Joy of Being Found - Luke 15

The joy of being found.

Tony E. Dillon-Hansen

Refection based upon Luke 15:1-10, Exodus 32:7-14, Psalm 51

Opening Prayer

Don’t you hate it when you go looking for something that you know you just had and just put it right here, but for whatever reason it isn’t there right now. My sunglasses tend to disappear a lot. You look and look, turn over couches, pillows and search high and low. It has got be here. Then you take amount and sit. You may even ponder the where’s or why’s. You may get distracted, and then suddenly you do something like scratch your head, and guess what, there they are!

I think that gives a snippet of what Jesus is telling us here. There is something to be said about these parables: the lady finding her coins and the lost sheep.  

We all have felt lost at one point or another in our lives.  We have all felt the bewilderment of wondering and trying to figure out where to look, what to do , who to ask or even question our very nature and self.

Then something happens along the way. There is a change. We do something different.  It could be that someone appears in our lives. It could be that we just stopped for a moment. It could be that scratched our head in disbelief.

In the moment when we don’t know where to turn, we are reminded there is someone waiting for us to call, to pray. Someone is ready to reveal to us what we need - maybe reveal to us what has been missing. 

It is in that revelation that we find respite from a world that demands so much from us and provides so much anxiety. Our world is anxiety. Yet the kingdom is near and ready to reveal to us all that is possible.

That, beloved, is the realm of love, peace and hope. That is the realm of unbroken promise, healing and restoration. 

The thing for us is to remember that wherever we are on life’s journey there is always a moment for us to sit, breathe, and ponder. There is always time for us to pause and reflect and realize what has been lost has been in front of us the whole time. Realize that our emptiness, our brokenness is not forever.  

This is the power of repentance for which Jesus and the whole heavens celebrate. For people that think they have it all figured out, we know too well, there is something missing. If you have the notion in your mind that you have all you need, wait a little longer, I assure you what is missing will be revealed. 

The power of true repentance isn’t some rhetoric set of lines we recite via a prayerbook or even the hymns we sing, although one may find great ways to meditate in them, the repentance is learning that our path is not fixed, our journey is not only made of turmoil. Our journey has grace and peace all around us. 

That is what we need this time, That is what we need when we don’t even know it. If you look back on things in your life you will see that spirit walking along side you, helping you, teaching you and guiding you.

When we open our minds to what is possible in spirit through meditation, prayer, and the pause, we will find.

Yes we will find all that we need. We will find that God is there. Grace is here. Love is here. 

That, my friends, is pure joy.

So yes we struggle, we lose things, we lose people and we lose ourselves. Yet we never lose God because God is the happy parent waiting to put a robe around us and welcome us back home. 

God is ready to wash away our tears and our iniquities. God knows we struggle and knows life aint easy, but the spirit is brimming with laughter and cheer at our return. 

God is waiting to have a feast with us to learn what we have learned, where we have been and what has been revealed to us. God knows it, but God wants us to know it too.

That, beloved is worth everything. That is the promise of repentance and the rejoice of heavens.

Thanks Be to God.