David Stout
Sheffield
Our passage today is Luke 15, a famous set of parables about things that are lost. A lost sheep. A lost coin. And a lost son.
In the first two parables in this trilogy, there’s one lost sheep, and one lost coin. However with the third parable, there are two sons. So, which son is lost?
I’m writing this reflection just a day or two before it’s due to go out. It’s mid-June and the world feels heavy. We are three months into a world pandemic, and whilst things had started to look a little brighter, we are reminded how easy it is for Covid-19 to spread again.
Alongside this is the stark reminder in recent weeks that racism is still prevalent in our society today. That people are exploited, abused, and killed because of the colour of their skin.
This is the world we live in. A world where injustice is commonplace. A world that has been built on the subjugation of others.
There have been times over the last week where I have wanted to block it all out. Retreat into my lockdown. Shut the door on all the pain I can see around me.
But then you see something that reminds you of the truth, that even when it feels like everything is lost, there is a hope. That in Jesus Christ we have a hope. That the world is not lost. That justice and love will prevail.
We can glimpse that every day. For me, this week, I glimpsed that in Marcus Rashford. He used his position and fame to influence the world for the better, and to change one injustice.
So the question we have to ask ourselves is this; who are you going to be?
Will we be like the older brother in our passage today, who has everything yet when he sees riches lavished on someone else he becomes bitter and jealous. Despising not only the one who is gifted those riches, but also the one who gives them.
Or, will we use our riches (whatever they may be, however small or large) and be generous with them. Will we share what we have to make a positive impact on the world.
Today, be that glimpse of hope for someone else.