The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Luke 15 has three of Jesus’ most recognizable parables. Sometimes called the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son, though perhaps the parables would be better identified by pointing to the “Finder” or “Retriever” in each story. But in any case, our reading was the first two. The Pharisees and scribes didn’t like Jesus receiving sinners and eating with them. Jesus shouldn’t be mixing Himself up with that crowd, they thought. The three parables point to God’s powerful love for the lost, and what He does to bring them back. Each parable gets sharper in its application, until in the last one, the Pharisees and scribes are confronted by their own unwillingness to welcome back the lost, in contrast to the redeeming love of God the Father. But back up to today’s parables and reflect. Thankfully, God’s love for the lost has long been on record in the Bible. But we’re ever forgetful, and so constantly need to “...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today our Gospel reading in Luke 15 contains some of the most beloved parables that Jesus taught. The parable of the lost sheep, of the lost coin, and of the lost son (or sons). Our reading is the first two, but as a set, they convey the love and heart of God our Father, and the Lord Jesus, to seek after the lost. They also speak of the joy God experiences when He finds the lost. Before we dive into the two parables, note a couple of things about the set of three as a whole. First, there is a progression in the joy. First there is joy in heaven. In the second parable there is joy before the angels of God . In the parable of the lost son, the joy is of the Father himself , and by extension, the joy of the whole household. Secondly, there is a progression in how much of what is lost. In the first, one of 100 sheep is lost. In the second, one of ten coins is lost. Finally, the last parable seems to be about one...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s Gospel reading paints pictures of God for us, to describe how the lost are found, and the spontaneous eruption of joy that happens in heaven when lost sinners are found. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. A woman sits alone in a crowded restaurant, staring at the happy faces and animated conversation of other customers, wondering where her joy and laughter has gone. In the few years since her father died, she’s felt disillusioned and angry at God and unable to find peace. Somewhere else, in a high school classroom, a student wears a dark look on his face and buries himself in angry music to hide his pain and toughen himself against emotion. Growing up in a house where his parents just don’t care, his behavior has gotten worse and worse at school, and now he wonders if he’ll get caught and kicked out for drug possession. A few miles away in a...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The story of the prodigal or lost son is probably one of the most familiar parables Jesus taught. A son rejects his living father as dead, wants to cash out his inheritance now, and run off with the money to party and live life to the fullest. The parable is about that ever-so-difficult homecoming when the lost son returned broken and empty-handed to beg for food and a place to stay from the father he’d disowned. Today we’ll consider how the father and the older brother each reacted. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The lost son was lost when he squandered all his father’s inheritance in wild living. Then he returned to his home and to his father, but when he arrives, in another way he’s still lost. He doesn’t know his own father. So he comes on the grounds of his own merits. But he realizes that he’s shot any merits he’s had to oblivion. He’s a l...