Ice Baths for Lost Sheep

Every summer at our church, we get to revisit “The Parable of the Lost Sheep” in Bible class and the gospel lesson. And every summer I marvel at how much more Jesus has to teach us from this all-too-familiar parable that even the most groggy Sunday morning parishioners have now committed to memory. Reading, studying, and hearing the parable preached is always like being plunged into an ice bath, shocking us to our senses with its cold, startling truth.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a profound illustration of Jesus' unwavering commitment to those who have strayed from the flock. It captures the heart of the Christian faith that we gladly, boldly confess, revealing the radical nature of God's grace. In this outrageous tale, we witness the audacity of the Good Shepherd, who, fueled by a holy mania for retrieving lost sheep, abandons the safe pasturage of the ninety-nine sheep to embark on a wild quest for the lost one.

We might wonder why Jesus would leave the majority behind just to chase after one wayward soul. It seems imprudent, even irresponsible. Yet, this parable exposes the depths of God's love. In what may seem to us like a reckless dereliction of his shepherding vocation, pursuing one lost sheep at the expense of the other ninety-nine, Jesus embodies the radical nature of God’s grace. He fearlessly enters the dark corners of the world, forsaking the safety of the flock, driven solely by the holy desire to reconcile the estranged and restore them to his fold.

But no matter how many times one reads the parable, it still challenges our preconceptions about righteousness and demands that we reevaluate our understanding of salvation. It reminds us that our God is not a cautious deity, but a wild-eyed, dogged lover who embraces the marginalized and celebrates the outcasts. It reveals the unashamed lengths Jesus will go to to seek and save that which was lost, offering us a glimpse into the untamed heart of God's grace and forgiveness.

This radical parable challenges the prevailing mindset that righteousness is earned through strict adherence to religious codes and rituals. Instead, it points us to a God who is willing to abandon the established norms and venture into the realms of uncertainty for the sake of one lost soul. Jesus calls us to follow him as he dares to journey far away from safe pastures, to seek out people where they are, and to give them the scandalous grace and forgiveness of sin that transforms their lives.

In this way, Jesus' actions compel us to reexamine our own attitudes toward those who have strayed. He compels us to shed the judgments and prejudices that hinder our ability to extend grace and forgiveness of sin. The Parable of the Lost Sheep bursts through the confines of convention and demands that we embrace the messiness of life and the unpredictable ways in which God's grace and forgiveness operates.

Likewise, the parable forces us to confront the uncomfortable truth that we, too, have been lost sheep at some point (perhaps more than once!). It is in acknowledging our own lostness that we can truly grasp the radical nature of God's love and mercy towards us, and how many have yet to experience these things for themselves. 

In the parable, Jesus invites us to shed the constraints of religious formalities and embrace a faith that is raw, authentic, and unafraid to venture into the unknown. It challenges us to extend compassion, grace, and forgiveness to those who have gone astray, recognizing that we are all in need of the Good Shepherd's relentless pursuit.

Jesus’ parable calls us to be instruments of his grace and forgiveness, extending the wild mercy of the Good Shepherd to those who have wandered off the beaten path. And may we never forget that we, too, were once lost sheep, rescued by the relentless love of our Savior who loves and forgives us unashamedly, unapologetically, and without limits or measures.