In the fifteenth chapter of the third Gospel, St. Luke gives us three linked parables of Jesus with a single, common theme: all three parables are about four lost things—a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons. Bible scholars sometimes call Luke Chapter 15 The Gospel Within the Gospel. I love that way of thinking about it. The Gospel Within the Gospel. Luke Chapter 15 is the terse précis of the entire Bible, the concise abstract to the sprawling dissertation the Bible finally turns out to be. If you are lost, says the entire Bible, God wants to find you.
The Valley of Lost Things, I: The Gospel Within the Gospel
Eastertide Sermons
April 23, 2023 • William A. Evertsberg • Luke 15:1–7
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Two Quiet Josephs
March 31, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Matthew 27:57–61, Matthew 28:1–10
When you come to the end of all four Gospels, no matter what Gospel you’re reading, you’re going to see an obscure, minor actor with a walk-on part who appears out of nowhere, disappears just as quickly, and is never heard from again. His name is Joseph of Arimathea, and he is the guy who talked Pilate into handing over Jesus’ bruised, beaten, battered, bloodied body from the cross and then loaned him his own personal grave so that Jesus could have a proper burial. I say ‘loaned’ rather than ‘gave’ because as it turns out, Jesus wouldn’t need his borrowed grave for long. Now who is this Joseph of Arimathea and what makes him more important in all four Gospels than the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Magi, the Shepherds, and Zacchaeus? Joseph appears quadruple the number of times as those other events. Who is he and where did he come from? Where is Arimathea? But that’s just the point—no one knows. There are some educated guesses, but no one’s sure. This cryptic character comes out of nowhere and is never heard from again.