10.9.22 - The "Lost" Parables (Kenny Camacho)
SCRIPTURE: Luke 15 & Psalm 139:7-12
“We are always on the lookout for the God of power and might and authority. But Jesus’s heart is consistently set on revealing the God his hearers are not prepared to see: the God who lays down His power in order to pursue His people, one by one, person by person, that our hearts might turn back towards our Father. The Jesus standing in front of these Pharisees is the God, running down the road to embrace the wandering son! Discovering Him means opening ourselves up to a God whose power is nothing compared to His love. Indeed, whose power serves that love. Who rejoices when each and every heart turns back to Him.”
REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
How can anything (or anyone!) become “lost” to God?
Kenny agreed that God must be omni-scient, omni-potent, and omni-present (which are the three traditional, philosophical attributes of God). But he asked us to ponder why Jesus would tell stories that challenge those qualities. Before we move on, talk about this for a moment: in your view, what is Jesus trying to accomplish?
Kenny suggested a fourth attribute: God is omni-personal. What do you think he meant by this? What would this mean?
In the parable of the lost son, in what sense does the father “lose” his child? What “lie” does the father permit his son to believe (or, at least, to pretend is true) in order for the whole story to unfold? (think: inheritance!)
How does the father’s posture towards his son reveal God’s prioritization of His omni-personal qualities over and above His other “omnis”?
What’s the older brother’s problem? Think about this carefully: what lies is he choosing to believe about his relationship with his father? Why is he permitted to believe them? What does he need to discover?
Now, let’s go back to the parables of the lost coin and lost sheep: what do these parables teach us about God’s attitude towards the “one”? What does it teach us about the temptations/fears of the “ninety-nine”?
How can discovering God’s omni-personal character help you grow in your faith? What practices can help you meditate on, experience, or otherwise encounter this discovery more regularly?