Seeking the lost

The parables in Luke 15 are all interconnected and culminate with the famous Prodigal Son story. However, the first two connect and are an integral part of the whole of this chapter and should not be overlooked. Indeed they are as expressive in their own way as the final story is of seeking the lost and celebrating when these are found. Often in the current era our perspective is not so much on the lost as it is on those who are non. Each parish or rather each faith community have large numbers of the lost with a portion who are non and yet our focus is often upon the non rather than the lost. The reason perhaps for this is that we think that they are part of the greater whole and do not require "saving".

The reality for us as a faith community is that we need to focus more on the lost then on those who are non. I have often been told that "We always had an enormous children's group"  or "the church was packed to the rafters. We would not be able to have so many in the church anymore because we do not have the seating". I am sure we have all heard stories of a glorious past. So perhaps the question is what happened? Was the teaching in the past so bad that disciples were not formed? No, the question is perhaps more pertinent then that: What changed and led people away from Christ? and how do we as disciples of Christ find and minister to those who are lost so that we can celebrate as a complete body of Christ? I have always been amazed at the number of Christians there are in the community but who have lost the understanding of the body of Christ and being part of a community in Christ.

The lost may be closer than we think

Quite a number of Christians say that they have not gone to church because they find peace and God in a nature walk, or a pastime or in some other dalliance. It often seems that we can find that place where God is present outside of the Church and indeed many of the mystics and spiritual giants of years gone by have found solace in solitude. However, when we look at such exemplars it is to be noted that they do this as a specific and concerted effort to come closer to God. It is not a whim or a fancy. The one thing that the Christian faith tells us is that we are the body of Christ not dispersed individuals. This imagery from Paul suggests that there is a gathering of people into a community to provide an accurate image. Whether we like it or not then Christian living demands a communal response, usually in worship that is often seen as the central motif of our faith. So what more important activity is there than the gathering of those who should be part of the community rather than outside it.

If we are to think in these terms as the parable that Christ speaks suggests, then we need to start looking at what prevents those who used to come from coming. We need to search diligently for the lost and when found we need to form a celebration that draws them back into the community from which they have withdrawn. One can almost see the current process as a never ending loop that calls us out to minister to those who have not heard, the non, who then stay for a season before leaving Christ behind because there is nothing that holds them to the community, Due to the fact that we are too involved in looking for those that have not heard rather than first gathering the lost and then bringing the non into faith. Perhaps when we learn to do both at the same time we will be doing God's will and fulfilling the call of Christ on our lives.