Br. Jamie Nelson, SSJE

Luke 15:1-10

Have you ever gotten lost in the woods?

Back in my college days, one of my classes went on a weeklong field trip to a national forest in central Idaho. Late one afternoon, the group of us were deep out on Forest Service land when we realized our classmate Tyler was missing. We waited a few minutes, but Tyler didn’t reappear.

Eventually we decided to search for him. We organized ourselves into a line, two arm’s length between each person, and divided our group in two to search a grid pattern down either side of the gravel road, backtracking the way we’d traveled. We called out Tyler’s name over and over as we carefully picked our way through and under and over and around the rough wooded terrain.

The search seemed to last forever, long enough that a twinge of despair had begun to creep into our hoarse voices as we called for him.

Then we heard a shout. The news spread from person to person: Tyler had been found and was ok.

We regrouped and Tyler told us what had happened. Without telling anyone, he had slipped away for a moment to take a bathroom break, certain that we’d still be in sight & he’d easily catch up with us when he returned. But he was mistaken.

When Tyler returned, we were no longer in sight. And somehow in that moment, he got his bearings turned around. He started going in the wrong direction. And thinking we must be just out of sight around a corner, he just kept going & going.

Eventually, he realized that he’d gone the wrong way and that he needed to turn back.

To be honest, I don’t remember what we learned on that field trip, or which professor taught it, but I do remember the relieved & celebratory mood at the meal that night. Our simple food now tasted like a feast, and classmates who had been mere acquaintances now felt more like friends. All because one of us had been lost but was safely found.

In today’s gospel, Jesus recounts two celebrations that take place when something precious is found after being lost.

In the first story, a shepherd searches until he finds one of his sheep who had gotten separated from the rest of the flock. Carrying the lost sheep home on his shoulders, the shepherd calls together his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him.

In the second story, a woman searches her house for a valuable coin, sweeping the entire floor and shining a lamp into dark corners. Once again, when she finds the coin, in great joy she calls together her friends and neighbors to celebrate, for she has found something precious to her.

Jesus compares both celebrations to the joy felt in heaven that comes each time a single sinner repents.

What image does the word “repentance” bring to mind for you? Maybe it’s a streetcorner preacher with signs and a megaphone. Or maybe it’s John the Baptist with his rough camel’s hair clothes and wild beard.

One meaning of the Greek word we translate as repentance is “to turn around, to turn back.” In my story, my classmate eventually realized he’d gone in the wrong direction, so he turned back and headed towards us.

Is there anywhere in your life where you are currently feeling lost?

How might God be inviting you, now, to change direction?

Turn back.

Turn back, and trust in God’s joy and extravagant love, for you are precious in God’s sight.