Luke 15:1-10
The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper, “Hello?”
Feeling a bit put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster, the boss asked, “Is your daddy home?”
“Yes,” whispered the small voice.
“May I talk with him?” the man asked.
To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, “No.”
Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your mommy there?”
“Yes,” came the answer.
“May I talk with her?”
Again the small voice whispered, “No.”
Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child.
“Is there any one there besides you?” the boss asked the child.
“Yes,” whispered the child, “a policeman.”
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”
“No, he is busy,” whispered the child.
“Busy doing what?” asked the boss.
“Talking to daddy and mommy and the fireman,” came the whispered answer.
Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like ahelicopter through the ear piece on the phone the boss asked, What is that noise?”
“A hello-copper,” answered the whispering voice.
“What is going on there?” asked the boss, now alarmed.
In an awed whispering voice the child answered, “The search team just landed the hello-copper!”
Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated the bossasked, “The search team?! Why are they there?”
Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle, “They are looking for me!”
Every museum and school has one. The nursery school down the hall in the church I served had one. It is a “lost and found box.” The child doesn’t know something is lost until the next time it rains.
At our house, we have something different, a sock basket.
The odd thing about the sock basket is that it does not represent socks that are lost, but rather socks who are incomplete without their mates.
I always liked the readings for this week: two short parables that precede the parable about the man who had two lost sons. To my mind that serve as a powerful corrective against making a big deal over the returnung son’s repentance. Or we can define repentance as “going home,” which I like.
I end with a “mother-in-law” j0ke. Feel free to change the roles, if you want to use it.
Husband and wife had a tiff. Wife called up her mom and said, “He fought with me again, I am coming to live with you.”
Mom said, “No darling, he must pay for his mistake. I am coming to live with you!!
Have a great week. – Laurin
Lectionary Musings and Amusings 