"You
in the west tell the parable of the lost sheep. We in the east tell the parable
of the incomplete flock."
I
once heard an Anglican priest relate that snippet of dialogue from his conversation
with an Orthodox counterpart. The distinction bears examination. We American
Christians often hear these famous parables as good news for the lost objects:
the feckless fleece is found, the accounting error corrected. In a spasm of
humility, we may even admit that we could wind up as part of the one percent,
equally in need of finding in our turn.
All
of that is true, but misses the main thrust of the stories.
"This
man receiveth sinners." The Greek verb comes from the code of hospitality
and implies not mere acceptance but active embrace. By the custom of the day, a
guest brought honor to the home she entered. Now back up a verse: The rowdies
"were coming near to Him." This is not a case of Jesus attending the
after-party for Matthew's conversion; here, Jesus himself sets the table of kingdom
teaching. He acts, not as the honored guest, but as the humble host. Thus Jesus
informs the Pharisees, not that the outsiders get a good deal (far too good a
deal, those righteous ones thought), but that they bring blessing to those
already on the inside.
Whatever
else the Kingdom of Heaven is, it's not a numbers game.
Most
preachers would rejoice if ninety-nine percent of the church membership
showed up on a given Sunday. And if the offering met ninety percent of the
weekly budget requirement as depicted in the second story, we'd go into raptures.
But Jesus seems to cling to the wild notion that everyone has something to
contribute and that anyone's absence lessens everyone's experience.
I
won't aggressively pursue the missing one percent until I understand that this
lost lamb offers me the presence of the Lamb that was slain. I might grudgingly
accept the loss of a tenth of my funds but not a tenth of my fingers. Heaven
rejoices at the finding of the lost because it restores fullness to the fold.
The
parable of the lost sheep congratulates the lost one who was found. The parable
of the incomplete flock congratulates the restoration of relationships. I think
it matters which parable we tell ourselves.
Part of the One Percent,
Doug
No comments:
Post a Comment