April 16 – Found

I think there are Lost and Found departments everywhere that are full of stuff that will never be reclaimed, because they are not worth the trouble of being found. Umbrellas, sunglasses, scarves, jackets. Apparently, if you have lost one of these items it’s too much trouble to go and find them again. I should know – I must have a dozen umbrellas sitting in Lost and Found boxes in several states.

I am not sure where the line is that divides those items worthy of retrieving from those that will remain lost. The item has to be meaningful, but what makes something meaningful?

Recently, in town, there was a woman who was search for a handmade blanket that had been accidentally tossed into a donation box with a bunch of old clothes. I felt sad for her because I doubt she will ever find it. Another day, a woman came into the church looking for her lost jacket. We searched the building together but did not find it. Again, I felt sorry, but I think she was looking in the wrong place. She had not been in our church before.

The questions of things lost and found are important in the Bible. Jesus tells a set of three parables that are about things lost and found. The first one is about a shepherd with 100 sheep. One sheep wanders off and gets lost. Does the shepherd leave the 99 to go looking for it? Yes, he does.  And in doing so, he risks greater loss the any potential gains – his joy notwithstanding. An irrational move.

Then there is the story of the woman who loses one of her 10 coins. What does she do? She turns her house inside out and upside down to find the lost coin, and when she finds it she rejoices and throws a party to celebrate finding it. And I have to wonder how many of those coins were spent on the party. Again, an irrational move.

Finally, there is the story of the man who has two sons. One wanders away physically, the other wanders away spiritually and emotionally. This is a different kind of lost. The only way these sons will be found is for each of them to be convinced of the father’s love and accept that love.

Apparently, this will involve, for the father, giving away everything he has – multiple times. He gives it away at the beginning of the story, and by the end he is in the process of giving it all away again. I suspect that this is what he will do, again and again and again – joyfully. Give it all away for the sake of his two sons – an irrational move.

I don’t know where the line is that divides what is worth being found from everything else. According to the parables, it has nothing to do with monetary value or rational decision-making and everything to do with love and joy.