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Photo: Hrh Princess Elizabeth in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, April 1945
We share our stories; we cheer on each other’s accomplishments with humble gratitude and send our good wishes for each other’s new goals and dreams with sincere prayers. Yet, in our life journeys, there are times when we are faced with many challenges. Then, we come to grasp a hint of what it means to be human.
Our human history consists of endless stories of twists and turns. “Stories are a communal currency of humanity” (Tahir Shah, In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams). Our currency for today reminds us of the horrific event that happened 21 years ago – the 9/11 attacks on American soil, which inflicted a devastating emotional toll on Americans.
For most of us, 911 is a number designated for emergency calls, but September 11th is an unimaginably difficult day for the survivors and the first responders of 9/11, as they recall the twists of fate that saved their lives. We uphold them in our prayers for God’s consolation on this 9/11 Memorial.
Today’s another currency that brings us a sense of global community is the death of Her Majesty, The late Queen Elizabeth II who died at the age of 96 last Thursday, leaving her seventy years of legacy that reigned in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries. She has left a long lasting impression in our memories, not only with her loyalty, dignity, and integrity, but also with such a warm personal touch in a unique way, and with an amazing ability to keep up with the rapidly changing culture of our age, even by having tea and marmalade sandwiches with Paddington Bear during her Platinum Jubilee celebration.
When a person who has played such a stable role for decades dies, we are hit by a wave of sadness. Yet, we will remember the late Queen fondly about her unparalleled devotion to her service for the people, through the time of war and hardship by joining the British Army while as Princess and through many ups and downs of the nation and society, binding her people as one with such elegant and powerful words:
Looking forward to the coronation in 1952, she said: “I want to ask you all, whatever your religion may be, to pray for me that on that day, to pray that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making and that I may faithfully serve him and you all the days of my life.”
Also, at the first televised Christmas broadcast in 1957, she said: "I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice. But I can do something else. I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations."
The late Queen pointed her people to Jesus in a non-coercive yet inspirational way. In an age, increasingly secular with religious conflicts, she remained devout yet inclusive of those with different beliefs and cultures. Nonetheless, some of the Commonwealth nations have broken the tie from the United Kingdom, and the wounds of the Indigenous people caused by the Church still remain along with the colonial residue. That is another currency for today. However, we saw courage, resilience, patience, humility, love, forgiveness, and eternal hope in the late Queen’s character. Such a character is truly a sign of deep Christian faith.
Whether born royal or ordinary, we are all human in the end, created in the image of God. When we acknowledge that God is our Creator and when we live by his Word, we are all royal members in God’s Kingdom, who are called to serve God and his people according to his will. Royals and commoners alike, in human terms, everyone goes through difficult times. And, we, fallible human beings, are all reconciled to God for our sinfulness through the grace of Jesus Christ. We must make a continuous effort to resist temptations in this world that try to damage us, whatever they may be, and we must turn to God’s safe and strong arms, just like the prodigal son returning to his father.
But, God is not the one who is folding his arms and just waiting for his children to return, but the one who goes out to find them. In today’s Luke’s Gospel passage, Jesus tells us the Parable of the Lost Sheep, illustrating the love and compassion that God has for every person who is left vulnerable in our broken, corrupt and dysfunctional world. God is actively in search for the lost.
In this Parable Jesus uses the example of a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and one goes missing. The shepherd that signifies God leaves the ninety-nine others and searches high and low for the lost sheep. Jesus stresses that when the shepherd finds the lost sheep, he rejoices over it more than the ninety-nine who did not go astray. This is how God will rejoice when a sinner returns to him. It is so thought-provoking, though, that Jesus uses this natural analogy of leaders with the image of a shepherd because in Jesus’ time, the occupation of shepherding was looked down on by Pharisees and scribes.
As in the Parable of Great Banquet (Lk 14:15-24) where the master who sent out his servant for a broad search in the country alleys to invite the lowly to his banquet, this Parable of the Lost Sheep also addresses the Kingdom of God that is accessible to all, not only those with status quo but even those who are underprivileged and marginalized and who are strayed from God’s path.
In Jesus’ time, the religious leaders had hearts filled with wrong motives and prejudice. They criticized Jesus for eating with sinners, the type of people that they looked down on. In response to such an attack by the religious leaders, Jesus illustrated this parable to tell what the Kingdom of God is like and how all believers must act after their faith renewed by the Spirit of God.
The theme of losing and finding is present throughout the Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel. The Parable of the Lost Coin that follows the Parable of the Lost Sheep is almost identical. Last week’s lectionary was about the cost of discipleship and stumbling blocks in the way of Jesus’ followers. Jesus said, “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Lk 14.33). The cost of discipleship may even involve the giving-up of your families. It is not a random thought that such a discourse about stumbling blocks is followed by these Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. Those with status quo in Jesus’ time, like false leaders and false teachers, fall into the same category as those who cause people to stumble, and as a result, they are lost.
Spiritual leaders are not a god. Neither is the monarch of a nation. King David sinned, as well. He was once lost, then found. Leaders are God’s servants who are called to serve only for a certain period of time. Spiritual leaders, in particular, play a critical role in keeping faith communities safe and viable, highlighting not the condemnation of sinners but the calling of sinners, embracing acceptance and forgiveness, encouraging a renewed faith life, following Jesus’ teachings, and building a better future for all God’s creation.
When the practice of the Christian faith is perverted into legalism or elitism as with the Pharisees, which presents great danger, presuming that those legalistic, dogmatic, and arrogant views and certain narrow religious positions can dispense God’s wishes.
The Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin teach us that God does not want anyone to stray because of false teaching or false leaders. Preoccupied with many egocentric thoughts, we can become like the lost sheep easily that ends up losing a sense of direction. All have sinned.
Apostle John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-9).
But, sinners who have cut themselves off from God and go off in their own ways do have hope. The sinner can actually turn out to be more honest and sincere than the successful keeper of laws, the devout, or the self-righteous, by confessing sin before God and renewing the faith.
We know that God showed his great mercy upon Adam and Eve by clothing them with the garments of animal skin himself. God’s covering is an expression of his spiritual protection and his caring nature for all those who are in a covenant relationship with him. That is God’s heart. God puts value on every person. No one is damned, but all are encouraged to turn to God from their selfish ways of doing things. Our God wants to give a second chance for us to restore and renew the relationship with him. We all make a mistake in our temporal earthly pilgrimage, but love binds us, and forgiveness restores us.
Through the events of the death of the Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of the King Charles III who is now our new monarch, we have this opportunity to reflect on God’s Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is not an imaginary place far away from us but a real place where we struggle with notions of pride, elevation of self-love, greed, envy, anger, rebellion, unbelief, unhealthy habits, destructive behaviours, and all sorts of issues around human fallible nature.
By the life, death and resurrection of his Son Jesus, God takes upon himself the weight of our sin, frees us from entrapment in it, and makes us right with himself. By his word of pardon, God frees ungodly sinners from the sentence of spiritual death and reconciles us to himself and to our fellow humans.
There may be times when you feel all alone, hurt, confused, frustrated, and lost. Our Shepherd, the true source of comfort and strength, is beside you, before you, and behind you, to guide you through those difficult times. All you have to do is to hold his hand and pray calmly. Have faith in him. You are not carrying faith, but faith will carry you on.
In this moment, our Lord searches for the lost to the end of the earth, to bring them into his arms. And, he says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.” This is our unchanging communal currency in the story of God’s Kingdom. And, we bring our most intimate stories, both joyful and sorrowful, to our God of everlasting love, the Maker of “heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever” (Ps 146:6).