"In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you." -- Isaiah 49:8

 

"If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?"

 

            The first thing I notice about this parable is that it is about a lost sheep and not about a lost cat. Lost cats tend to find their way home. They are noted for that. I have heard stories about people who have moved miles away, and their cat then found its way back to their old home. To some extent we are like cats. When we wander or stray spiritually, sometimes we can find our way home. That is called repentance. In the story of the Prodigal Son, it says that the wayward son wakes up one day and realizes what he has done, and he finds his way home, where he is welcomed by his waiting father.

            But this story is about a sheep. I learned this week that sheep, when they wander and get lost, are not able to find their way home. So they simply lie down; they give up. We are often more like sheep in this regard. We wander and get lost spiritually, and we become helpless. We must be saved, rescued. Someone must come and find us. I suppose a good example of this in the Gospels would be a tax collector, like Matthew, whom Jesus found at his tax booth and called to become a disciple. Matthew would never have become a disciple of Jesus on his own. Jesus had to find him and call him. Another tax collector was Zacchaeus, whom Jesus found sitting in a tree one day; he called to him, and went to his house. And there Zacchaeus came to a new life. He was like a sheep that needed to be found by Jesus.

            So the Scripture today speaks of this experience of being found. It speaks to us in our experience of being helpless, unable to find our way to God, feeling empty, aware of our failure, and then Christ comes to us and we did not expect it. We were not planning on salvation, and yet it was offered to us.

            I think people have a yearning in their hearts for salvation. We are aware that there is something more to life, even if our only knowledge of it is that we feel a pain, a longing, an incompleteness. What we yearn for, we call salvation. But it is hard to define that word. What does it mean? 

            When the ancient Greeks used the words "save" or "salvation" they meant rescue or deliverance from some danger in life. That might be the danger of battle in time of war, or the dangers of storms at sea, or the dangers of illnesses not understood. Their understanding of salvation was based on a belief in fate. They believed whatever happened to you was meant to happen, but you might escape it if you could cry out to some god who would be willing to help you. That was salvation. Most of the time, the gods they prayed to had no interest in helping them.

            In the Old Testament we find a very different understanding of salvation, but one that is also practical. God is the one who saves, and his salvation can be found in victory in battle, in help in times of trouble, or in vindication from enemies. But God's salvation is never simply material. It always has a spiritual depth to it. God's salvation leads a person into a deeper relationship of faith in God, of knowing God. Then, in the prophets, we begin to see that in the last days God will bring a full salvation for his people.

            Notice in Isaiah 49 both how practical and tangible salvation is, and also how it includes a spiritual dimension: the forgiveness of sin and a right relationship with God. The Lord says "in the day of salvation, I will help you." Then he goes on to say what that means.

He will restore the land and reassign its desolate inheritances (verse 8). The people who are in exile in Babylon want to go home, they want to return to the Promised Land, and they dream of it; not in its ruins, but as that land of milk and honey promised so long ago by God. They are helpless to accomplish this on their own, but God promises to restore them. God will give them back their lost worth.

            Think of all the people around us who have recently lost a significant portion of their financial worth. Their house is worth less than before. Their investments are worth less than they were just a few months ago. They may feel a panic in their hearts. One meaning of God's salvation is restoration. This is not always the restoration of wealth, but restoration of life and worth and that which is of far more value than silver or gold.

            Then the Lord says to the captives and those in darkness, "come out" and "be free" (verse 9). For too long Israel had experienced captivity by one invading army after the other. Yet the prophets saw more deeply that the true captivity of Israel was not caused by Babylon or Assyria, but by their own sin. This was the captivity from which God could save them.

            So we think today of how people get caught in sin. We think of the loss of hope that comes when we lose the ability to obey God. The Lord says, "in the day of salvation, I will help you." He is the one who forgives and heals and sets free.

            The Lord says that he is able to guide people to find pasture on every barren hill, and will guide his people to springs of water (verse 10). There is in the salvation of God a strong word about his provision. In our anxiety about the future, there is the reality of the comfort and compassion of God. It seems to me that it has been Christians in poor countries who have been trying to teach us that there is a reality to these springs of water that is more than material prosperity. Now perhaps we are listening more to their message.

            Then, the last one, and I think it speaks most strongly to us:  "I will not forget you. I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" (verse 16).  When I go through one of those dry times, or distant times; when I have wandered and gotten lost and lay down in the wilderness defeated; then I ask, "Where is God?" "Who will help me?" That is when I remember that my name is engraved on the hand of God. He is even now looking for me. What I have experienced is that every time that has happened, Christ has found me. He is a good shepherd.

            In the New Testament, salvation and healing are always closely connected. The forgiveness of sins and the reality of personal relationship with Jesus Christ are also included. In his letters, Paul mixes present reality with future hope. Salvation in Christ is to know you are free from the wrath of God, and it is the renewal of your spirit so that you can live a new life. Salvation is a gift and it is a goal. He says, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

            So a sheep wanders away from the flock, and gets lost. It cannot find its way back, and becomes discouraged. The sheep lies down, defeated, awaiting its end. Then it hears a sound, footsteps in the distance. The shepherd has been looking, and now is here. The sheep scrambles to its feet and runs to the shepherd, who picks him up and carries it home. How joyful the shepherd is now that he has found the sheep.

             It is Jesus who seeks every wandering soul. If you hear his voice, I invite you to respond in faith today, and receive the salvation of God.

             Amen.