The parables for this Sunday are the lost sheep and the lost coin. When we think of these parables we think of the joy described when the sheep and coin are found. The woman with the coin even throws a party (that probably cost way more than the coin itself)!
This is great.
We’ll also hear a passage from Jeremiah – a passage that is all about despair and destruction and the wayward ways of us humans.
Not so great.
This got me thinking about the relationship we have with God, and that God has with us.
We sometimes wander away from God; we get caught up in our own worlds; we experience the suffering of feeling separated from God; and we experience the joy of feeling back in alignment with God. How does this dance happen? Why do we wander? Can we not just decide to follow and stay on the path? History and current events would indicate no. Some days it can feel like the path has been paved over and there’s no way to even see it anymore.
And then when we do get back on it, what kind of difference does it make anyway, if there are only a few of us there?
These passages got me curious about repentance. Over and over again we realize we’ve veered off the path and over and over again we do the work to get back on. This makes a change in our lives but how does it effect change beyond us? And where is God in all of it?
These feel like unanswerable questions. Even so, they seem worthy of exploration.
See you Sunday,
Julie.