all it takes to lead you astray and off course. The 1 in 60 rule states that for every degree you are off course, you will miss your target or destination by a mile to the east or west for every 60 miles traveled. That's not good and shows how quickly someone can get lost.

Sin affects us in similar ways. To sin is to miss the mark. It's to miss the target or destination you are meant to reach. It means not acting according to the commandments or living in accordance with God's will.

When someone misses the mark or sins, they begin to drift away from their Father in heaven. It may be a small sin, or it may be the complete denial of wrongdoing. Still, when this happens, the Christian starts wandering away from the Church, becoming lost, much like a soldier or sheep in the wilderness of life. 

Today, the Gospel begins by saying the “tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus].” This builds on the end of the previous chapter, when Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” So, who comes to listen to Jesus? It’s, as you heard in last week’s Gospel, “the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.” (14:21).

So, it's you and everyone else who suffers from the original sin of Adam and Eve. Still, the Pharisees and the scribes are recorded as grumbling that “this Man” would receive these sinners. 

Hearing the grumbling, Jesus turns and tells the Pharisees and Scribes the parable of the lost sheep.

Hear how He speaks to the Pharisees and Scribes: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (v.14)

In our world and in the Church, we might be tempted to view the problem mathematically and say, they only lost one of one hundred sheep - not too bad, that’s a 99% success rate. But the shepherd in the parable still departs - in search of the one sheep, going against our instincts and measures of success to bring the lost one home. 

One must be careful to notice throughout the dialogue that Jesus is speaking directly to the Scribes and Pharisees. He is saying to them, “It is you who have lost the sheep.” Now, He is calling on them to hear His words and imitate His love toward sinners—those who have wandered away from the God of Israel.

This coming Thursday (June 25th), the Lutheran Church observes the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. In essence, the Augsburg Confession is the main and foundational document of the Lutheran Church. Among the articles presented about 496 years ago are Articles Four on justification and Five on the office of Holy Ministry. Justification is the truth and teaching that our forgiveness rests solely on the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, and nothing else. The ministry or the preaching office is based on the command of Christ Jesus Himself to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments as He has established for His Church on earth. 

An interesting nuance in the layout of the articles of the Augsburg Confession is that they always begin with, "Our churches teach that…," except in one place, between articles four and five. Article five starts by saying, "So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted." Why the change? Because of the establishment of the office of Holy Ministry, the office of shepherding God's flock was created to administer justification (the forgiveness) to God’s people. The two articles are closely connected. 

What does any of this have to do with the Gospel today? The Pharisees cared more about their own wellbeing than for their neighbors or the people they were leading. They were not journeying, seeking, rescuing, or restoring the lost sheep of Israel. Instead, they were grumbling that Jesus would accept sinners.

But Jesus does accept sinners, “the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind,” you and me. And for our justification, the forgiveness of sins, He died on the cross and now sends His under-shepherds (the pastors) to care for you by administering the sacraments and preaching His Word of law that should lead you to repentance, but then, announces the joyful news of absolution to you. 

Over the years, as I have raised my children, I often reflect on how I have taught them to confess their sins and receive forgiveness immediately. Parents don’t allow time to pass after a child's transgression; instead, repentance and forgiveness are swift and decisive. This pattern we promote in children is beneficial, and it aligns with the Proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

Sadly, as we grow older, we become absorbed in the politics and happenings of our careers and lives, missing the mark through our transgressions against neighbors and before God. Consequently, we rarely practice the immediacy of repentance and absolution that we have so lovingly instilled in children, or that we had implanted in our hearts and ears when we were young.

Instead, as we become aware of our words that slander and harm, or our desires to scheme and manipulate behind the backs of neighbors or co-workers, we should confess and repent immediately. Unfortunately, the longer we delay confession, the more our hearts grow callous, and we drift further away from the flock of God’s true Church. 

We all know it doesn't take much to miss the mark; a small mistake can send you far off course (like missing an offramp and having to drive another 20 minutes to find the next one). But, for the Christian, for you, missing the mark separates you from Christ Jesus and His Church – the flock you were all baptized into with the same water and the same Word. 

Being an under-shepherd of Christ Jesus is both a challenge and a joy. As a pastor, it involves entering the uncomfortable wilderness of this life and world to call wandering and lost sheep back home. 

But, do you know what brings me comfort? It's not my Word that seeks you, but the Words of Christ Jesus, our Great Shepherd.

It is His death and life that unite us. It is His Word that calls us. It is Him who restores and justifies you. All this is cause for rejoicing—because your heavenly Father sent His only begotten Son into this world and wilderness to restore you and bring you with your brothers and sisters in Christ into the eternal joy of heaven.

Let us put aside the old Adam and repent before God the Father. Let us consider our brothers and sisters in Christ as members of the same body, quickly reconciling with one another. Then, let us rejoice together and with heaven over the Good News we have heard – words spoken by the pastor to affirm and ensure you are safely brought into the eternal presence of your heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. +INJ+ 

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org

The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/