What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He told us that the Son of Man had come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). In today’s Gospel lesson, the Shepherd who leaves the 99 in a safe place and seeks the lost sheep is Jesus Christ. God the Father in Heaven does not want a single sheep to be lost. He does not want a single human being to be lost. This is why he sent his Son Jesus to this world. Jesus said, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” That means, quit wandering and come home to God. And God rejoices when even a single sheep comes home. In searching for the lost sheep, Jesus searches all over this world. In the search, Jesus went to Mt. Calvary, where he was crucified. In his search Jesus went to hell, not to be punished, but to find the sheep he loved and bring them safely to heaven. Jesus comes to our hearts and says, “You have been found. Come home.”

How many times has Jesus searched for you? How many times have you broken the Ten Commandments? Jesus does not give up. We often use the words “repentance, or confession, and forgiveness or absolution.” “You have been found. You have been forgiven. Come home.” Peter once asked Jesus, “How many times do I have to search out and forgive my brother? Seven times?” And Jesus answered, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Mt.18:21-22) In other words, uncountable times, always without end. That is the way God forgives us. His mercy and love is endless. PTL.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” The brother is like a lost sheep. He needs to be found. He needs to be forgiven. He needs to come home. If you cannot find the brother, take a search party with you. Perhaps he will listen to other people and mend his ways. If not, get a bigger search party, and then a bigger one. Pray in Jesus’ Name that the brother will come home. Jesus said, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Jesus is in the search party, too!

There may be the time when the brother will not listen to the Word of God, will not recognize his fault, refuse forgiveness, or decide not to come home to God. That is a sad day for the church, and a sad day for God. Many churches have constitutions that include the words of Mt. 18 as a guide to expel members. Our Okinawa Lutheran Church’s church constitution, Chapter 4, Article 7, quotes Mt. 18 and says that we must make every attempt to bring the wandering sheep home before excommunicating them. It is to make excommunication difficult. Of course Matthew 18 is sometimes misused. It is seen as a legal procedure to kick out of the church someone whom you do not like. It is like a heresy trial. Step 1, confront one-to-one. Step 2, take along two witnesses. Step 3, take it to the church council or district office. Step 4, kick the bum out, like you had decided to do in the first place. Three strikes and you are out.

But that is not the way God operates. God’s love and mercy and patience and forgiveness are infinite. He is the Good Shepherd. He searches for us, for you and for me. And when he finds us, God rejoices. The church rejoices.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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