The three “Lost Stories” in the Gospel of Luke are among the most beloved parables of Jesus. On July 27, Pastor Dave offered a wonderful sermon on the “Lost Sheep.” I was reminded of a different perspective I first encountered during seminary from renowned New Testament scholar and preacher, Dr. Fred B. Craddock, who served as the Bandy Chair of Preaching at Candler School of Theology from 1979 until his retirement in 1994.
Dr. Craddock’s preaching style, known as inductive preaching, involved turning a text around to uncover deeper meaning. He offered a powerful reinterpretation of the three parables in Luke 15—the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son. His theological insight was this: God is not primarily concerned with humanity’s “lostness,” but rather with our ability to rediscover right relationship—with one another and with God. In other words, God is not obsessed with what’s lost, but with what can be found. Jesus’ teaching, preaching, and ministry reveal the “foundness of God”—a vision for a community, a Kindom, where all are included and restored.
That’s why Jesus spends so much time with social outcasts. Their “foundness” is proclaimed even when the world ignores, mistreats, or blames them for their suffering.
In today’s parable of the Lost—or rather, Found—Son (Luke 15), the young man loses everything: his money, his dignity, and his relationships. He returns home in shame, expecting rejection. But instead, his father sees him from far off, runs to greet him, listens to his confession, and then reverses everything—ordering a feast, the finest robes, and a ring for his finger. The story doesn’t end as we might expect. There are other key characters, and we’ll explore them too, as they add truth and depth to the parable.
Unlike the sensational storytelling of reality TV, this story reveals a different kind of reality: where the unclean are made clean, the least become the greatest, and children and women are not just seen, but engaged and included. Craddock’s method gives these stories a radical edge—no wonder they unsettled the religious and political authorities of Jesus’ time.
For those outside the centers of power, the parables of Jesus are more than stories. They are power. They are freedom.
Pastor Todd