Have any of you ever seen a paper like this posted in your neighborhood? [Lost pet with reward offered] On a pole, on a house? Why do people put these notices up?
When someone loses a pet they really love, it is almost like losing a member of the family. The pet’s owner will search for that lost pet day after day until they find their pet again. Sometimes they even offer a reward.
We feel sorry for any family that has lost a pet. If we see a sign like this, we keep our eyes open for a pet that looks like that. It would feel wonderful to be able to bring a lost pet back to its family again, wouldn’t it?
The story in the Gospel today tells about a son who had left home and was living a miserable life. He was very unhappy. He had spent all his money. He had done some very bad and foolish things. He hurt his father’s feelings. He didn’t have a proper home, and he didn’t have enough food to eat. In a way he was lost because he didn’t know what to do. We say that when people lose his way - when they don’t know what to do. They are lost.
The young man’s father was very worried about him. This was his son he had kissed and fed and hugged and loved since this young man was a baby. A lost child is an awfully sad thing.
But this story has a happy ending. The lost son finally decided to return home. When he came back to his father he looked terrible, ragged, dirty, and hungry. He was afraid he wouldn’t be welcomed home. But as soon as his father saw his son coming, he threw a big party to celebrate his return. He loved his son; he missed him. How do you think that son felt when he got back home?
Sometimes it seems like people feel sorrier for lost dogs than they do for lost people. It may be easier for us to care about a poor ragged dog than to care about a poor ragged person.
Lost people take a lot more work. They may not look as cute as lost dogs, they may not ask us for help, they even may say mean things to us. But anytime people are unhappy or lonely or make bad choices – anytime they feel far away from God – we call them the lost children of God. And they need our help to come home to God.
There are different ways to be lost. One is when we are in a store and our parents can’t find us. We are lost. We hope just for a little time. But there are other ways to be lost
When we are unhappy, we are lost. We are found when someone puts a smile on our face and is kind to us.
When we are lonely, we are lost. We are found when someone spends time with us, to be us, to talk with us and maybe play with us.
When we think we are unloved, we are lost. We are found when someone we love puts their arms around us; gives a big hug, and then a kiss.
When we do something bad, we are lost. We are found when someone says, “I forgive you.”
You know, Jesus used to hang around with lost people. He loved lost people, and always tried to find them. He told them that God was like a bloodhound dog always sniffing for them and tracking them – telling them to come home.
And our job – your job too – is to remember that God is always looking for us. It’s almost like each of our faces is on this poster. God always finds us.
God always wants our help to find the lost people – the unloved, the hurt, the unhappy, and the lonely. We are all part of God’s search and rescue team. And we find the lost through love, forgiveness, and kindness. Our reward is knowing we have been God’s helper.
Deacon David Pierce
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